Inside the 2024 Fall National Media Convention 

This past week I had the amazing opportunity to attend the 2024 Fall National Media Convention in New Orleans with staff members of the Arrow and two wonderful volunteers.

The Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) and the College Media Association (CMA) host a conference every semester in rotating cities. There were about 800 attendees this year, from a range of schools from around the country - from four-year state schools to the Ivy League. If I’m telling the truth here, the fact that we are in the same league as Harvard was an ego boost!

I jumped on the opportunity to attend this conference when our editor-in-chief asked staff members who would want to go. Going into my junior year at SEMO, I took on the role of lifestyle editor at the Arrow. If I am being honest, I had no experience in the reporting field other than what I had written the previous semester, but The Arrow took a chance on me. Creating lifestyle content post-graduation has always been my goal, so I could not be more excited about my role here, and I knew this conference would provide an incredible amount of insight into my future career.

This conference is to aid college journalists in expanding their areas of expertise and build upon the skills we are learning in classes. While in school, students are somewhat limited to college media in order to gain experience, so these sessions went in-depth on particular topics. With so many schools attending, the excitement to begin was palpable as soon as we walked into the hotel.

I had the opportunity to attend many sessions taught by media faculty from various schools. Each session explored a different aspect of media, from designing a paper to improv skills. Because every speaker worked their own perspective and insight into their presentations, it was impossible to leave without shifting my views and ideas relating to content. Before this trip, I had no idea what improv has to do with broadcast, but that is part of the journey. That just goes to show that you don’t know what you don’t know, and the array of perspectives was eye-opening.

Not only did I attend sessions covering different aspects of the media field, but I heard from other lifestyle editors from around the country. Sharing content ideas and comparing my section to other schools’ lifestyle content was the ultimate inspiration. The contrast between each school’s content was obvious as every publication operates in its own unique way. There was a clear distinction between each lifestyle section that I saw, as lifestyle content ranges from art to fashion to events in the community and every editor has their own unique story and design ideas.

I, along with our design, multimedia and news editors, were trusted to give a presentation covering the use of AI tools on our new website. We are the only college in the country using this software because it is so new, as well as very controversial in our field. The presentation covered how we use AI ethically to assist with headlines and leads, as well as the boundaries the Arrow sets for reporters. The audience was filled fairly quickly and had strong opinions on the topic.

The Arrow was also honored with several national awards this past convention. Our publication won second in paper design overall as well as eighth in digital design. We also took home three honorable mentions for our online content.

By the time I left New Orleans, I had a completely new perspective on journalism. I came back with new views and content inspiration, as well as insight into what my future will look like.