College of Journalism and Mass Communications professor Matt Waite has been awarded the J. Winton Lemen Fellowship Award. Waite, founder of the Drone Journalism Lab at the CoJMC, teaches reporting and digital product development classes. He has conducted numerous workshops to teach journalists about drone certification and safety, including workshops at universities nationwide through the Poynter Institute.
“We are delighted that Matt has received this recognition for his work in drone journalism,” said Maria Marron, dean of the College of Journalism and Mass Communications. “He is a critical thinker about the nexus of technology and journalism and has pioneered the application of drones to reporting.”
Prior to joining the college, Waite was the senior news technologist for the St. Petersburg Times of Florida and the principal developer of the Pulitzer Prize-winning PolitiFact, a website that fact checks what politicians say.
The J. Winton Lemen Fellowship Award was established in 1948 by the National Press Photographers Association (NPPA). The award is given annually to recognize outstanding technical achievement supporting and advancing the best interest of the Visual Journalism community.
Waite graduated from the CoJMC in 1997 with a Bachelor’s of Journalism degree.