LE .AR~ING F HO ~1 'r II E ] > I~ S., "I., > ~ '- Ry .\fichacl /kSulvo On Sept. 18-20, student members of the Society of Professional Journalists and Student Publications traveled 18 hours to attend the 2015 Excellence in Journalism Conference in Orlando, Florida. The Radio Television Digital News Association, Society of Professional Journalists and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists hosted the conference. Professionals from across the world of journalism, including broadcast, news and freelance journalists, were in attendance. The group also met ·with several Harding alumni who worked in the field. The conference focused on "providing journalists with the industry's best training and networking opportunities," according its website. For eight years, Harding's SPJ chapter had sought to promote the importance ofjournalism in society. Dr. Jim Miller, chair of the department of communication, served as the SPJ adviser. Miller said the conference offered a lot of potential for the aspiring journalists. "To me, the most important thing for faculty and students is to connect with professionals who attend the conference," Miller said. Not only did the students learn from professional journalists, but their registration provided them with free two-day passes to Walt Disney World. Sophomore journalism major and SPJ president William Jackson, who desired to pursue a career in investigative journalism, said he became more interested in freelancing after attending the conference. "I went to a session about freelancing, and I learned that you shouldn't be too concerned about their (news agencies') terms and specific guidelines," Jackson said. "The speaker compared it to dating Senior Dani£'/ Slwf{c,· dil'ects senior Kaleigh Evans" lil'e news broadcast. Students ran and prnduced crn l/U16 neu•scc1st et'<'ry IH01ufoy through Friday at 5 p.m. I Photo by Hecca Riley 2Ci2 OH(;,\:'\IZ.\TIO:'\S ... and he gave us practical advice." The conference included discussions on a wide variety of subjects, from a CNN producer's workshop to current trends in digital tools in journalism. Miller attended a panel discussion given by the dean of the University of Missouri School of Journalism and a writer for Atlantic Magazine. They discussed how to cover intense and controversial topics, such as student death, sexual assault and racism. Senior web design major Carrie Wingfield said learning more about the graphics and digital tools in journalism was eye-opening. "There is a need for web design in journalism," Wingfield said. "The lectures I went to focused on technology, research and collaboration. It was neat to see how people are working now, rather than what I had first thought."
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