Remembering Alison Parker

Students from The Breeze ended their recent two weeks of training for the academic year with a remembrance of Alison Parker, a class of 2012 alumnus who was killed in an on-air shooting in 2015.

On August 25, Breeze leaders met at the steps of Wilson Hall and heard stories about Alison from Brad Jenkins, the general manager and adviser of The Breeze, and from Kelly Zuber, who was Parker’s news director at WDBJ when Parker was killed.

The staff intentionally holds the remembrance before the anniversary of Parker’s death, which is Aug. 26. “We want to remember how Alison lived, so on that first anniversary, we decided to remember Alison on the 25^th so that we could focus on how she lived rather than how she died,” Jenkins said. “Because how she lived is the legacy we want to pass on to our students.”

“We have several tributes to Alison on campus, including the TV studio in Harrison Hall,” Jenkins said. “Students from The Breeze also carry on her legacy by learning about the ways she covered stories and digging for stories like she did.”

Parker was a news editor at The Breeze before she graduated in December 2012. During her time on the paper, she was the first journalist to interview Jonathan Alger prior to his coming to JMU to become president. She and another news editor traveled to Rutgers, where he worked at the time of his appointment, to interview him and introduce him to JMU through their stories. Parker also directed news coverage during her tenure as news editor.

When she graduated, she began work in broadcast journalism, eventually landing at WDBJ in Roanoke, where she was a rising star. Zuber, who also is a JMU graduate (1981), has joined the staff for its remembrance each year since the staff has held it.