Paul Isom

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Bio

About Paul Isom

Paul Isom teaches journalism and advises journalism minors in the Department of English at North Carolina State University.

An award-winning editor, Isom has reported news, sports and features stories, worked on design and copy desks and as a features editor at several newspapers including The Birmingham News/AL.com, Alabama’s largest newspaper and news website.

Isom has directed the operation of student newspapers, yearbooks, magazines, radio and television stations at five institutions, including The University of Alabama and the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill. He has taught at The University of Alabama, Murray State University, UAB and East Carolina University.

Service to the N.C. State community

• North Carolina State Student Media Newspaper Advisory Board.
• North Carolina State Alumni Magazine board.
• N.C. State Park Scholarship Program faculty mentor, 2017-present.

Subjects taught

• Professional internships.
• Writing for the mass media.
• Advanced magazine writing.
• Media literacy.
• Reporting via social media.
• Copy editing.
• Feature writing.
• News reporting & writing (introduction and advanced).
• Public affairs reporting.

Notable awards

• First Place, Best Headlines, Alabama Press Association Better Newspaper Contest, 2006, 2007.
• Editor’s Award, Excellence in Headline Writing, The Birmingham News, 2007.
• Distinguished Multi-Media Adviser, College Media Association, 2005.
• College Media Association Board of Directors’ Citation, most improved convention sessions,Washington, D.C., 2000.

Literature, research and presentations (selected)

Isom, P. (2021). Consider the Source: A Media Literacy Handbook for Writers, Editors and Citizens (1st ed.,  Vol. 1). KendallHunt Publishing Company. 

Isom, P. Keynote. Presented to the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Southeast Colloquium, Blacksburg, VA, March 9, 2012

Isom, P. Student Free Press Issues. Presented to the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication Southeast Colloquium, Blacksburg, VA, March 9, 2012

Isom, P. Internship Strategies That Put You To Work. Presented to the College Media Convention, Austin, Texas, November 2009.

Isom, P. Sell Your Experience to Open Career Doors. Presented to the College Media Convention, Austin, Texas, November 2009.

Isom, P. (April 2002). Students try collaboration with professionals, College Media Review.

Isom, P. Establishing newspapers in rural communities not served by local media. Presented to the National Newspaper Association 112th Annual Convention, Fort Worth, TX, September 1997.

Isom, P. Developing a forum for the mediation of information and journalism education in rural communities. Presented to the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication  79th Annual Convention, Anaheim, CA, August 1996.

Isom, P., Johnson, E., McCollum, J., & Zillmann, D. (1995, Winter). Perception of Interviewees with Less-Than-Perfect English: Implications for Newspaper Citations, Journalism and Mass Communication Quarterly.

Area(s) of Expertise

•Journalism.
•Media literacy.
•Misinformation and disinformation.
•Editing.
•Reporting.
•Search engine optimization.
•Student newspaper, yearbook, radio operations.