By Emily Blackner &
Aubrey Hastings
News Editor & Student Life Editor
It was fitting that The Elm staff’s second trip to the Associated Collegiate Press’s Media Conference took them to the Second City, Chicago. Emily Blackner, news editor, and Aubrey Hastings, student life editor, boarded a plane for a weekend of workshops, networking, and fun.
It was Emily’s first time flying, but it went surprisingly smoothly in spite of turbulence. After touching down, they took the airport shuttle to the Chicago Sheraton Hotel and Towers, where the conference was being held. From there, they jumped right into the workshops, held in rooms throughout the hotel’s conference center area.
There were countless workshops to choose from, each taught by influential and well-experienced professors and journalists around the country. Newspaper staff members from various colleges and universities were represented.
Of all the workshops, the editors’ favorites were focused on headlines and journalistic style. They learned first hand from Tom Pierce of the St. Petersburg Times, Fl. how to create witty and timely headlines, without being cliché or using unintended “hilariously obscene” double meaning.
“I could not believe how many well-known publications have been caught using awkward phrasing in headlines, only to be humiliated later. We learned to pay closer attention to our headlines, because you don’t want to be ‘that paper,’ with the awkwardly phrased headline” said Aubrey.
Another experienced journalist explained style using the acronym C.R.I.S.P: Clarity, Replacement of wordy or unclear phrasing, Invigorating passive voice with active verbs, Structuring sentences simply, and Poeticizing language through metaphor help to make newspaper writing both accurate and interesting.
“The best piece of advice I’ve heard in a long time is, ‘If it goes without saying, don’t say it,’” said Emily. “Keeping that and the other aspects of C.R.I.S.P. style in mind will definitely help me to edit my section and write my own articles.”
“What’s Trending in Collegiate Design” was another favorite session, and very well attended. A veteran college advisor and design guru talked about what works and what doesn’t in college newspaper designs. Angles and colorful graphics seemed to be the common themes in successful, interesting designs.
“He also offered suggestions about possible stories to pursue,” said Emily. “I can’t wait to bring some of these back to WC.”
Marketing a newspaper was also another focal point of the conference. Aubrey and Emily learned from the top marketing mavens of The Wall Street Journal that a newspaper has personality, as well as a brand. They challenged everyone to think about their brand and what exactly they want to present to the campus community.
“I realized that our audience spans much farther than just the student body at WC. The Elm serves as a connection to alumni, the Chestertown community, and the Board. Pinpointing exactly how we want to present ourselves is a huge factor in getting people to read our paper, and having them enjoy what they read,” said Aubrey.
In the midst of all this learning, the editors still found time to explore the city. Their first night took them to Navy Pier, where they watched the lights from the city playing off the water of Lake Michigan alongside Chicago’s famous Ferris wheel.
Workshops ended early Saturday, leaving plenty of time for lunch at a great local favorite sandwich shop called the Corner Bakery, which happened to be right across from The Chicago Tribune Tower.
“I was amazed you could just walk inside, and even more awed by the beautiful architecture and the tributes to journalism engraved on its walls,” said Emily.
“It was an experience that I will carry with me for the rest of my life. The Elm is truly thankful for the opportunity to send staff members to the conference,” said Aubrey.
Exhausted editors returned to Chestertown chock full of ideas and, importantly, enthusiasm to continue making The Elm the best it can be.