JPR Day 2026

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JPR DAY 2026
AI in JPR: Opportunity or Emergency?

Wednesday, April 22
The Pointe in the Pyramid
See schedule below and on the JPR Day website

9:30-10:30 a.m. | Keynote Address
“Money, Power, Ideology and AI”
Khari Johnson, Tech Reporter, CalMatters

Description: Artificial intelligence is not just a technological shift—it is a force reshaping who holds power, how money flows and which ideas dominate public discourse. This talk explores how AI is being funded, governed and deployed by corporations, governments and media organizations, and what that means for democracy, public trust and social equity.

11 a.m. – 12 p.m. | Panel
“AI on the Job in JPR”
Panelists: Samantha Troisi, Account Executive, Assembly Media, Inc.
                  Dawn Chmielewski, Correspondent, Thomson Reuters
                  Elizabeth Sanchez, JPR Faculty and KPBS Host
                  Olivia Smith, Media and AI Strategy Consultant

Description: This panel explores how artificial intelligence is being integrated into JPR workplaces. Panelists from leading news organizations and public relations firms will share practical insights into current industry practices and AI-related skills and competencies students and early-career professionals need to succeed.

The JPR Day Networking Fair will run alongside the sessions. Nearly 100 students will meet one-on-one with communications professionals from a variety of organizations including Microsoft, Netflix, LA Times, CalMatters, TMZ and Warner Bros. 

JPR Day will conclude with the department’s annual student awards ceremony.

Thanks to assistant professor Todd Henneman, the student-run PR agency Azul, and department staff Nesha Saucier, Arleth Rodriguez Maciel and Greg Diaz for their assistance organizing JPR Day 2026 and special thanks to the CLA’s own Ros Ithiratanasoonthorn for helping us look good year after year with her incredible designs.