Reinvent student media at #acpla

It’s hard to make fundamental changes in a news organization and experiment with economic reinvention. Many are stuck and face extinction.

Get the tools you need at the Reinventing Student Media Workshop. It takes place at #ACPLA on Friday, Feb. 19.

This daylong symposium will help student media leaders and their advisers identify their goals and acquire new resources and strategies aimed at evolving their organizations into relevant, innovative, multi-faceted publications. Attendees will also have the option to sign up for one-to-one talks on Saturday.

Learn from advisers whose students are forging new paths:

Paul Bittick, general manager of the Mustang Media Group, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Paul Bittick, general manager of the Mustang Media Group, California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo

Chuck Clark, director of student publications at Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green

Chuck Clark, director of student publications at Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green

hartwellmug1

Jay Hartwell, student media adviser at the University of Hawaii at Manoa

Elizabeth Smith, director of student journalism at Pepperdine University, Malibu, Calif.

Elizabeth Smith, director of student journalism at Pepperdine University, Malibu, Calif.

Elizabeth Smith, director of student journalism at Pepperdine University, Malibu, Calif.

Charlie Weaver, president, publisher, and CEO of Emerald Media Group, University of Oregon, Eugene

There is no one-size-fits-all solution but this learning experience that will resonate with student media organizations of all sizes. We will focus on the philosophy of change and how anyone can affect that change — regardless of your situation, status or experience.

The workshop will be broken down into three main components:

  1. Lecture: A focus on five steps to affect change in an organization: research, planning, strategy, execution and evaluation.
  2. One-on-ones: Each workshop participant will be assigned an experienced mentor to continue crafting a plan to take back to their respective organization
  3. Follow-up: The workshop will not stop at the close of the convention. There will be online/social resources for the participants to continue to interact with one another giving support and advice as they begin implementing action plans

“I think this is a fresh take on how to tackle some of the major issues facing college media in a much different holistic way. We will be focusing on the framework and infrastructure of the organization — not just the skills used to run the newsroom — which sets this workshop apart from what’s been traditionally done at past conventions,” said Weaver, who has nearly 20 years of experience working with student publications in Oregon and Iowa.

“Our goal is to train the advisers and future leaders of the organizations to keep thinking and planning and changing perpetually to meet the needs of the organization well into the future,” he said.

Chuck Clark brings nearly 30 years of journalistic experience to the workshop, where he will present examples of student media practices that have worked in the effort to remain relevant – and those that haven’t. He will also give tips on adapting to change — an asset that will translate into future success in the job market.

“The bottom line is that learning how to adapt and change is going to keep your student publication healthy, which in turn will make you even that much more marketable when you go out looking for a job,” Clark said.

The Feb. 19 workshop runs from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. The fee for the workshop is $40, in addition to convention registration. Convention attendees who take part in this intensive training will not attend regular sessions on Friday.

See you next month in Los Angeles. Register today.