Two weeks ago, the editorial board of Northern Review attended College Media Association’s (CMA) national conference in New Orleans, LA. At the conference, student journalists and their advisors gather to learn more about running a student newsroom, attend professional development seminars, accept awards, and network with other collegiate organizations. Here’s a brief review of what we did.
Networking and Professional Development
As with most collegiate conferences, CMA provided our team with the chance to make new contacts and receive feedback on our media outlet. I had the chance to speak with representatives of the Student Press Law Center and the editors-in-chief of other Ohio and out-of-state colleges’ newspapers.
Every year, we also pay for two professional critiques. One is offered by Associated Collegiate Press, and is written and sent to us weeks after the conference. The other is conducted impromptu, in-person by a faculty advisor volunteer belonging to one of the other schools’ newspapers. This year, the feedback we received focused mostly on webpage visuals, internal recruitment, handbook development, and retention issues (if anyone wants to write for Northern Review, feel free to let me know at any time).
Awards
Northern Review took home five national awards from two different juried competitions. From the conference’s Best of Show selection, we placed in sports photography for Multimedia Editor Evelyn Megery’s “Polar Bears Celebrate Landslide Football Victory Amidst Homecoming Festivities.” Although we can’t take credit for this one, we also represented Polaris, Ohio Northern’s literary magazine, which also placed in the Best of Show for its respective category. I am always amazed by the stunning quality of each new Polaris issue, and I cannot congratulate their entire membership enough.
The second contest from which we earned awards is College Media Association’s Pinnacle contest. Our entire staff won third place among Division III schools for Best Website Front Page. I won an honorable mention for Best Interactive Infographic and second place for Best Overall Campus Media Engagement for “Help Ohio Northern Decide What to Cut (Hypothetically).” Additionally, Northern Review also won third place in Division III for Best Headline for “Sticks and Stones May Lake my Bones.”
Presentation
For the first time ever, Northern Review’s editorial team was invited to present at CMA. Our presentation was titled “Small but Mighty: Northern Review’s Formula for Success in a Small University.” During our past experiences at CMA, we’ve noticed a lack of programming which directly addresses the unique struggles of student papers at small universities, and we wanted to help provide some insights. In addition to sharing Northern Review’s story, we provided some practical advice for student journalists with a small staff.
For 9AM on the last day of the conference, I’m proud of drawing an attendance of twenty-some people, from large and small institutions. One attendee was an English faculty who’s working to start up a student newspaper at their school. We stayed after and spoke with them for 40 minutes. I can’t speak on behalf of anyone else, but this was by far the highlight of my experience. One of the fundamental purposes of student media is to engage with a community beyond oneself. Having an impact not only on Ohio Northern’s campus, but on other schools, is the most fulfilling thing I could imagine coming from our trip to New Orleans.