Ira David Levy
Instructor, Director of the Collegian Media Group
Levyid@ksu.edu
Levyid@collegianmedia.com
Campus office: Kedzie Hall, Room 103
Ira (David) Levy joined the A.Q. Miller School of Media and Communication in 2020 as a result of an extensive national search to find a seasoned professional to advise the Collegian newspaper and serve as Director of the Collegian Media group (CMG), overseeing its affiliated publications, the Royal Purple yearbook and Manhappenin’ magazine.
Prior to K-State, Levy was the student media adviser at Appalachian State University in Boone, North Carolina. Before joining the faculty at Appalachian State, he advised student media for 16 years at Wright College, in Chicago.
At Appalachian State, Levy advised a staff of 70 students who published a daily online newspaper, the Appalachian, and a live weekly television newscast for the local cable channel. Levy's students earned 36 national and statewide awards through the College Media Association and the Associated Collegiate Press, including a 2nd Place win for Best TV Newscast among all four-year universities after his students produced just five episodes. Additionally, the print and online editions of the Appalachian were judged as the top publications in their categories at the North Carolina College Media Association competitions for two consecutive years.
Since joining K-State and directing the Collegian Media Group, CMG publications have won more than 100 state-wide and national awards, including a Pacemaker for Best Yearbook in the country. The Pacemaker is considered the Pulitzer of college journalism.
In addition to having published many regional and national magazine and newspaper articles, Levy also has a background in television. An avid cyclist, he executive produced and hosted the nationally distributed television series for the Public Broadcasting System, Pedal America, which was seen by 92% of the PBS audience in the U.S. and Canada. He also worked as a writer and associate producer at CNN, in Atlanta.
Levy teaches classes in magazine feature writing, news reporting and writing across multimedia platforms, copy editing and media ethics. At Wright College he also taught business writing and built a course called The News Media and 9/11: Moving the country from crisis to continuity. Levy is born and raised in The Big Apple. Upon joining K-State he said, “Yea! I get to write ‘Manhattan’ on my mailing address again.”