Micah Grimes, a Troy University graduate who is head of social media for NBC News and MSNBC, will speak at the Troy Campus on Feb. 18 about how journalists can succeed using social media.

“Journalism, Social Media and Business: How to Excel in a Volatile Time for News” will be his topic for the annual symposium sponsored by the Hall School of Journalism and Communication.

The public is invited to the symposium, which will take place at 10 a.m. in the ballrooms of the Trojan Center on the main campus in Troy. Admission is free.

“We’ll discuss how applying the tried-and-true principles of journalism and business, with tweaks for the volatility of social media business models, still leads to successful strategies for journalists who are trying to break into the business or looking for ways to continue their growth in their current careers,” Grimes said.

Based in New York City, Grimes oversees NBC News and MSNBC social efforts with a total of more than 25 million followers across 50-plus social media accounts for dozens of brands and sub-brands, including broadcast and cable TV shows and digital media.

He leads a team of editors in New York City, Los Angeles and London, who execute a round-the-clock, network-wide business and editorial social media strategy with international stakeholders who include executives, producers, editors, anchors, correspondents and writers.

He previously oversaw social efforts at ABC News, and worked for network affiliates in Tampa and Montgomery before and after graduating in 2010 from Troy, where he completed a degree in broadcast journalism and played football for the Trojans.

“Micah knows social media, how the national and international media operate, and how young journalists can succeed,” said Steve Stewart, assistant professor of journalism. “He can relate directly to our students because he has been exactly where they are.”

The Feb. 18 event is the university’s M. Stanton Evans Symposium on Money, Politics and the Media, named for a Troy faculty member who was a national columnist, commentator, book author, and editor of the Indianapolis News. Stan Evans held the university’s Buchanan Chair of Journalism from 1980 until his death in 2015.

More information is available from Stewart at sstewart71298@troy.edu or 334-672-3192.