Kevin Swift also oversees production of UMTV's "Maryland Newsline" and teaches broadcast production. He is a veteran of broadcast news in many capacities. Swift worked as a writer/producer and reporter for several TV and radio stations in Youngstown, Ohio, and Pittsburgh, Pa. Most recently he served as an anchor/reporter for the award-winning news team at WVLK News in Lexington, Ky. 

The graduate students:

Annie Cooke, 23, is the criminal justice reporter for Maryland Newsline. She received a bachelor of arts in political science and psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison in May 2006. Last year, Cooke directed and co-produced a 30-minute documentary titled "Backyard Schoolyard," which explores the lives of three home schooling families; she also manages the copy editors for The Spark newspaper. This past summer she volunteered at MVTV, helping produce their local programming. She will earn a master's degree in December and plans to pursue a career as a general assignment reporter. She is from Vero Beach, Fla. and can be reached at arcooke@umd.edu

Aditya Ramanathan, 28, is the homeland security and military affairs reporter for Maryland Newsline. He will receive his master's degree in December. Ramanathan hopes to produce international news and is particularly interested in making documentaries. He worked at the Centre for Media Studies in India for 15 months, analyzing television news content and helping to organize an environmental film festival. Last spring he co-produced a 30-minute documentary on home schooled children called "Backyard Schoolyard." He can be reached at adityar@umd.edu.

Robert J. Richardson, 22, covers transportation for Maryland Newsline. He received his bachelor's degree in Telecommunications—Film & Digital Media from Baylor University in 2006. He graduated from the Honors College with distinction with a thesis on adaptation screenwriting. Richardson has interned at WGCL-TV CBS 42 in Atlanta and with Sony for the National Association of Broadcasters, and has done freelance production work for ESPN, CNBC and the NFL Network. He has done other production work in short and feature films and commercials and has shot experimental HD footage with professionals from Troublemaker Studios in Austin. He will receive his master’s degree in December and hopes to work as a local news reporter. Richardson can be reached at RobertJRichar@gmail.com.

Danny Rubin covers Prince George’s County for Maryland Newsline. He will earn his master’s degree in December to pursue a career in television news reporting. Rubin earned his bachelor’s in history from the University of Virginia in 2006. While an undergraduate, he worked as general manager of WUVA radio and hosted a live call-in show on the local ESPN radio affiliate. As a graduate student, he has interned for NBC News investigative correspondent Lisa Myers and at MSNBC’s "Hardball with Chris Matthews." After a summer reporting for the city government channel in Chesapeake, Va., he now works for Prince George’s County (Community Television Channel 76). Rubin was born in Virginia Beach, Va. He can be reached at drubin@umd.edu.

The undergrads:

Erin Brennan, 20, is a senior covering Montgomery County for Maryland Newsline. She has previous experience in broadcast with an internship at WRC-TV in Washington, D.C. She reported for WMUC's "Terp Weekly Edition," the "College Park Edition" of Maryland Newsline and Unwind Magazine. She is graduating in May with a degree in broadcast journalism and aspires to be a reporter and documentary filmmaker. Brennan is originally from Gaithersburg, Md., and can be reached at ebrennan@umd.edu.

Lauren Effron, 21, covers the environment for Maryland Newsline. She expects to graduate in May 2008 with a double degree in broadcast journalism and government and politics. Effron is heavily involved on campus, serving as president of the UMD chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, director of communications for the Student Government Association and corresponding secretary of Omicron Delta Kappa, Sigma Circle. She is involved in various other honor societies and service organizations on campus. She recently completed a summer internship at ABC News in New York City, where she worked on television and Web projects for "Talk Back," an ABC interactive media department that served "Good Morning America," "Nightline" and "20/20." Effron is from Cambridge, Md. She can be reached at lauren.effron@gmail.com.

Sam Lazarus, 21, is covering College Park and Hyattsville for Maryland Newsline. She will earn her bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism in May 2008 and aspires to be a news anchor. She has reported for WMUC's "Terp Weekly Edition," "College Park Edition" and the "Mitzpeh." Lazarus has also interned at WCBS-TV in New York City and MSNBC Inc. in Secaucus, N.J. She is from West Nyack, N.Y., and can be reached at SJLazarus@gmail.com.

Kelvin Robinson, 20, is a senior covering environmental issues for Maryland Newsline. He has previous broadcast reporting experience as an intern at WRC-TV NBC4 in Washington, D.C. Robinson aspires to be a reporter and is graduating in May with a degree in broadcast journalism and a minor in Spanish. He is originally from Damascus, Md., and can be reached at kpr413@gmail.com.

Dana Wachter, 21, is covering education for Maryland Newsline. Wachter will earn her bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism in May 2008 to pursue a career in television news reporting. Wachter interned with the Special Investigations Unit at CNN Productions in Atlanta. While there, she worked on documentaries including "After Jesus," "Larry King’s Anniversary Special" and "God’s Warriors." This summer she was a news intern at WTTG Fox5 in Washington, D.C. She has reported for WMUC’s "Terp Weekly Edition" and UMTV’s "College Park Edition." Originally from Marietta, Ga., Dana can be reached at dwachter@umd.edu.

Dawn Cherie White, 27, is a senior covering ethnic and religious affairs for Maryland Newsline. She expects to earn her bachelor’s degree in broadcast journalism and a certificate in women's studies this December 2007. White just completed an internship in Cox Broadcasting’s Washington Bureau and is currently a weekend intern at WPMT-TV FOX 43 in York, Pa. She has reported for WMUC's "Terp Weekly Edition" and the "College Park Edition" of Maryland Newsline. She is former copy editor of La Voz Latina and the editor in chief of "Byline," the newsletter for the campus's chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. White received the 2007-2008 Steven Affens Broadcast Journalism Scholarship for photojournalism. She aspires to work as a network reporter and anchor specializing in politics or health. She is originally from Virginia Beach, Va., and can be reached at DawnCherieWhite@aol.com.

Adam Z. Winer, 21, covers health and medicine for Maryland Newsline. He will earn his bachelor's degree in broadcast journalism in May and aspires to be a news reporter. He has reported for WMUC's "Terp Weekly Edition," "College Park Edition" the Diamondback, the Mitzpeh and SPIN.com. He is also general manager of WMUC Radio, and is a DJ and sports broadcaster. He has interned for WTOP Radio, Comcast SportsNet and Cablevision's HD News. Winer can be reached at adamzwiner@gmail.com.