Ethics in Journalism

We hope you didn’t miss this! Thank you to our outstanding group of panelists and moderators for our first Suncoast Spotlight webinar, Ethics in Journalism. So much valuable information from this exceptional group of professionals! Samuel A. Terilli, Jr., Bob Steele, Myriam Masihy, Terence Shepherd, Willard Shepard, and Gina Presson from the University of Miami – thank you, thank you!! The webinar was streamed LIVE on YouTube.




Sam Terilli

Ethics in Journalism Moderator
Department Chair, Associate Professor, Journalism & Media Management,
University of Miami, School of Communication

Sam Terilli holds a J. D. from the University of Michigan Law School.

He practiced media, commercial, and employment law for more than 30 years, including 12 years as the General Counsel of the Miami Herald Publishing Company and 6 years as a partner in a national law firm. He served on the Miami Herald’s editorial board for six years, writing editorials and columns, and spent two extended assignments in the Herald’s newsroom, once to lead a reorganization of the news operations and once as a working reporting and editor to study the news operations. He has published several articles on media law and management issues. His research interests include privacy, defamation, commercial speech, access to public records and other information controlled by government, newsroom management, media ethics, and history, and the relationships between expression and litigation. He has been involved in a number of civic and professional organizations, including for example the Miami Children’s Museum Board of Directors, IRE (Investigative Reporters & Editors, Inc., as pro bono counsel), the Florida Bar’s Media and Communications Law Committee, the Society of Professional Journalists Regional Board of Directors (Florida) and the board of the National Scholastic Press Association. He currently serves as a vice-chair of the Faculty Senate.


Bob Steele

Ethics in Journalism Panelist

Bob Steele’s 45-year professional career spans professional journalism and ethics, academia and the military. He spent nearly 20 years guiding the journalism ethics program at The Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, FL, working with journalists across the country and around the world. He consulted for dozens of news organizations and he helped guide the process of evaluating and rewriting the NPR News Code of Ethics. He has been frequently interviewed by news organizations including The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, NBC Nightly News, and CNN. From 2008-2014 Bob was a distinguished professor in journalism ethics at his undergraduate alma mater, DePauw University, teaching first-year seminars on values and storytelling, as well as journalism ethics classes and leadership ethics seminars. He also served as director of the Janet Prindle Institute for Ethics.

Bob graduated from DePauw in 1969 with a degree in economics. Right out of college he enlisted in the Army and served as a Signal Corps Officer in Vietnam in 1971-72. He then received his M.S. degree in television-radio from Syracuse University and spent nearly a decade as a television reporter and newsroom manager in Maine and Iowa. He earned his Ph.D. from the University of Iowa writing his dissertation on journalism ethics.


Myriam Masihy

Ethics in Journalism Panelist

Myriam Masihy is a multiple Emmy award-winning investigative reporter for Telemundo 51 and NBC 6 South Florida. Myriam has dedicated her 19-year television career to addressing viewers’ concerns and working to solve problems in the community.

She currently works as part of the NBC6 Investigators, NBC6 Responds, Telemundo 51 Responde, and Telemundo 51 Investiga teams. Previously, she created a segment at Univision 23 called “El 23 A Tu Lado.” The Miami-Dade State Attorney’s Office has called her work “an instrumental tool in helping uncover scams that affect consumers.”

In 2009, Myriam exposed mortgage foreclosure rescue scams that helped the Attorney General of Florida shut down several companies. During that time, Regional Deputy Attorney General Cindy Guerra said “while it is impossible to calculate the exact number of people that were spared from scams by virtue of Ms. Masihy’s reports, it is clear a great number of victims were affected by her reports. Only hours after Ms. Masihy’s reports aired, our agency received thousands of complaints from consumers who called to report being victims of Lincoln Lending’s unscrupulous actions. Prior to her reports airing, we had received less than 50 complaints which were the basis of our lawsuit. Ms. Masihy’s reports made a real difference in the South Florida Hispanic community.”

Before working as an investigative reporter in South Florida, Myriam was the Broward Bureau correspondent for Noticias 23. She also worked as a news anchor and general assignment reporter for Univision 41 in New York and as a correspondent for the network shows “Noticiero Univision”, “Ultima Hora” and “Primer Impacto.”

