Networking: The National College Media Convention

by | Dec 17, 2019 | Fall 2019, Uncategorized

Me and my fellow editors from The Griffin with Marty Baron, executive editor of The Washington Post, who is known for his work as an editor at the Boston Globe when the Spotlight team investigated priests abusing children.

From October 31 to Nov 3, I attended the National College Media Convention with my friends and fellow editors at The Griffin.

I was really excited about this opportunity, as the Convention was a mixture of workshops, keynotes from talented journalists such as Marty Baron and Nina Totenberg, as well as networking opportunities.

In the workshops, I was able to network with other college journalists, and we were able to connect through Twitter to keep in touch. But probably the best networking opportunities were the ones I had after the sessions and during the job expo.

After the sessions, I was able to meet with leaders in digital news companies, such as TEGNA. I currently intern at a TEGNA station so I was able to have a great conversation with the presenter, share my contact information, and even learn about a great post-grad opportunity! I also was able to ask questions and discuss journalism with reporters from The New York Times and POLITICO.

I really gained a lot through the landing a job panel and career expo. I came prepared with copies of my resume and questions about life after college. They had reporters and editors that included: Ted Kim, The New York Times; Clea Benson, POLITICO; Doug Lederman, Inside Higher Ed; Vimal Patel, Chronicle of Higher Ed; and Alex Rosenwald of MediaDC/Washington Examiner. I wasn’t able to stay for long in the Q&A panel because the room was so packed, but the career expo allowed me to sit down one-on-one with these editors and reporters and discuss my resume and careers.

I learned a lot about what parts of my resume were strong and what parts could be stronger. I got a lot of good advice about graduate school, internships, and post-grad opportunities (including some advice on job openings at a few companies). I also got some perspective about defining myself in this field, finding a beat and choosing what medium to hone in on.

Overall, this was an incredible experience and I’m really thankful that I had the chance to network with such high profile organizations – I did make sure to get the contact information to follow up!