On Thursday, April 18th, young journalists from around the Lehigh Valley came together at Lehigh Carbon Community College to network, exchange ideas, and learn from experts in the field. The Keystone Student Journalist Coalition (KSJC) is an organization devoted to encouraging the work and funding of the young writers, editors, photographers, directors, and reporters making up these school publications.
KSJC was founded by Destiny Beck (The Trumpet and Parkey advisor) and Chris Barnes (The Free Press and The Saucon News). This year’s summit was the second annual gathering, with last year’s being held at Kutztown University. The turnout for this did not disappoint. The Trumpet, Parkey Yearbook, and Parkland TV and Film students spent the day mingling with student journalists from the high schools, Emmaus, Allen, Palmerton, Liberty, and Northwestern.
Representatives from The Morning Call and Lehigh Valley News.com, shared their publications with the students, and LCCCs Communications Professors discussed what goes on within the classroom if students wish to pursue journalism in higher education.
The high school students started the day by taking inspiration from each other’s applications, asking questions about how their group runs things and the process from idea to print. After that, the students were encouraged to talk with the industry professionals and make connections for the future.
After the networking portion came the more personalized aspect of the day. Students were encouraged to sign up for three out of the many lessons that were scheduled. During these, an experienced journalist discussed their work in the field, and gave advice on how to succeed in the industry. One Trumpet staffer attended a lesson from Anthony Salone, a writer for the morning call. He talked about the importance of getting multiple sides of the story, of actively listening to your interviewees, and the importance of always remaining curious.
One particular course was especially interesting, as it involved a mock press conference in the wake of a disaster. Some students were assigned to act as police officers, fire chiefs, and EMT’s to deliver the news of a crisis, while the rest had to practice coming up with rapid-fire questions on the spot. Ben Strenrich, a weatherman from News 13, hosted this course, emphasizes the importance of learning to navigate a press conference, since that is where most reporters get their information first-hand . This exercise gave these future journalists practice on how to deal with a real world scenario, and was fun and engaging for all involved.
The KSJC event was an educational and exciting afternoon. Thanks to the hard work of Mrs. Beck, Mr. Barnes, and Mrs. Kelli Tremba (Staff Development Facilitator), and all of the sponsors and participants, this coalition will hopefully continue to inspire young journalists for years to come.
