Campus Coverage Project: Day #1
January 7, 2011 § 1 Comment
Phoenix, AZ. “It’s the best time to be in the business,” according to Manny Garcia, executive editor of El Nuevo Herald.
So for all of you naysayers who doubt the power of journalism and its ability to subsist as a shifting industry, the joke’s on you. With the advent of social media and advanced digital storytelling techniques, journalists are better equipped to break news more quickly and over a larger audience base than traditional media allows for.
The opportunities are there, and as Garcia pointed out, they belong to those with varied skill sets, as well as the personality and drive to earn the trust of sources. But most importantly, they often go to the reporters with an investigative edge. Because after all, “Watchdog sells papers and moves ratings.”
And here in Phoenix, it’s what personally drives over 75 participants in this year’s Campus Coverage Project, a co-partnered conference aimed at providing college journalists with the tools they need to sufficiently cover the institutions they attend.
After a rousing introduction from IRE’s Mark Horvit detailing an array of breaking and important work, all from college journalists, I can say without a doubt that I am pumped for whatever this weekend has in store!
Horvit discussed the pressing need for more coverage of the massive institutions that are often responsible for large community employment, command millions of dollars in funding and are routinely overlooked. The importance of the higher education beat is important not only from an economical standpoint, but from a social context as well. As Horvit pointed out, these are the very institutions that are responsible for producing much of America’s future leaders of business and industry.
And who better to cover the university beat than university students?
You tell it Jenny! It’s been so nice meeting you!