Fresno State Student Journalists visit The Big Easy

FRESNO, CA—The annual Excellence in Journalism Conference (EIJ) is held in a different city and is filled with workshops to help student journalists and media professionals become better storytellers

This year the conference was held in New Orleans, La., and a dozen students from Fresno State attended. Three national journalism organizations hosted this year’s conference, creating a diverse experience for journalists and students: the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), the Radio and Television Digital News Association (RTDNA), and the Native American Journalists Association (NAJA).

Fresno State multimedia production student Sierra Downey says she was excited to be part of the conference, especially because of NAJA’s involvement. She is working on a radio documentary about Native Americans.

NAJA took part in the conference for the first time, and Downey couldn’t have been any more thrilled.

“We’re getting a lot of inside information that wasn’t coming in last year,” Downey says. “I’m really appreciative of that personally.”

Students who attended the conference were able to network with media professionals and hiring managers who critiqued their resumes and demo reels. Students also attended workshops that helped build their writing and performance skills. As an added bonus, they were treated to music and entertainment that only a city like The Big Easy can offer. Students and professionals enjoyed tours and a jazz show at the House of Blues hosted by CNN.

University of Texas journalism student Jessy Diamba attended the conference as part of the EIJ newsroom, a group of students who covered the conference for SPJ and NAJA. Diamba’s highlight was interviewing nationally known journalists Charlie Rose and Marty Baron.

Diamba’s list of big name characters he has interviewed continues to grow. Last year he interviewed President Barack Obama. But it’s conferences like EIJ that keep him engaged.

“We’ll see man. I’m optimistic about my future,” Diamba says.

RTDNA organizer Karen Hansen is already working on next year’s conference, which will take place in Anaheim September 7-9.

“We try really hard to have things that appeal to students, to new pros, to people of all different levels, and of all different mediums,” Hansen says.

With conferences like this, students are one step closer to becoming the storytellers they are working so hard to be.