Education
B.A., Journalism and Government, Indiana University
M.S., Journalism, Columbia University
Background
Randy Covington joined the faculty in 2001. He previously worked in television news
for 27 years, serving in management positions for stations in Houston, Louisville,
Boston, Philadelphia and Columbia. His awards include a du Pont Columbia Citation,
four Emmys and an Ohio State Award. The Radio Television News Directors of the Carolinas
(RTDNAC) has honored Covington as its news director of the year.
Research
Covington's research interests include digital media and how news organizations must
change to compete in a new media world.
Grants and Funded Research
Journalism training in Russia. Newsplex led six workshops in cities across Russia.
$150,000, funded by the U.S. State Department. 2014.
Teaching new media skills in Russia. Working with Professor Scott Farrand, Newsplex
developed an online training program in Russian focusing on new media skills. $75,500,
funded by USAID and IREX. 2013.
BG TIME, an innovative program in which college students trained in new media skills
and then were paired with senior citizens to produce multi media content for a website
done in conjunction with The State newspaper in Columbia. $195,000, funded by the
Central Carolina Community Foundation and the John S. Knight Foundation. 2009-2011
AMBER Alert training. Working with several other USC journalism faculty members and
spearheaded by the late Hugh Munn, Newsplex trained broadcasters and others on best
practices for the AMBER Alert system to find missing children. $154,000, funded by
the U.S. Department of Justice.
Teaching
For more than a decade, Covington has taught Freedom, Responsibility and Ethics (J501).
The course is highly interactive and requires critical thinking, as students wrestle
verbally and in writing with issues such as privacy, racial sensitivity and sensationalism.
The class places a special emphasis on ethical issues involving digital media. In
addition, Covington periodically teaches classes in multimedia storytelling, drawing
upon his 30 years of experience in broadcast journalism.
Recent Publication
Covington, Randy. (2006). Myths and realities of convergence. Nieman Reports.
Service
Member, Online News Association
Board, Family Promise of the Midlands
Session moderator, 2013 World Newspaper Congress, Bangkok
Co-chair, 2012 World Association of Newspapers Middle East Conference, Dubai
Keynote speaker, 2007 IFRA Digital Trend Day, Amsterdam
Former faculty, L'Universite d'Ete (Summer University), France
Former South Carolina freedom of information coordinator, Radio Television Digital
News Association
Former president, South Carolina Associated Press Broadcasters
Former board member, South Carolina Broadcasters Association
Personal
Covington is married and has two sons and two step daughters. He enjoys traveling,
bicycling and reading.
