On Saturday April 24th, The BJASC held its second in a series of occasional seminars for college students titled “The Future of Journalism” at USC’s Waite Phillips Hall. New Media maestros from the blogosphere and award-winning veterans from the mainstream shared their expertise in lively discussions with students and instructors from several local universities. Traditional media outlets represented included KNBC, CNN, CBS Network News, KPCC Radio, The Los Angeles Times and Our Weekly along with new platforms from Yahoo! and websites YouBeenBlinded.com and TheUrbanPostWorldwide.com.

The full day of workshops focused on skill and survival in the changing world of journalism. The opening session dealt with “The Fundamentals” and featured radio host Tony Cox, LA Times columnist Sandy Banks, CNN Entertainment producer Karen Bonsignore and NPR reporter Karen Grigsby Bates. The discussion, moderated by BJASC Vice President of Broadcast and Fox11’s Al Naipo, emphasized the importance of writing, research and solid reporting in this age of New Media. The speakers underscored the value of multiple internships as a means for prospective employees to stand out from the crowd.

Session Number Two, all about “Finding Your Niche”, was guided by BJASC Board Member Lois Pitter-Bruce, formerly of KCBS and now in corporate communications with Southern California Edison. Panelists Natalie Cole of Our Weekly, Brian Watt of KPCC, Ole Alemaru of Wave Newspapers and blogger/publicist/activist Jasmyne Cannick candidly addressed how varied job descriptions can comprise a career in journalism. They also acknowledged the life choices and work setbacks they’ve faced along the way. Bottom line? Success wears many faces.

Over a fajita-buffet lunch, we enjoyed “A Conversation with Bill Whitaker”, as the globe-trotting CBS Network correspondent fielded questions from BJASC President and KNBC’s Beverly White and members of the audience. Whitaker, fresh off the earthquakes in Baja, California and Port-au-Prince, Haiti captivated everyone with his frank assessments of how the 24 hour news cycle, layoffs, budgets, Flip cameras and Twitter impact modern news gathering.

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The day ended with an insider’s look at “New Media”, moderated by BJASC Treasurer and LA Sentinel columnist Veronica Hendrix. Panelists Billy Johnson Jr. of Yahoo! Entertainment, Niele Anderson of TheUrbanPostWorldwide and Washington Post online contributor Harry Gore were joined by Jeff Johnson and Robert Henry of KNBC for a whiz-bang discussion of cutting-edge content and dynamic delivery systems. Their presentations were enhanced by the use of a laptop and projector to display select websites on the big screen, so the audience could follow along. Several panelists talked about never being without a camera and digital audio recorder to grab news on the spot and post it to their sites. They detailed the merits of using every tool in the social media toolbox to build your web presence including Twitter, Facebook and blogs.

BJASC member and volunteer program coordinator Pamela K. Johnson put it best: “This College Journalism Workshop proved to be an invigorating experience for veterans seeking to refresh their skills as well as the new breed of journalists on the brink of entering the business.”

The BJASC thanks everyone who participated!

PHOTOS FROM THE EVENT

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