2008 Woodie Awards
TSU holds strong presence at conference
Tiffany Williams
Copy Desk Chief
Issue date: 2/18/08 Section: Campus News
BALTIMORE-Enthusiastic, young journalists from around the country crowded the newsroom for the first Student Media Project at the National HBCU Newspaper Media Conference Feb. 13-17.
The Student Media Project gave students the opportunity to cover the conference as well as create their own pieces of work. More than 40 students, including seven from TSU, were chosen to participate in the project, writing, copy editing, laying out, taking photos and shooting video.
To commemorate the 10th anniversary, the conference was brought back to its native city of Baltimore and hosted by Morgan State University.
This year Black College Communication Association and the conference committee featured not only print newspapers, but all forms of media.
"(I'm) always glad to see students from HBCUs doing well," said Kasey Jones, assignment editor for the Associated Press and one of the advisors for the project. "I'm grateful (the students) were willing to travel to the conference."
Before the conference began, the Student Media Project was added to enhance student involvement. TSU along with some of the other HBCU's became involved.
"TSU's participation was a blessing because this event was put together at the last minute," said the project's coordinator, Brian Henderson, who is also news design editor for The Baltimore Sun. "We didn't have that many students signed up at first."
However, as the project progressed, many more students joined. Jones said after word-of-mouth traveled, "we had to turn some students away."
According to Denise Brown, coordinator for this year's conference, the idea for the Student Media Project was taken from the student project done by students at the National Association of Black Journalists held in Las Vegas last summer. All major professional journalism conferences include a component similar to this one.
"There was great representation from all the schools," said Ju-Don Roberts, managing editor for Washingtonpost.com and the project.
"We were extremely fortunate to have a huge turnout. And this is one of the best student newsrooms I've seen."
Out of the 21 schools in attendance, about seven schools participated in the project, and more than 30 stories were uploaded onto the project's Web site,http://hbcu-journal.com.
Morgan State showed the largest amount of participation, but TSU also had a large influence on the project writing 11 stories, copy editing over 10 stories and taking an abundance of photos.
"TSU has had one of the biggest presences aside from Morgan State," Jones said.
Ryan Marshall, a senior broadcast journalism major at Morgan State from Indianapolis said he loved the Student Media Project.
"I was happy to see so many black people working together," Marshall said.
The students were excited to help and grateful for the opportunity and the exposure. Cara Anthony, editor-in-chief for TSU's The Meter said, "I'm glad to see that TSU had 11 contributions to the Student Media Project. We came out, did our work and really had a great time."
This year's turn out was so successful, many of the professionals assisting look forward to making the project an annual event.
"We will definitely continue to do this," Roberts said. "BCCA has made a commitment to the student newsroom going forward."
Many of the advisors were happy with the students' dedication, and applauded their work.
"We were really proud of the students' dedication, and commitment," Roberts said.
Aside from the project, the conference also included various sessions conducted by professional journalists and a job fair organized by the American Society of Newspaper Editors. Jones encourages all students to take advantage of the many opportunities available.
"Take part in this valuable experience," Jones said. "I've already sent one student to go to my employer (during) the job fair. This (conference) is a chance to network and hear about jobs that are available."
The articles written by students are already posted on the site. Many students, including Anthony, said they look forward to participating in the project next year when the conference will be held at North Carolina Central in Durham, N.C.
"I'm looking forward to going down to Durham and doing (the project) again," Marshall said, "not only as a student, but to come back as a professional."•
The Student Media Project gave students the opportunity to cover the conference as well as create their own pieces of work. More than 40 students, including seven from TSU, were chosen to participate in the project, writing, copy editing, laying out, taking photos and shooting video.
To commemorate the 10th anniversary, the conference was brought back to its native city of Baltimore and hosted by Morgan State University.
This year Black College Communication Association and the conference committee featured not only print newspapers, but all forms of media.
"(I'm) always glad to see students from HBCUs doing well," said Kasey Jones, assignment editor for the Associated Press and one of the advisors for the project. "I'm grateful (the students) were willing to travel to the conference."
Before the conference began, the Student Media Project was added to enhance student involvement. TSU along with some of the other HBCU's became involved.
"TSU's participation was a blessing because this event was put together at the last minute," said the project's coordinator, Brian Henderson, who is also news design editor for The Baltimore Sun. "We didn't have that many students signed up at first."
However, as the project progressed, many more students joined. Jones said after word-of-mouth traveled, "we had to turn some students away."
According to Denise Brown, coordinator for this year's conference, the idea for the Student Media Project was taken from the student project done by students at the National Association of Black Journalists held in Las Vegas last summer. All major professional journalism conferences include a component similar to this one.
"There was great representation from all the schools," said Ju-Don Roberts, managing editor for Washingtonpost.com and the project.
"We were extremely fortunate to have a huge turnout. And this is one of the best student newsrooms I've seen."
Out of the 21 schools in attendance, about seven schools participated in the project, and more than 30 stories were uploaded onto the project's Web site,http://hbcu-journal.com.
Morgan State showed the largest amount of participation, but TSU also had a large influence on the project writing 11 stories, copy editing over 10 stories and taking an abundance of photos.
"TSU has had one of the biggest presences aside from Morgan State," Jones said.
Ryan Marshall, a senior broadcast journalism major at Morgan State from Indianapolis said he loved the Student Media Project.
"I was happy to see so many black people working together," Marshall said.
The students were excited to help and grateful for the opportunity and the exposure. Cara Anthony, editor-in-chief for TSU's The Meter said, "I'm glad to see that TSU had 11 contributions to the Student Media Project. We came out, did our work and really had a great time."
This year's turn out was so successful, many of the professionals assisting look forward to making the project an annual event.
"We will definitely continue to do this," Roberts said. "BCCA has made a commitment to the student newsroom going forward."
Many of the advisors were happy with the students' dedication, and applauded their work.
"We were really proud of the students' dedication, and commitment," Roberts said.
Aside from the project, the conference also included various sessions conducted by professional journalists and a job fair organized by the American Society of Newspaper Editors. Jones encourages all students to take advantage of the many opportunities available.
"Take part in this valuable experience," Jones said. "I've already sent one student to go to my employer (during) the job fair. This (conference) is a chance to network and hear about jobs that are available."
The articles written by students are already posted on the site. Many students, including Anthony, said they look forward to participating in the project next year when the conference will be held at North Carolina Central in Durham, N.C.
"I'm looking forward to going down to Durham and doing (the project) again," Marshall said, "not only as a student, but to come back as a professional."•
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