From Oct. 31 to Nov. 3, several Hamilton students attended the National College Media Convention at the Grand Hyatt Hotel in Washington, DC, engaging with industry experts in media and journalism and from top collegiate-media programs across the country. The multi-day convention included more than 275 workshop sessions featuring keynote speakers, networking opportunities, panel discussions, hands-on tutorials, and access to media professionals.
The lineup of keynote speakers at the convention included Marty Baron, executive editor of
The Washington Post
; Nina Totenberg, legal-affairs correspondent for
National Public Radio
; Abby Phillip, White House correspondent for
CNN
; and Rick Hutzell, Danielle Ohl and Alex Mann, of the
Capital Gazette
.
Associated Collegiate Press and College Media Association hosted the convention, which brought thousands of college journalists together in the nation’s capital. Attendees included Karina Bayrakdarian ’21, Arts & Entertainment Editor for
The Spectator
, and Alexandra Reboredo ’22, Opinion Editor for
The Spectator
, who were informed of this opportunity through their involvement with the student newspaper.
As a Cinema and Media Studies major, Bayrakdarian described her interest in the conference as aligning with her interest in media, specifically visual arts and video as a form of journalism. She noted that this convention would be a great opportunity to learn more about potential careers in media and journalism.
The event covered an extensive array of topics in contemporary media, including rapidly changing multimedia platforms, newspaper, broadcast, yearbook, and magazine journalism, and career paths in the industry.
Bayrakdarian described two workshops entitled “Global Stories” and “Reimagining Broadcast News” as particularly meaningful. These sessions both examined the emerging field of video journalism in the form of
Vice News
-style videos, which Bayrakdarian says is her specific interest as a potential career.
“I hope to one day create my own video content in this format to raise awareness for issues in this country and abroad,” she said. “I believe that the video medium is a powerful tool that can reach audiences in ways that a paper cannot, particularly through social media like YouTube and Instagram.”
Many of the workshops furthered this sentiment of using media to raise awareness for different issues and to make a positive impact in the world.
The experience of networking with other students and professionals in media and journalism provided at this convention in invaluable for Hamilton students interested in this industry, as the College does not offer any journalism curriculum.
Bayrakdarian said she left the convention confident in her interests.
“After attending the convention and seeing other college students like me who are interested in the same things that I am, I realized that it was possible to become a journalist despite not majoring specifically in journalism,” she said.
Bayrakdarian described how, in her keynote speech, Phillips talked about how she did not realize she wanted to become a journalist until her junior year, and she encouraged people who were starting their journalism careers that it is never too late. Bayrakdarian said she was struck by Phillips’ words — “It’s just about doing the work! Don’t worry about other people and what they might think” — after realizing her own interest in a career in journalism her junior year.
“I thought it was too late at this point in college to switch my career track,” Bayrakdarian said. “But she’s proof that if you work hard, remain persistent, and put one foot in front of the other everyday, it’s never too late to change your life.”
