Author
Dr. Travis Bland
Publish Date
Julie Staley
2021
Owner and CEO of Spencer Films LLC
DPA

Hometown: Springfield, IL

Undergraduate Degree: Southern Illinois University at Carbondale (1988) Bachelor’s Degree in Radio-Television

Graduate Degree: Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville (1997) Masters Degree in Mass Communication

Bio: Julie Staley is the owner and CEO of Spencer Films LLC and works as director, producer, and writer for their projects.  She serves 501c3’s as President of Spencer Theatre Company, President of the Staley Museum, and Director for the Staley Family Foundation.  Her career as a television news anchor and reporter brought her to stations in several markets, including KSDK-TV in St. Louis, KDNL-TV in St. Louis, KCCP-TV in Kansas City, All News Channel in Minneapolis, CNN in Atlanta, WAND-TV in Decatur, WICS in Springfield, and WRSP-TV in Springfield.  Julie is a contributor/host for In Focus, which airs on WSIU-TV in Carbondale and WSEC-TV in Springfield.  Julie also spent some of her undergraduate work studying foreign broadcasting systems in London, England.

Relevant Work Experience

  • Managing Multiple Non-Profits in Varied Sectors and Varying Sizes
  • Starting and Setting up Non-Profits
  • Non-Profit Fundraising
  • Reaching the Public Through Social Media Marketing for Charities
  • Public Television, Network, and Local Affiliate Broadcasting

Board Experience

  • The Staley Museum (President)
  • Hoogland Center for the Arts (Past President)
  • Spencer Films (President)
  • Springfield Ballet Company
  • Land of Lincoln Goodwill (Past Secretary)
  • Lutheran School Association Fundraising Board
  • St. Patrick School Advisory Board
  • Sangamon County Community Foundation Advisory Board

Awards and Honors

  • Associated Press Illinois Best Investigative Reporter
  • Elizabeth Ann Seton Woman of Influence Award
  • Association for Women in Communications Award of Excellence for Television Feature Reporting
  • Philanthropy Partner United Way of Mid-Illinois
  • Telly Award Silver for Voiceover Talent
  • Telly Award Silver for Broadcast Writing
  • American Heart Association Heart Care Hero Award
  • Land of Lincoln Goodwill Community Partner Award
  • Prairie Heart Association Media Award
  • SPARC Volunteer Award
  • Heartland Continuum of Care Excellence in Reporting
  • Media Partner Land of Lincoln United Cerebral Palsy
  • Communicator Award of Excellence for Anchoring Breaking News
  • Communicator Award of Excellence for Live Television Reporting
  • National Reporting Award RLS Sleep Syndrome Foundation
  • Media Award Junior League of Springfield
  • Sprint President’s Club Award
  • Sprint Excellence Award
  • SIU-C Radio-Television News Student of the Year
  • First Mass Communications Student Selected for SIU-E University Symposium

Research Interests: Non-profit management in the arts and history, the change of philanthropy through social media, media relevance and change with technology, the role of journalism and the polarization of society, instantaneous information and the role of journalism, the changing responsibility of the journalist,  journalist accountability and bias. the growth of media bias, American media bias and corporate broadcasters vs. public television, foreign media systems and bias