It wasn't long ago that Harding University assistant journalism professor Jim Miller was on the other side. He graduated from the University of Tennessee's doctoral program last summer, and although he laid roots in Arkansas, he was quick to return to Big Orange turf. But not to teach.

Miller visited the UT campus to attend the Intercollegiate Online News Network conference hosted by the College of Communication and Information Jan. 15 and 16. The conference was underwritten by a grant from the Scripps Howard Foundation.

Miller arrived with a purpose. During his graduate coursework, he worked closely with UT Journalism and Electronic Media professor Jim Stovall in developing the online student-run newspaper the Tennessee Journalist.

Miller hopes to borrow Stovall's idea for Harding University's journalism department and sought advice on Web journalism from conference speaker Michael Marshall. A five-year employee of U.S.-based news agency United Press International and a seasoned media professional, Marshall spoke Thursday night in the University Center about his vision for journalism as the industry evolves.

"Change in our profession is ongoing and continuous," he said. "We don't always know clearly where that change is going to lead. Innovation and entrepreneurial journalism is the order of the day."

Marshall is working as an editor for UPI's recent undertaking UPIU, an online platform forging media-university alliances. Through UPIU, universities are able to partner with UPI to give students opportunities in online journalism. UPIU is the news agency's answer to citizen journalism and to the industry's shift towards online media. It's an answer Marshall hopes will address some of the problems that come with new media.

"We want to create a type of new journalism that focuses on serious issues...a way to address the possibilities of citizen journalism without the issues of credibility and reliability," Marshall said. "UPIU is a showcase for young writers who grasp the concepts of good reporting."

Miller plans to use both UPIU and TNJN as models for his project at Harding, which will launch next fall with the introduction of the university's first web journalism class. Web journalism students will produce and contribute content to the Web site, which has yet to be named.  

"The news industry is changing drastically, and the Web is at the center of all that," Miller said. "We have to be willing to work together and try new things."

Like TNJN, Miller's Web site will use the content management system Ochs, which Stovall offered Miller when he learned of his former student's project.

As the Web site grows, Miller intends to take it out of the classroom and get the whole campus involved with content from faculty members and other students.

He also plans to join the network of online student newspapers Stovall is organizing.

While the future of Miller's Web site is unclear, he remains optimistic.

"If we fail, we fail," Miller said. "But we'll just keep trying new ideas because some of them are bound to work. As educators and college students, even as mass media, we have to experiment."