Editor & Publisher Magazine Names Three LSU Manship School Alums to National Top 25 Under 35 List

April 5, 2019

Baton Rouge, LA – Editor & Publisher Magazine named three LSU Manship School of Mass Communication graduates to its prestigious Top 25 Under 35 list this week. The list highlights talent within the newspaper industry and a wide range of skills, from technology and content to events and marketing.

Editor & Publisher Magazine is widely known throughout the journalism world as the authoritative journal covering all aspects of the newspaper industry, including business, newsroom, advertising, circulation, marketing, technology, online and syndicates.

“We are so proud to see our alumni winning well-deserved recognition for their hard work, passion and drive in the business of journalism,” Martin Johnson, dean of the Manship School, said. “The Manship School produces strong journalists with robust skills in investigative, political, sports, health and environmental reporting, along with a solid understanding of digital media and the entrepreneurial knowledge they need to succeed in business, so it’s no surprise that three of our graduates were named to this list.”

Included on the list were the following Manship School alums:

Tyler Batiste, who is assistant managing editor/sports for The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette in Pennsylvania. According to Pittsburgh Post-Gazette managing editor Sally Stapleton, Tyler Batiste is an innovative sports editor who has shaped their digital efforts. He oversees 24 writers and editors, and under his leadership, the sports department has received consecutive Associated Press Sports Editors Triple Crown honors. Batiste was hired as a digital news editor at the Post-Gazette upon completion of an internship in 2007. After graduating from LSU’s Manship School, Batiste worked at The News Journal in Wilmington, Delaware, The Courier in Houma, Louisiana and at The Daily Comet in Thibodaux, Louisiana. He joined the sports department of the Post-Gazette in January 2016 and was named assistant managing editor in November 2017. In 2017, Batiste was also a “Young, Gifted & Black Award” honoree as recognition for his leadership and service to the Pittsburgh community.
Josh Bergeron, who now serves as Editor of the Salisbury Post in North Carolina. Josh Bergeron’s career started as a reporter for the Natchez Democrat in Mississippi and the Selma Times-Journal in Alabama. In August 2014, he joined the Salisbury Post to cover county government and politics. He was promoted to associate editor in early 2017. Bergeron became managing editor of the State Journal in Frankfort, Kentucky in October 2017, but returned to the Post as editor in December 2018. Under Bergeron’s leadership, the State Journal launched well-received redesigns of its monthly community magazine and the newspaper, which publishes five days per week, and its web traffic grew by 30 percent. According to Post copy editor Bobby Parker, when Bergeron returned to the Post, he began a strategy to improve online content and got stories posted more quickly. “He is committed to the local newspaper’s role as a watchdog of government and the importance of holding public officials accountable for their actions in office,” Parker said. “He is bringing renewed energy to the newsroom as well as understanding and respecting the roles that members of the news team play.”
Lauren Walck, who works as audience and news editor for the Sun Herald in Biloxi and Gulfport, Mississippi. Sun Herald executive editor and general manager Blake Kaplan said, “Lauren Walck is quickly becoming a Tony Romo-like expert in her ability to predict how well a story might do online.” And when she isn’t convinced that something is the best it can be, she takes the time to sit down with the reporter or visual journalist to improve it. In her role, she is responsible for studying the newspaper’s analytics and putting that data to use. She also leads the newsroom’s weekly Digital Café meetings where the team evaluates what material did well and what didn’t, and she offers advice to reporters for future use in achieving their goals.

See the full Top 25 Under 35 list from Editor & Publisher here, along with advice and other insights from Manship School alums and others named to the list: https://www.editorandpublisher.com/feature/eps-25-under-35-2019-the-next-generation-of-newspaper-leaders-wants-to-keep-the-industry-moving/.

*Descriptions of our graduates’ careers and work come from Editor & Publisher Magazine’s article, linked above.

####

LSU’s Manship School of Mass Communication ranks among the top schools of mass communication and journalism in the country, with its robust emphasis on media and public affairs. It offers undergraduate degrees in public relations, journalism, political communication, digital advertising and pre-law; and four graduate degree programs: Ph.D. in media and public affairs, master of mass communication, dual MMC/law degree and a graduate certificate in strategic communication. Its public relations, digital advertising and student media teams frequently earn national recognition, including the national championship in the 2018 national Bateman Case Study Competition of the Public Relations Student Society of America.