Retha Hill is the executive director of the Digital Media Innovation and Entrepreneurship Lab at the Cronkite School. The lab's journalism, computer science and graphic design majors create innovative products — including web applications, social media tools and mobile apps — for media clients. She joined the Cronkite School faculty in 2007 after nearly eight years at BET, where she was vice president for content for BET Interactive, the online unit of Black Entertainment Television and the most visited site specializing in African-American content on the internet. Before joining BET, Hill was executive producer for special projects at washingtonpost.com. Hill won a grant from the 2010 Knight News Challenge to create SeedSpeak, a platform for location-based collaboration, reporting, idea sharing and promotion, as well as a 2010 J-Lab Women Entrepreneurs Grant to build a black history augmented reality mobile app. She is owner of Painted Desert Media, LLC, and speaks frequently about social media and innovation.

Steve Elliott is the founding director of Cronkite News Service's print journalism program. He joined the Cronkite School in September 2006 after a 19-year career with the Associated Press (AP) — the world's largest news organization. Elliott's AP career included tours as a reporter, newsroom manager, bureau chief and business executive. At Cronkite News Service, Elliott leads groups of advanced students in coverage of statewide stories for newspapers and news websites. Their stories appear regularly in nearly 30 publications across the state and region. Steve Elliott has a bachelor's degree in journalism and religious studies from the University of Arizona and an MBA from ASU.

Steve Doig joined the Cronkite faculty in 1996 as the school's first Knight Chair in Journalism following a 23-year career in newspaper journalism. An expert in computer-assisted reporting, Doig was part of an investigative team at the Miami Herald that won the 1993 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for an analysis on how weakened building codes and poor construction contributed to the devastation of Hurricane Andrew. Doig holds a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College.

Tim McGuire is the former editor and senior vice president of the Minneapolis Star Tribune, the nation's 17th-largest daily newspaper. He served as president of the American Society of Newspaper Editors and wrote a nationally syndicated column, "More Than Work," focusing on ethics, spirituality and values in the workplace, before joining the Cronkite School in 2006 as the Frank Russell Chair in the Business of Journalism. McGuire teaches courses in ethics, diversity and the business of journalism, and serves as mentor to graduate students. He holds a doctorate from the William Mitchell College of Law.