Newspaper, magazines, web-design, photography, broadcast, and yearbook. All things journalism were represented Oct. 16 at the Fall Scholastic Journalism Conference. A morning of connecting guest speakers, professionals, advisors and student journalist peers within the Kettle Moraine Press Association (KEMPA) community began at 9 a.m.
The theme, Power of the Press, was chosen in reflection of the current journalism climate – emphasizing the need for the media to protect and defend the fundamentals of journalism; the public’s right to both inquiry and free speech.
The event started with an award ceremony for past submitted works. After the applause from the now uplifted crowd settled and a brief fire alarm intermission, guest speaker and reporter for CBS 58 News in Milwaukee, Andie Bernhardt, introduced the event. She explained the core identity of what ‘power of the press’ meant and how students can apply that mindset to their own work.
“One of the really cool stories I covered was at the Brewers Game and it was just a simple story about tailgating,” Bernhardt said. “But I talked with a lady who flew in to the game to meet up with her kidney donor. Like this is cool that this happened in my community. The power of the press stretches in so many ways. That is why we need journalists who can work with integrity and accurately share both positive and negative stories.”
Following the opening introduction in the University Center’s Hamilton Room, both advisors and students chose two sessions to attend. Sessions ranged from different skills and mediums, covering a wide variety of educational topics and discussions helpful for student publications.
“I attended the ‘Captions That Captivate’ session,” said Joseph Wendt-Clemens, a member of Middleton High School Yearbook staff. “They went into the basic structures of formatting captions. The main takeaway was how to get a good hook and a good title that will make people want to keep reading.”
While some sessions covered just the basics, there were differing opportunities to meet you wherever your skill level was at.
“We went to ‘Review a Movie, Review the World,’” said Makayla Trochiniski, newspaper reporter for The Red ‘n’ Green at Berlin High School. “It went over how to write a good review and how to base your opinion from a fair, yet honest standpoint. I was really looking forward to being with all my friends, since most of them are in the newspaper as well.”
Being a modern journalist now involves knowing the basics of many different facets, from photography to digital design. Throughout the sessions, students had the opportunity to explore beyond their area of expertise.
“I really wanted to get more experience on how to get the crowd more engaged with what we’re producing,” said Hailey Schiebel, member of E And E school broadcast network. “However, I ended up going to event photography basics and really enjoyed learning about something new.”
After two sessions and some exploration of UW-W, students and advisors took their newfound knowledge back to improve on their own school’s publication.