On January 25 and 26, Student Activities Officer Cassandra Fluker and several staff members of Henry Ford Community College’s Mirror News attended a newspaper conference sponsored by the Michigan Press Association (MPA) at the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel in Grand Rapids, Michigan.
According to michiganpress.org, the MPA, created in 1868, promotes press liberty through its public policy work, “ease of use” advertising placement, professional development programs and legal hotlines. The MPA is a source of new ideas for newspapers and their digital and print products.
The conference consisted of lectures from speakers such as Joe Warner, Kevin Slimp, and Chuck Underwood, who have a connection to the media world of newspaper. Speakers listed and proposed ideas and ways to improve a newspaper, including what sources to use or to lose, which programs to use for web media, and which material would peak the interest of readers in certain age groups.
Friday morning, January 25, speaker Joe Warner of Grosse Point News spoke addressed resources and how to use them. Not only did Warner say how to use sources, but also which ones to trust and not to trust. He argued that social networking sites, such as Facebook and Twitter, are not completely reliable when looking for the “who, what, where, when, and why” in an article or someone’s side of the story. Along with Warner’s presentation, there were three editors from different newspapers who said they always call the source and double check before printing.
The next speaker was “News Guru” Kevin Slimp. Slimp travels the country talking to newspaper staff about how to improve their appeal and gives writers tips. He presented ways to use and improve the Web version of a newspaper.
“Newspapers are not only a business, but they are trust,” said Slimp. “Their communities need them and they need to keep putting out good quality publications.”
In his lecture, he described what a good newspaper takes and what to put into it.
“What makes the best newspaper is creating a good product that tells the stories that the readers want to hear,” said Slimp.
Slimp said students do not read newspapers as much as adults with a family do.
“College students historically have not read newspapers, they read the newspaper when they get married and have a family and get concerned about the neighborhood they live in,” said Slimp.
Slimp learned at a Southeastern conference 15 to 20% of students read the newspaper, and the campus newspaper was by far the most widely read source on campus.
On January 26, Slimp addressed a newspaper’s growth. There are many qualities a newspaper must hold to be successful: be loyal to its staff, investment in quality, regular training, close relationship between management and staff, close ties to community and quality journalism.
Govenor Rick Snyder was the keynote speaker at a lunch in the Ambassador Ballroom of the Amway Grand Plaza Hotel. He elaborated about Michigan’s citizens having talent and going unfound in the work place. Synder talked about how this century’s students need an education that helps develop a demand for jobs.
President of the Generational Imperative, Chuck Underwood, also spoke at the conference. He explained the idea that each generation affects the country as a whole.
“The First Wave Millennials generation will be just like the baby boomers, they will save their country and the world through their careers,” said Underwood.
On Saturday, January 26, the event ended with an award ceremony. The first set of awards went out to Newspaper of the Year – Daily and Weekly. They were separated into different classes; A through C. Class A went to Detroit Free Press. For the Weekly Paper of the Year, Class A award went to The News Herald.
The ceremony continued to award reporter Blake Thorn of Flint Journal as Rookie Writer of the Year.
Thorn said, “I’m surrounded by great people who do great work every day and it feels good to be noticed for working hard,” he stated. “It’s got my name on it, but it’s really a reflection of the people I work for. (Mlive.com)”
The General Excellence Newspaper Contest gave final awards to Central Michigan Life at Central Michigan University; The Herald at Cornerstone University; and The Connection at Schoolcraft College.
The Mirror News will be attending another conference in mid-April at Central Michigan University and will be entering submissions in various competitive categories.