Actress Sela Ward among University of Alabama 2014 Communication Hall of Fame inductees
Al.com – Aug. 7
Actress and University of Alabama alumna Sela Ward will be one of five inductees into the school’s Communication Hall of Fame. Ward, originally from Meridian, Miss., was an Alabama cheerleader and homecoming queen during her time at UA, where she majored in art and advertising. … H. Shelton Prince, Jr., a former Alabama Press Association president, will be posthumously inducted along with broadcast manager Stan Siegal. WBRC Fox 6 News anchor William O. Bolen. and Gilbert E. “Gibby” Johnston Jr., a well-known First Amendment lawer, round out the 2014 inductee class.
Early Move-in Day
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Aug. 7
Move-in day for some new, returning and transfer University of Alabama students is leading to an influx of people in Tuscaloosa. A long line of cars was waiting to drop off students’ belongings at Tutwiler dorm on campus. Classes don’t start for almost two weeks, but formal sorority recruitment will begin tomorrow. Some students also move in early to take part in different Honors College week-long activities.
Stock prices of companies that use the same underwriter tend to move together
ScienceDaily.com – Aug. 7
The stock prices of companies that use the same lead underwriter during their equity offerings tend to move together, according to a new study by financial economics experts at Rice University and the University of Alabama. … We tested the hypothesis that investment banking networks affect stock prices and trading behavior,” said James Weston, a professor of finance at Rice’s Jones Graduate School of Business. … An equity offering is an invitation by an underwriter to the general public or a select group of investors to buy a new issue of a company’s common stock. Weston said the magnitude of the effect is similar to the “co-movement” that research has linked to share price, stock index inclusion, specific industry or geography. He co-authored the paper with Jones School colleague Gustavo Grullon, a professor of finance, and Shane Underwood, an associate professor of finance at the University of Alabama’s Culverhouse College of Commerce. It was published in the July issue of the Journal of Financial Economics.
Social scientist on impact of “Into the Storm” on public, weather community
WHNT (Huntsville) – Aug. 7
Into the Storm is a weather-thriller movie set in a fictional Oklahoma town and documents how people in the town try to survive several killer tornadoes. The movie is rated PG-13. Laura Myers serves as the Deputy Director of the Center For Advanced Public Safety at The University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa. She studies people’s perception of weather and how the react to high-impact weather events. Myers says for those that have been through traumatic weather events, seeing the movie trailer beforehand is a good idea. “I’ve had several people from Tuscaloosa do that. I’ve asked them to look at the trailer to see what they think and it bothers them. It actually bothers them. But they’re still interested in seeing the movie,” says Myers. Myers says a lot of people are affected by post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) associated with weather events and that many people will likely find that Into the Storm aggravates their PTSD.
Parents can turn to the PAL Hotline before hurting their child
WAFF (Huntsville) — Aug. 7
There are so many different resources available and so many different options parents can take before doing something drastic. There are support groups, hotlines and even ways for parents to temporarily give up custody if it comes to that. … One of the free options available to everyone in Alabama is the Parenting Assistance Line or PAL. It’s a confidential and anonymous way for anyone taking care of kids to get advice, assistance and support. It’s run through the University of Alabama Child Development Resources department and is available from 8 in the morning to 8 at night Monday through Friday.
Gorgas House is the oldest building on the UA campus
NBC 13 (Birmingham) – Aug. 7 (No video available)
On The University of Alabama campus is a wonderful treasure, and with me is the director of the museum. This is Lydia Ellington, and history is everywhere you look. Can you say 1829? That is what this building traces to, doesn’t it? “Yes, It was originally the mess hall and served as a hotel. The architect and engineers actually stayed in this building while they were building the rest of campus.” The family moved in sort of in the middle of the 1800s, right? “They did. And a lot of this furniture belonged to them. Yes, we do knows these chairs belonged to the family, and Amelia in particular liked these chairs and liked to sit in them, and we actually have one of the few photographs of her. She’s sitting in one of these chairs …”
Governor Bentley tours Digital Media Center
WVUA (Tuscaloosa) – Aug. 7
The governor stopped by our station to take a tour of the multi-million dollar digital media center. He took a tour of our WVUA newsroom, along with other parts of the DMC, and learned about our station’s intern program.
Collegiate Licensing Company releases rankings of colleges who sold the most merchandise
ABC 33/40 (Birmingham) – Aug. 7
The Collegiate Licensing Company released its annual ranking of the schools that sold the most merchandise last year. The University of Alabama comes in second, with the University of Texas topping the list. Auburn University gear ranked eleventh on the list of high merchandise sales. Georgia, Florida, LSU and Texas A&M were the other top grossing SEC schools. Royalties for all collegiate merchandise legally sold totaled more than $4.5 billion.
Immigration protesters come to San Antonio
KENS-CBS (San Antonio, Texas) – Aug. 7
University of Alabama student Ellisa Bray, who is attending the Hispanic Journalists Convention, agrees that the U.S. is not the only one to blame. “We do need to be able to be a watchdog and really be able to stand up and say this is something that’s important for all of us to get recognized, but how can we work with other countries to make sure things like this don’t happen.” But she believes we’ve got an obligation to render aid. “We are responsible for the 300 million people that do live here as well as the people who are coming to us for help.”
Local Q&A: Christina Gusella
Tuscaloosa News — Aug. 7
Christina Gusella is a junior at the University of Alabama, a former rower at the Capstone who finds Tuscaloosa offers a great healthy lifestyle for athletes in the area. Gusella said she feels happy to live in a college town that can also function wonderfully as a family oriented city.