Empire State of Mind: A Day at Columbia University
On Monday, November 7, the CBA Digital Network took a trip to Columbia University for the 82nd annual Columbia Scholastic Press Association Fall Conference. The conference consisted of a variety of different panels that were led by high school and collegiate media scholars from across the nation.
The day began with all of us catching the 7:06 train out of Middletown en route to Penn Station. All of us had our tickets purchased prior to the early morning. Between setting the clocks back on Sunday morning and the June-like weather, the morning get-up was easy.
We arrived at Penn Station at about 8:15 a.m. We had to quickly get off so we could make the Subway in time. We took the uptown one train all the way to 116th.
Ten stops later, we arrived at the home of the Lions. We were at our destination, the University bookstore, as soon as we left the subway. We were greeted by two Columbia representatives who kindly held the door for us.
Mr. Lutz checked us in at the Welcome table, where more Columbia reps were checking other local high schools in. From there, we had 20 minutes to organize our respective days.
The conference was set up with panels of all different topics running at five different times: 9:30 to 10:15, 10:30 to 11:15, 12:15 to 1, 1:15 to 2, and 2:15 to 3. Panel topics ranged from general photography, to improving writing skills, and all the way down to typography and making titles pop.
For my first session, I chose to go to that same typography session. I chose this session simply because it sounded interesting as I read the description. The speaker was Randy Stano, a communications professor at the University of Miami. He discussed and flipped through different ways to title a page. He compiled different media from yearbooks, magazines, and websites. Their titles each varied in their font, italics, boldness, size, and letter case.
Next, I attended a session about the interview and how to improve my interview skills. After interviewing senior cross country runner Nick Sullivan last month, it sparked my interest in doing more interviews within the CBA community. I have come to realize that interviews, whether one-on-one or in a group, are some of the most fun multimedia pieces to be involved in. The session was led by Jenny Dial Creech, who was the NBA Deputy Managing Editor at The Athletic before taking a job as journalism director at a Texas private school. She went over different strategies on how to approach an interview, whether it is with big-name CEOs, professional athletes, or even high school students.
After two great sessions, the nine of us headed to Tom’s Restaurant, the classic diner setting in Seinfield and a highlight of the day for noted fan Mr. Lutz. We shared lunch together as we experienced a part of pop culture history.
My third session was my favorite one, Sports 365: A Year of Coverage. Led by Virginia State University representative Chris Waugaman, the panel covered everything sports media-related. He discussed mass coverage, different ways to cover a team, a blueprint of a high school team through the months, and the importance of a reporter-athlete relationship. With sports being a big part of our culture at CBA, five of us attended this same session and left with some interesting new ideas for our sports coverage.
Perhaps most importantly, the last session I attended was a panel about “how to be more creative.” Led by Sean Kelly, he discussed the different ways young adults like myself can come up with ideas. These ideas, he said, can be used anywhere: yearbooks, writing pieces, online magazines, and more. His main takeaway? More ideas bring better ideas. The more, the better.
As we boarded the NJ Transit train back to Middletown, I was thrilled I have had the opportunity to attend this conference. We have a lot of talented members of the CBADN and we will all be better at writing, video, photography and broadcasting because of these sessions. I learned so many new techniques that I can apply to my own multimedia work during my senior year and beyond. It was refreshing to be surrounded by peers from around the Northeast who share the same interests as me.
Also, you can’t beat a day in the Big Apple.
