Faculty Spotlight: SCM Welcomes Media Executive Veteran Mark Effron

Reporting live from Montclair State University is clinical specialist, Mark Effron, the School of Communication and Media’s newest media executive veteran.

Effron comes to the University with a laudable career as a media news executive for companies like MSNBC, Post-Newsweek Stations, New York Public Radio and Tribune’s WPIX. His experience includes running breaking news and daytime programming, serving as Vice President of news, and running a Webby-award-winning digital media company.

Now, Effron is taking his years of experience and passing it along to the next generation of someday media superstars—his students. Effron teaches Television and Digital Media classes, however, he’s planning to inspire students outside of the classroom, too.

Effron is working hands-on to launch a multiplatform newsroom, which will be just one of the many excellent resources for students in the School of Communication and Media’s new headquarters, which is nearing completion.

Some of Effron’s hopes include creating a richer teaching experience for students, as well as fostering more innovative types of journalism and storytelling.

“One of the main goals [of the newsroom] will be to identify what sort of collaborative projects we can create utilizing the many brands that our school houses,” Effron says.

The School of Communication runs several media platforms, including Carpe Diem, the Center for Cooperative Media, The Montclarion, Wired Jersey, and WMSC—all of which are great resources for students to boost their portfolios and gain valuable, hands-on experience that is vital to landing a career in the industry.

Effron envisions meaningful projects between brands that will enhance students’ learning experiences, such as producing daily newscasts that could be streamed on Facebook Live, and distributed through other platforms like Twitter.

“If there’s one thing I’ve learned during my career is that change is a constant, and if you get stuck in how you did things yesterday, you will fail,” Effron says. “You have to stay intellectually agile, open to new ideas, and new ways of doing things.”

Mark has a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University and an undergraduate degree in politics from Brandeis University. He is a frequent writer on topics relating to the changing world of media and news.

“Having worked in the crosshairs of media my entire career, I can’t think of a better place to be at now, than at Montclair State University.”