ISHSPA Conference Inspires “Echo” Staff

It was like a vacation, sort of.

Last Friday, the Echo staff took the day off from school to attend the annual Illinois State High School Press Association, or ISHSPA, held in the Illini Union on campus. ISHSPA is a state-wide group dedicated to guiding the journalists of tomorrow.

Upon arriving, we were each given our “press pass,” which gave us access to the sessions we would later go to. Since we arrived early, our staff got coffee and grabbed a table in the Illini Courtyard Cafe. From there, head scratching and endless pondering ensued. Some people were set on their classes, while others (like me) were indecisive. ‘Should I take the photo lecture, or the green journalism seminar?’ I asked my self, probably five times. Once we had our schedules set, we all parted for our first session!

First Session: Coach the Staff, Not the Stories

The lecture began right as Mandy and I took to our seats. The lecture was hosted by Jennifer Follis, Lecturer and the University of Illinois Department of Journalism. The seminar was all about motivating fellow staff members to take a deeper look into their articles; to not just explain what happened, but why. During the session students got to role play with Ms. Follis. One scenario, in which one student was ‘Mr. Borderline’ and Ms. Follis and he editor, gave observers an all too true account of what really goes on in the newsroom: reluctance of journalists to delve into their stories, and lack of organization from the editors and advisers. Even Mandy, co-editor of the Echo, was asked how to improve a typical article. At the end of the session, we grouped into pairs of three and acted through a typical brainstorm session that would take place in a newsroom. Overall, the meeting went well and Mandy and I left with some great ideas for the Echo Newsroom.

Second Session: Photography for Dynamic Pages

The room was packed when I arrived. I had to sit on the floor in the very front with some kids from the Chicago suburbs. While as much at it was inconvenient to crane your neck to the projector, it was great meeting some new people — especially those interested in photography like me. The session itself was sort of a bore: technical terms and lighting techniques that I and many other people in the room knew about. I would have rather the presenter, Shannon Hart, discuss conceptual techniques and career ideas. That aside, I met some great new friends and so did other people, which led me to tweet that I had “heard about 20 ‘Facebook me!’s” following the session.

Lunch!

One of the great things about holding a conference in the heart of any campus is that there is a wide array of food choices. You want Korean? Check. Greek? Check. Mexican? Check check check. Being the Chipotle geek that I am, I headed, along with copy editor Gwen Childers, straight for the place — grabbing a hefty burrito and some chips and guac (Chipotle slang for this heavenly food called guacamole). Our entire group met at the neighboring Noodles & Co. After about 15 minutes of reflection, we headed back to the Union for the keynote address.

The Keynote:

The keynote was by far the most, well, entertaining part of the conference.

The panel included three distinguished guests: Tracy Schmidt, editorial director of the Chicago Tribune Media Group’s recently launched blog network, ChicagoNow; Alicia Eler, Art Director for ChicagoNow; and Dan Schreiber, blogger and former editor of a local online culture magazine, smilepolitely.com. The discussion was mainly centered around the digital age of journalism and the changes young journalists will likely face in the future. Such a shift in the keynote is stark, compared to last year, when the keynote lacked any discussion of social networking, let alone recognizing the threat the web has on print journalism.

Yet at this year’s keynote, the ISHSPA panel created a twitter account which was heavily utilized during the Q&A portion. Twitter is a social networking tool that allows people to connect with each other through updates, or “tweets,” in less than 140 characters. I asked the question via twitter how will journalism as a profession still be viable once newspapers go out of business, To which the panel’s response was: “Newspapers may be THE place to be now. Restructuring means opportunity, willingness to try new ideas. Are YOURS up to the task?” It was fascinating seeing my tweets up on their twitter page. I really felt like I and other tweeters at the keynote were truly a part of the discussion.

Third Session: Illini Media Tour

Immediately following the keynote, Gwen and I visited the Illini Media building, home to the Daily Illini, The Buzz Weekly, and The Illio yearbook. The tour was, simply put, amazing. Composed of four floors, and situated right in the very heart of campus town, the place is hard to beat. A common misconception is that the Daily Illini is funded by the University. This is simply not true. In fact, the staff at the DI take pride in not receiving funds from the University. I don’t blame them; it would put some bias on the reporting — especially on university-related stories. The tour group, consisting of students from various high schools, got a first hand look at what newsroom looks like and how it’s run.

Overall, the Echo staff had a great time and I can tell that we are already excited for next year’s conference!