“I know it is easy for journalists to be myopic within the 24-hour news cycle. I try to help the students see beyond their assignment; to be aware of the broader world and the impact they have on it through their work.” -- Patrick Lafferty

“Don’t let anyone tell you that you cannot do as you like with your career. Forge your own path. Make your life your own,” said Patrick Lafferty, multimedia newsroom coordinator for the School of Journalism. This personal mantra led Lafferty back to KU after earning a BS in business administration in 2001 and a BA in political science in 2002. 

“I wanted to study journalists and what it meant to be a journalist,” said Lafferty about earning his Master of Science in journalism from KU in 2006. “I wanted to help emphasize the ramifications journalism has on the larger society, a concept that really solidified for me when I was studying political science.”

Lafferty has dubbed his office the place for “one-stop journalism shopping” because he works with news students on questions about the Internet, radio, television and reporting in general. He says strategic communications students are welcome as well. “My background in business gives me a keen eye for the business angle to any story.”

“From the minute my door opens I am helping students see the news, not as it is represented on any specific mainstream medium, but as it really is. By changing the lens through which these students view the world, it undoubtedly improves their stories.”