She has a bachelor’s degree in Communication from UNIACC in Santiago, Chile and is married to Gino “Latino” Reyes whom she met while working in radio. They have two beautiful daughters, Gabriela and Fahra who bring meaning to their lives.

Inspired by their two adopted daughters, in 2009 Myriam and Gino created the charity organization called Kakes 4 Kids that celebrates the birthdays of over 400 foster and underprivileged children in South Florida


Terence Shepherd

Ethics in Journalism Panelist

Terence Shepherd is news director at WLRN News, the public radio news outlet serving Broward, Miami-Dade, Palm Beach and Monroe counties. He is past chairman of the Radio Television Digital News Association and current chair of the organization’s foundation.

He first experienced the power of public radio in 2007 while co-creating and providing editorial direction for the WLRN-Miami Herald “Friday Business Report” weekly feature segment.

Before joining the station, Terence was managing editor of a financial website and previously spent 14 years editing business and financial coverage at The Miami Herald and as a clerk and editor at the Boca Raton News.

He is dedicated to nonprofit causes, education, networking and mentoring, and feeds these interests by actively participating in several professional journalism organizations. 

Before journalism, he worked in the commodity brokerage business as a compliance and operations manager.

Terence, a native of Louisville, Ky., graduated from St. Andrew’s School in Sewanee, Tennessee, and has degrees from the University of Virginia and Florida Atlantic University. He was a 2016 fellow in the Next Generation Leadership program.


Willard Shepard

Ethics in Journalism Panelist 

Five-time Emmy award-winning journalist, attorney, and Gulf War fighter pilot Willard Shepard has brought his unique insight to NBC 6 viewers as an anchor and investigative reporter for more than 20 years. He has anchored the 5 p.m., 5:30 p.m., and weekend editions of the NBC 6 News. Shepard, a member of the Florida Bar, uses his legal skills to develop consumer investigations that uncover fraud in private business and government. His reports also show families how to protect their daily finances, home, credit, and investments.

An expert in the military and aviation, Shepard uses his combat experience to guide viewers through the ongoing war on terror at home and abroad. He gives the public an inside look at the federal, state, and local efforts to keep America safe. His work detailing underwater anti-terror efforts to protect ports and cruise ships earned him an Emmy award. During the military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan, his military background brought a detailed perspective on the battlefront. He has also covered military conflicts in Bosnia and Kosovo.

Shepard came to WTVJ in 1994 from CBS affiliate WJW-TV in Cleveland, Ohio, where he anchored the morning news and was a special projects reporter where he received an Emmy Award for his news series “The State of Black Cleveland.” He has also been honored for his reporting by the Associated Press, United Press International, and the Aviation and Space Writers Association.

In addition to his commitment to news, Shepard is a Lt. Colonel in the United States Air Force Reserve. His A-10 squadron was the first Air Force Reserve Fighter unit ever to go into combat. During the Gulf War, Shepard flew 52 combat sorties over Iraq and Kuwait. He was awarded six Air Medals for his support of Coalition Army Ground Forces. Shepard has also flown missions over Bosnia for NATO. He is the first Air Force pilot to fly the Soviet Mig-29 fighter. As a staff officer, Lt. Colonel Shepard examined air operations programs at U.S. Southern Command. For the Air Force Reserve, he assists high school students in obtaining ROTC scholarships and appointments to the USAF Academy. He now flies search and rescue missions for the USAF Civil Air Patrol.

He is a graduate of the Florida International University College of Law and specializes in media and aviation legal issues. Shepard graduated cum laude from Temple University in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, with a Bachelor’s Degree in Communications and Theater. He is a distinguished graduate of the U.S. Air Force Officer Training School in San Antonio, Texas, and a finalist for the prestigious White House Fellowship program.

Shepard is actively involved in the community. He currently works with the Miami-Dade County School Board’s “5,000 Role Models” program, teaching middle school and high school students the values they need to succeed. He and his wife, Tainna, have two kids, Gianmarco and Francesca.


If you’d like more information about connecting with our panelists, please contact Karla MacDonald, Suncoast Chapter Executive Director at emmysuncoast@gmail.com.

SPA Suncoast Spotlight Ethics in Journalism flyer. Download here.