Last week, nine members of the Spectator staff traveled to Phoenix, Ariz., for the annual conference sponsored by the Associated Collegiate Press, an organization for student newspapers.
Our friends and family from the Edinboro area called with news of feet of snow, while we soaked up the warm Arizona sun in between journalism workshops. (Jealous yet?)
Even better than the break we got from Edinboro weather, though, was what we learned from the professors, editors, designers and journalists who spoke at the conference.
From Thursday through Sunday, we attended sessions concerning newspaper and magazine design, media ethics, tips on how to coach writers, surviving professional journalism, using social networks as a news source, and even blogging.
We got a lot out of sessions such as “The Eyes Have It,” in which we learned about good communication skills, and the wonderfully named “How To Survive Being An Editor Without Killing Someone,” which pretty much explains itself.
As a small newspaper staff from a small school, it was interesting and enlightening to interact with other student staffers from around the country to share our experiences, accumulated wisdom and—of course—newspapers.
We learned a lot about the ever-changing newspaper business. But what was perhaps the best part was learning more about where we, as a student paper, stand.
Excuse us while we ruffle our feathers a bit, but compared to the college papers from Oregon and Florida and Michigan, the Spectator isn’t half bad. Consider yourselves lucky.
We hear all the time that the newspaper business is dying.
But after our long weekend in Phoenix, we aren’t so sure. Mass media is changing, sure, but it is alive and well.
The staff here at the Spectator has always been dedicated to producing a high quality, appealing paper every week.
But having hob-nobbed with some of the best professionals in our industry, we are even more inspired to make the Spectator a smart, sophisticated publication.
Readers, if you have suggestions for how we can improve our campus newspaper, please let us know.
And, as always, happy reading!
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