The ever-evolving communications department has added a veteran news reporter turned professor to its faculty. Katherine Fink has been an anchor, a manager at WDUQ radio (now WESA), and is a National Public Radio member station.

Hailing from Northern Virginia, Fink holds an MBA degree in business from Duquesne University and a PhD in communications from Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism. She also was an instructor at Columbia University in New York City in 2012 and 2013, teaching undergraduate journalism courses.

Fink is now a first-time, full time professor. This switch was long forthcoming for Fink. After her extended stint being a part of the news industry, Fink felt it was time to shift viewpoints in a rapidly changing environment.

“I felt like things were changing really fast in journalism,” Fink said. “I wanted to find opportunities to be involved in those changes.”

The addition of Fink to the communications department coincides with the launching of the new digital journalism major. The department also recognizes the steadfast changes in the industry and is doing its best to keep up with them, with one of their efforts being this new major. This devotion to advancing with the times became a major selling point for Fink in selecting Pace.

“The department is pretty excited about modernizing the program and getting into technology, so that sounded like a cool place to be,” Fink said.

This semester Fink is teaching News Reporting, Investigative Journalism, and Writing in Organizations, which is a Master’s program writing course. Next semester, she will be teaching an audio storytelling course, anchoring, and a new course in the curriculum called ‘Digital Newsroom.’

“It’s the first course we’re offering that’s really part of the digital journalism core classes,” Fink said. “The class will be organized like a newsroom; we’ll function as our own news organization.”

The audio storytelling and anchoring courses fall right into Fink’s niche. Her prior experience at several radio stations will allow Fink to give students insight into the business.  Fink believes that the media and communications department will be able to better serve students with the adoption of the new major and new courses.

“The [Digital Journalism major] signals recognition that things are changing quickly and we need to make sure that we stay on top of how things are changing in order to make sure students can follow their pursuits,” Fink said. “They can actually be prepared to work in the field and meet the demands of the market.”

One of Fink’s goals here is to put her stamp on the journalism industry. The expertise she possesses will help her do just that.

“If nothing else I would like to influence the future of news in my own small way by conveying to students the ways to report news effectively and also ethically,” Fink said.

Fink believes in the power of news and the endless possibilities we can achieve if news is used correctly.

“News can be a force for a lot of good and there is a lot more that we can do to make it a greater force,” Fink said.

Fink would also love to see a course on the business of news in the near future. She would enjoy teaching such a course as the business aspect of the news industry is in flux, piquing her interest in the topic.