About Us
‘WVU News’ can also be viewed on our website here: https://mediacollegenewscast.wvu.edu/
This classroom will be run as an actual “newsroom.” You will all be assigned beats,
we will have regular news meetings and you will report to us as your “news directors.”
You will learn every aspect of what it takes to put together a newscast. From
choosing stories in your beat, to shooting, editing, writing and producing those
stories and finally, you will all serve as the talent and/or technical crew during
the actual taping of the newscast. You will also have a professional Twitter
account and learn to use social media to promote your work.
GINA MARTINO DAHLIA
Professor
Assistant Dean of Academic Affairs
Executive Producer
Email:
Gina.Dahlia@mail.wvu.edu
Twitter ID:
@ginadahlia
Fun Fact: When I graduated from college, my gift from my parents was a three
month trip exploring Europe. My mother is from Italy and bought me a Eurorail
pass and gave me an itinerary. I visited more than a dozen cities and met relatives
I never knew I had!
Gina Martino Dahlia knew she was a teacher in September of 2001, after watching a student’s TV story on the dangerous threat of anthrax in U.S. mail. She saw how much her student had learned and how the quality of her work had improved. She saw how her own belief, passion and refusal to accept mediocrity put students on paths that improved their lives.
Known as an exceedingly assertive and demanding professor who will push her students to create the best work they can, Dahlia is also beloved by students for the time she invests in their TV productions and for her accessibility.
And these are just a few of the reasons Dahlia was named a recipient of the 2012 WVU Foundation Award for Outstanding Teaching. This prestigious award is the highest recognition of excellence in teaching at the University.
Dahlia’s former students now work at television stations across the country – often with the help of her persuasive reference letters and phone calls- and when they decide that’s not where life is taking them, she’s just as supportive.
“They know they can call or text me any time of the day or night with interview questions, camera help in the field or editing support in the newsroom,” said Dahlia, Television Journalism Program Chair and teaching associate professor in the WVU Reed College of Media.
One of her main roles is as executive producer of “WVU News,” an award-winning newscast filmed by TVJ students that airs on PBS and cable TV in West Virginia. “WVU News,” recently won a national first place college Emmy from The Television Academy and was named the best college newscast in America.
Dahlia is also an award-winning filmmaker. Her documentary, “The Monongah Heroine,” aired on PBS in December 2007 and received worldwide press and media attention. The film focuses on the widows left behind from the December 6, 1907, Monongah (W.Va.) mine disaster.
She joined WVU’s College of Media in 2001 and became the head of the television journalism program in 2007. Dahlia obtained both her bachelor’s degree and master’s degree (2007) from WVU, majoring in journalism and minoring in political science.
Yo u can reach her with story ideas via twitter @ginadahlia and through her e-mail at gina.dahlia@mail.wvu.edu .
ASHTON MARRA
Teaching Assistant Professor
Executive Producer
Email:
amarra3@mail.wvu.edu
Twitter ID:
@ashtonmarra
Ashton Marra joined the college’s faculty in August of 2018, where she teaches news writing, video storytelling and community-focused journalism.
Ashton is the co-founder and co-director of Reporting on Addiction, a collaboration of addiction science experts, professional journalists and journalism educators who share a passion to decrease stigma and improve the way journalists cover addiction and recovery. Reporting on Addiction trains professional and student newsrooms and addiction science experts, creates research-based reporting resources, and has built a network of journalism professionals nationwide who are committed to improving reporting in the space.
Ashton came to the college with a decade of professional experience in both public and commercial media newsrooms in New York City, Ohio and West Virginia, and her reporting has appeared nationally on NPR and PBS, as well as “Good Morning America,” where she worked with correspondents across the country to produce video news stories in the field and in the studio.
She served as the assistant news director for the statewide public television and radio network West Virginia Public Broadcasting and as its lead political reporter, hosting and producing the network's flagship television program “The Legislature Today.” While working in public media, Ashton was also the producer and host of a number of radio programs as well as original podcasts. She was twice named the Associated Press of the Virginias Best Reporter.
Ashton received two degrees from West Virginia University, a B.S. in journalism and M.S. in Integrated Marketing Communications.