-hM~i~~ .J.k~ BIG EASY FOR journalism Eighteen students and three faculty members set out on a road trip in September to a city of different ethnicities, cultures and traditions, hoping to learn more aboutjournalism in the process. The Society of ProfessionalJournalists (SPJ) and Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) attended the Excellence in Journalism Conference that took place in New Orleans this year, attending breakout sessions with journalists from all over the country and listening to keynote speakers from a variety of news outlets. Formerly conducted with the National Association of Broadcasters, the RTDNA conference teamed up with SPJ this year to bring print, broadcast and radio journalists together for the first time. RTDNA sponsor Dutch Hoggatt responded positively to the event and expressed some future goals for the conference. "I liked the idea of SPJ and RTDNA combining forces for a joint convention," Hoggatt said. "I'm hoping that at some point they may conduct their convention with the National Association of Broadcasters in Las Vegas." SPJ sponsor Jim Miller believed the trip gave students the opportunity to bond with peers and faculty members as well as to meet professionals in the areas of journalism where they may not have been interested previously. "It is imperative that all journalists know how to tell stories through a variety of media today," Miller said. "This is the reality in the digital era. We all have our specialties. Some of us are writers, some are photographers, some are videographers. But today we must know how to do a little bit of everything. Writers need to understand the basics of video storytelling, and photographers need to be able to write well. The Web is a great equalizer. It demands that every storyteller know how to use a variety of media." According to SPJ President senior John Mark Adkison, the conference was a great success and a learning experience for all involved. "I love being brought together in one big conference," Adkison said. "There are so many more people from different backgrounds. The range of personality types explodes when you bring people from the different corners of journalism together. I think the digital age is really going to be the most beneficial thing for true journalism because now we can get our information out quicker and with a lot of elbow room for creativity we would not have otherwise." Ashley Rosenbaum fQQ Communication ~Tt:>NA Row 1: M. Weaver, A. Mare, M.Jones. Row 2: M.Jones, C. Briggs, M. Chaffin. Row 3:]. Shrable, M. Hughes,]. Cronin, D. Hoggatt (sponsor).
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