In Chicago, the summer of 1976, on Aug. 30th the world was introduced to Joe Dennis. Little did anyone know, he would go out and try to discover everyone’s story as a journalist, all while adorned in his iconic fedora.
“[Journalism] made me motivated to change the world. And it’s made me motivated to uncover stories like that and to shine a spotlight on things that need to be addressed,” Dennis said.
Born and raised in the Southside of Chicago, Dennis was brought up in a way familiar to many Filipinos: a Catholic household. He attended Catholic school through 12th grade and once school was over, he decided “the first thing I couldn’t wait to do was not go to church, because I was so tired of it.”
However, since meeting his wife, he became closer to his faith once he found a church that reaffirmed his beliefs.
“My Christian belief at the core of Christianity is Jesus and being a Christ centered person. Just treating everyone with love and respect and not judging,” Dennis said.
Along with his religious beliefs, Dennis has grown to become a man of many passions. His love of Kesha, the White Socks, and his utter hatred of the Mcdonalds on Prince, as well AT&T, are what make Dennis unlike any other. Among his many passions is one that he holds close to his heart. His love of journalism. Dennis was introduced to the world of journalism through an odd pairing, volleyball and pizza. Through this unique connection, Dennis dove head first into the world of journalism as a student at North Central College.
“I looked at college as a time to kind of reinvent myself, and I wanted to be a big fish in a little pond, as opposed to a small fish in a big pond,” said Dennis.
Being a big fish in a little pond was exactly what Dennis accomplished at his first job in Monroe, Georgia at the Walton Tribune. Dabbling in many forms of media, Dennis settled on becoming a host for the radio show “The Big Rock Show.” He was the disc jockey for this show for 10 years.
“I became a professional disc jockey, I emulated that energy that they had to their shows like it, you know, just very high energy, and I use that now, even still to this day, because I’m the public address announcer for the Georgia hockey team. I still get to have some of that energy that I love communicating when I do that.”
Eventually, Dennis left the journalism world to become a dad. He now resides in Athens, Georgia, where he lives with his wife Carla, and his three sons. Currently, he is an associate professor of mass communications at Piedmont University. Dennis shares his passions and love for journalism with many young students through the UGA summer programs at Grady college. He continues to share valuable advice to students looking to follow in the career of journalism.
“If you’re like a news journalist or a community journalist, you will develop empathy,” Dennis continued, “It’s undeniable, because you are put in situations and you see things that you wouldn’t, never, likely, never normally see.”
Despite not being a journalist, Dennis still looks back on his time being a journalist as a happy time.
“I love journalism and I love getting to meet people and hear their stories, and, yeah, I would definitely do it over again.”
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