OU Student Media has hired Mike Sherman, a veteran sports, news and investigative editor with a distinguished track record of helping launch media careers, as its inaugural innovator-in-residence.
He will join the Daily on a weekly basis in the fall semester with a mission to help further elevate the work of the independent, student-run OU Daily while expanding the mentorship provided by the department’s professional staff.
“Working closely with young, ambitious journalists has led to some of the most rewarding experiences of my career,” Sherman said. “I’m excited to build those same kinds of relationships with the OU Daily staff — ones that challenge, inspire and elevate us all.”
Sherman oversees coverage of 17 Power Five conference athletic departments for USA Today’s Sports Network. He previously worked in leadership roles for digital startup Sellout Crowd, investigative nonprofit Oklahoma Watch, and legacy newsrooms at the Tampa Bay Times, The Oklahoman and The Tennessean in addition to early career roles in Utica, New York, and West Chester, Pennsylvania.
In 2014-15, he served as the national president of the Associated Press Sports Editors, an organization in which he continues to be a prominent voice. He’s worked with groups such as Investigative Reporters & Editors and the Association for Women in Sports Media, taught at the University of Central Oklahoma and served on OU Student Media’s Publications Board as a representative of the Oklahoma Press Association.
At the Daily, he’ll provide a mix of in-person coaching and mentoring, online availability and a semester-long series of workshops featuring guest speakers from across the nation on subjects including beat development, breaking news, fostering trust with sources and readers, multimedia journalism, analytics and more.
“I am so excited that Mike will be joining our newsroom this fall, bringing his 30+ years of experience to elevate the OU Daily’s,” said Anusha Fathepure, who’ll serve as the Daily’s editor-in-chief for the 2025-26 academic year. “Alongside his extensive experience, he is bringing true kindness and compassion to uplift young journalists.”
The innovator-in-residence, a role in which hires will typically serve one semester and no more than one consecutive fall-spring term, is a new position that brings a working professional into Student Media’s Copeland Hall spaces to further ensure Daily students are building pro-ready careers grounded in the latest ideas from the front lines of the media industry.
“The Daily has long been one of the nation’s strongest college media organizations and this role is designed to further build upon those successes,” said Seth Prince, Student Media director. “We attracted a strong pool of candidates in this first search and Mike’s broad vision and strategic alignment with needs of our students entering the fall semester helped him stand apart. We are thrilled to have a hire of Mike’s nationally known reputation set the foundation for this important position.”
Student Media, which will announce its spring innovator-in-residence hire this fall, intends to run a search next spring for candidates to serve as innovators during the 2026-27 academic year.
Candidates are required to be in Copeland Hall at least 8-10 hours a week for the duration of their 15-week appointment. The department may serve as a co-working space with prior approval from the candidate’s employer.
Position responsibilities
The Media Innovator-in-Residence assumes no direct responsibility for editorial content and does not supervise any student staff members. Instead, the Innovator-in-Residence is charged with safeguarding students’ editorial independence by mentoring student journalists to:
• Achieve the highest standards of professional excellence, audience engagement, and journalism ethics.
• Avoid mistakes that could damage their credibility or audiences' trust in Student Media publications.
The Innovator-in-Residence will
• Attend student staff meetings to help editors identify coverage opportunities, plan strategies, and navigate ethical issues.
• Ensure all work remains student-produced while offering guidance to strengthen decision-making.
• Provide broad critiques of content after publication, emphasizing lessons learned and opportunities for improvement.
Additional responsibilities include
• Offering pre-publication advising help and top-line post-publication feedback.
• Conducting short courses or workshops for Daily staff on areas of expertise.
• Collaborating with professional staff and student leaders to set semester and annual goals and monitor performance through assessments.
• Building professional connections to foster training and career development for students.
• Presenting end-of-term takeaways and recommendations to student leaders and professional staff.
