Associate Professor Bob Jonason teaches convergent media classes at the University of Cincinnati. He serves on several university committees that involve curricular development, including the steering committee of the Digital Media Collaborative. In addition, he’s the adviser to the business staff (sales, marketing and design) of The News Record, UC’s student-run news organization, and UC’s student chapter of the Online News Association.
Jonason is the recipient of a 2017 Scripps Howard Journalism Entrepreneurship Institute fellowship, granted to college professors who are interested in teaching the concepts and practices of entrepreneurial journalism.
His background includes more than three decades of experience in professional journalism. For a decade he was a leader in digital media at The Indianapolis Star. He directed The Star’s Online Services department, managing content, sales, production and design teams and leading the strategic development of digital media initiatives. During this time The Star achieved tremendous growth in digital traffic and revenue and won many local, state and national awards for its digital efforts, including a national award for community service. For six consecutive years The Star’s news website, IndyStar.com, was named the top news site in Indiana by the Hoosier State Press Association. Jonason also was an editor for 12 years at Philadelphia Newspapers, first in the newsroom of The Philadelphia Inquirer and then as a founding editor of Philadelphia Online, now Philly.com. Early in his career he was on The (Fort Wayne) News-Sentinel staff that was honored with a Pulitzer Prize for local reporting.
Jonason is a graduate of Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana, and has a Bachelor of Science in journalism and business.