Mark Gentili Named Journalist in Residence at Huntington University

Huntington University is pleased to announce the installment of a Journalist in Residence.  The inaugural honour has been bestowed upon Mark Gentili, Managing Editor of Northern Life.


Mark Gentili has been the managing editor of Northern Life since 2011.  He cut his teeth in community news in Kapuskasing, starting as a reporter for The Northern Times in 1999.  By the mid-2000s, he was the managing editor of Kapuskasing’s three newspapers: The Times, The Weekender and a French-language publication, L’Horizon. Over the next few years, the Kapuskasing newsroom became responsible for the community newspapers in Cochrane, as well, and Gentili became the managing editor for the Cochrane Times-Post and its French-language sister publication, L’ours noir. During that period, he also produced a semi-monthly small publication for Moosonee on the James Bay Coast, Northern Voice, and headed up a short-lived business publication, Our Business.


Upon joining Northern Life, Gentili set out to harden the soft edge its reporting had taken on. He made changes to the newspaper’s beat structure and hired strong new reporters, changes that saw the newspaper claim multiple Ontario Community Newspaper Awards for general excellence, editorial writing, front page design and photography, among others.


Northern Life’s award-winning website was his next target. In conjunction with a planned redesign of NorthernLife.ca, Gentili put in place a plan to change the paper’s workflow and news cycle, aiming to capitalize on readers’ traffic habits and interests, broadening the type of material that was covered, changing how Northern Life produced video and increasing dramatically the amount of material that was published daily.  Today, NorthernLife.ca is fast becoming the first choice for news and community information in Greater Sudbury.


“Mark Gentili has built a solid reputation for himself as an objective journalist who exudes a passion for the community he serves,” said Dr. Kevin McCormick, President and Vice-Chancellor of Huntington University.  “His experience is an asset to our institution, faculty, and the many students who aim to secure their own careers in the communications field.”


“A Journalist in Residence offers great opportunity for students enrolled in the Communications Studies program at Huntington University,” stated Professor Kristeen McKee, Department Chair of Communications Studies at Huntington University.  “Having access to a professional journalist who can provide advice, feedback and mentorship is invaluable.  I look forward to working with Mark Gentili, and encouraging students to engage with him on a regular basis to learn more about existing and emerging trends in the communications industry.”


“I am truly grateful to Dr. Kevin McCormick and Huntington University for this amazing opportunity, and humbled by it, as well,” said Mark Gentili, Huntington University Journalist in Residence.  “In the age of social and digital media, the art of communications has never been more important, and I look forward to working with — and likely learning from — the next generation of communications professionals. They’ve grown up steeped in media, so I’m sure there are things I can learn from them, just as there are things they can learn from me.”


Click here to see photos from Huntington University’s 2016 Spring Convocation.

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