Gabby DeMarchi
Editor-in-Chief
The editorial staff of The Springfield Student got the opportunity to travel to San Francisco, Calif. to partake in the 29th Annual Associated Collegiate Press National Journalism Convention. In addition to attending keynote speakers and workshops, they got to explore the city.
Every year the editorial staff of The Springfield Student is given the opportunity to attend the Associated Collegiate Press National Journalism Convention. Student staff members have had the privilege of going to ACP conventions in Seattle, Phoenix and San Diego, and this year the editorial staff jetted to San Francisco to participate in ACP’s 29th annual convention.
This year’s convention was held at The Westin Hotel on Market Street from Feb. 28-March 3. The convention was jam-packed with keynote speakers, such as Burt Herman, co-founder of Storify, and Richard Koci Hernandez, an Emmy-award winning visual journalist.
Besides speakers, the convention also had a plethora of great workshops and sessions ranging from topics such as, “Column Writing: The Power of Your Voice,” to “How to Survive Being an Editor Without Killing Someone.” There was a workshop for every type of journalist; sports writers, photographers, staff writers and Editor-in-Chiefs. Journalism professors from all over the country came to the convention to give their two cents on how a college publication should be run, and were very helpful in doing so.
The Student got a lot of wonderful critique, especially from Director of Print and Online Journalism at the University of Miami, Bob Radziewicz. He sat down with us for over a half an hour critically critiquing and analyzing The Student’s strong and weak points, which was extremely enlightening.
While the convention had a lot of wonderful speakers and workshops to attend, let’s not forget that we got to travel to California for this event, so obviously a lot of sightseeing and exploring was in store.
We got to see a lot of San Francisco’s sights while only really getting to be there for three full days. We enjoyed San Francisco’s main attractions, such as Fisherman’s Wharf, Pier 39, Alcatraz, the Golden Gate Bridge, AT&T Park, home of the San Francisco Giants, San Francisco’s famous Chinatown and most importantly, the house where Full House was filmed.
We also got to ride on the ever-popular cable cars and eat ice cream at Ghirardelli Square, where many of the original Ghirardelli buildings were built.
In general, the convention had everything a journalism student could want. While sometimes conventions such as these can tend to be a bit dull, the speakers and workshops were lively and engaging. It also greatly helped that the convention was set in such a wonderful city.
Despite getting a little lost in downtown San Francisco and the almost missed plane back home, we all made it out alive and gained much needed knowledge on how a college newspaper should be produced.