BGSU’s Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) chapter has been active this semester.
Six members took a trip to the Detroit News and Detroit Free Press in March to visit the newsrooms and talk with reporters/editors about preparing for a job in journalism. Students got to see the Pulitzer that the Free Press recently won for its coverage of the Kwame Kilpatrick scandal, and they also talked with online editors about the way they are using mobile to cover breaking news. They also got a tour of the original library at the Detroit Press that once employed 20 librarians to help reporters with their research. The building is up for sale, and both papers will be moving out soon. I’ve included a few pics of the library.
Also, over the weekend 10 students took a trip to the SPJ region 4 conference in Dayton. The highlight of the event was listening to Ross Gallabrese, the executive editor of the Herald-Star in Steubenville, OH, talk about coverage of the Steubenville trial. Students also heard from several other interesting speakers. In another seminar Glenn Hartong of the Cincinnati Enquirer discussed how all the reporters were now using iPhones in their coverage to shoot video. The Dispatch also brought along copies of the newly resized paper that they have developed along with the Enquirer.
SPJ faculty adviser Mike Horning took some pictures of the events.