LONG BEACH – March 6th kicked off this year’s Spring National Media Conference sponsored by the Associated Collegiate Press held in Long Beach at the Hyatt Regency Event Center. The weekend was filled with panels and speakers both professional and student led with a major focus on journalism in the media landscape.
After a quick flight south, our team was fired up to get the conference started and learn from the best.
For some, expectations were set from the beginning. Abril Tellez (Copy Editor for the Solano Pulse) had their bar set high after attending a national conference with staff of the ASSC student government board, but used it as motivation to take full advantage of what the weekend would offer.
For most, it was their first time being in a professional networking event. Going in blind, however, would prove fortunate as it would influence how seriously to take the event. Acting responsibly, coming up with a schedule, making decisions even if it would mean going to a panel alone, would set the stage for the adventure that awaited.
On opening night, after all panels and breakout rooms had concluded, the entire student body attending was honored to host a keynote speaker from the Breaking News Team of the LA Times, Pulitzer Award Winner and decorated journalist Hannah Fry.
This would go on to be the highlight of the conference for many on our team, such as Jalen Spencer and Thomas Mercer (Staff Writers) who both went on to explain in greater detail that her account of the Palisades Fires was influential and inspiring.
Two of our students, Abril Tellez and Guilherme Souza (Staff Writer), even got a chance to go up to the mic after the keynote and have their own questions answered.
Abril goes on to speak about their experience saying, “When I first told my mom I wanted to become a journalist, she would freak out and bring up statistics of journalists dying [in the field]. And while true, it’s an important job that people should take more seriously.”
They went on to ask Hannah what would be some ways to alleviate the stress parents feel about their kids wanting to become journalists in this hostile world. With many in the audience both laughing nervously, while also taking a sigh of relief that they weren’t the only ones going through something similar.
Hannah spoke to the audience directly by asking them to confront whether or not they were truly passionate about journalism. So, while we may not always have the right words to alleviate their worries, we can help them know and understand that we will be ok following our calling.
For Sports Editor Elijah Reed, a panel led by Aaron “Showtime” Taylor proved most impactful.
Elijah went on to say, “AST was incarcerated for 25 years in the San Quentin Rehabilitation Center yet still found a way to pursue his passion announcing the play by play of games taking place in the prison’s basketball league. Becoming so good at announcing, that the Golden State Warriors reached out to him to promote a collaboration match between the players of the team and the prison. Taylor would go on to announce a few games for the Warriors as well.”
Our Staff Writer Jalen Spencer spoke about the changes that he would be implementing in his writing and work ethic. “Social media is evolving and perceiving it through the audience’s view is beneficial to be able to make proper connections. Landing interviews with celebrities means knowing how to approach their PR and how to move accordingly in order to deliver a more meaningful experience”, he added.
While most students were there to absorb information, some were driven to begin planning for their future.
Thomas Mercer spoke about his experience being an older student who still aspires for greatness beyond graduation. Mercer explained his plan to become a freelance writer for local news publications thoroughly and how the conference played a big part in taking the next steps.
There were also many career opportunities being promoted through graduate programs, internships, fellowships and non-profit work that really intrigued everyone on our staff.
The talk of the conference seemed to be the CalMatters internship program providing support to students through their non-profit organization. When many on our team learned about the opportunity to write for them, it became motivation to pick up the pen once again and work harder to deliver stories audiences want to read.
When asked about their biggest takeaway, most agreed that the team bonding we experienced helped us become closer as a community of writers who want to make a difference.
While it was great to see how other schools managed their journalism programs, The Solano Pulse Team knows that this is just the beginning and that this conference brought us one step closer to achieving our dreams to go on to have successful careers.
We are honored as a team to have gotten the chance to attend this year’s media conference and look forward to next year’s being closer to home in San Francisco.
