This past September, JR Jackson teamed up with Special Olympics Unified Champion Schools® (SOUCS) to host "Media for the Movement," a twenty-three-college tour that targets students pursuing careers in sports information, journalism, broadcasting, advertising, and photojournalism. The 11-week tour was designed to educate and inform sports media students on the changing landscape of digital, television and radio, while highlighting inclusion and equality as part of the shifting media environment.
JR hosts “The JR SportBrief Show on CBS Sports Radio,” reaching more than 300 stations weeknights in North America. JR turned a love for sports, music, and the internet into a full time career with his hit YouTube sports blog, “JRSportBrief,” which has amassed more than 80 million views online. JR is more than a friend of the Special Olympics movement, having first attended the Special Olympics World Games as a member of the media in 2015. He is an advocate for people with intellectual disabilities and aims to spread the message of inclusion through his work.
Tour stops included The Ohio State University, University of Georgia, Columbia University, Florida State University, The University of Notre Dame, and many more. During the tour, JR presented at six historically black colleges and universities (HBCU’s) including Clark Atlanta University, Howard University and Morgan State University. Each campus stop featured lectures/Q&A where students heard from JR, local Special Olympics athletes, 12 state Programs, and Special Olympics College Clubs. On-air radio broadcasts with JR featured messages from a total of 92 Special Olympics athletes, Unified partners, coaches, local ambassadors, and Special Olympics staff.
“For me, sports isn't just a past-time or business mechanism, it's also a lever to balance out social inequalities. Thank you so much to every school, dean, professor, and student for believing in the message I wanted to share alongside Special Olympics. Quite frankly, go be amazing in life, while treating every person you meet with human decency and respect. Thank you again!”
