Eagle View, Staff Report
NWACC Eagle View staff members visited the University of Arkansas at the Society of Professional Journalists Region 12 Conference on April 21 and 22, to listen to speakers talk about different topics, from performing on camera to reporting on the environment.
SPJ is a journalism organization dedicated to encouraging the free practice of journalism, according to spj.org. It was founded in 1909 as Sigma Delta Chi. SPJ’s mission is to ensure that the concept of self-government outlined by the U.S. Constitution remains a reality and that the American people must be well informed to make decisions regarding their lives, their local and national communities.
There are more than 15 student and professional chapters in the four states that make up Region 12 — Arkansas, Louisiana, Tennessee, and Mississippi. The Northwest Arkansas Pro Chapter and the University of Arkansas student chapter hosted the conference.
“Getting back into the swing of in-person conferences, I wish more of our members could have been with us at the SPJ Region 12 Conference sponsored by the Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette,” said Jennifer Ellis, Region 12 Coordinator. “Our conference coordinator Gina Shelton and host chapters Northwest Arkansas Pro and the University of Arkansas did a fantastic job offering engaging sessions, tours of local media outlets, and the Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art, and an inspiring Mark of Excellence Awards banquet.”
On April 21, the University of Arkansas School of Journalism and Strategic Media hosted an open house of the school’s student media spaces in Kimpel Hall. Visitors were able to tour the converged student media space for such outlets as the Hill Magazine, UATV, Main Hill Media, and the Arkansas Traveler. The open house ended at 4 p.m. and visitors then had a walking media tour to KNWA at 609 W. Dickson St., KUAF at 9 S. School Ave. and the Northwest Arkansas Democrat- Gazette at 212 N. East St. The group that took the tour to see the Northwest Arkansas Democrat- Gazette’s editorial department leaders conduct their regular afternoon news budget meeting for the weekend issues of the regional newspaper.
On April 22, breakfast was served at the Yancy Lodge on Mount Sequoyah and then guests made their way back toKimpel Hall on the University of Arkansas campus, where three different sets of professional development sessions were provided at 9 a.m, 10 a.m., and 11 a.m.
The 9 a.m. time slot featured “Performer in Mass Media,” “Reporting on the Environment,” and “Podcasting.”
“Performer in Mass Media” was led by Allison Wise, 40/29 evening anchor, and Robyn Starling Ledbetter, University of Arkansas student media director, who shared performing tips for video, digital, and audio media. “Podcasting” was led by Matthew Moore, reporter and producer for Ozarks At Large at KUAF, who discussed how to do storytelling through the increasingly popular podcast format.
Because Earth Day was on April 22, “Reporting on the Environment” was a panel with three voices that offered advice from scientific and journalistic viewpoints on environmental coverage. The panel included Mary Matlock, ecological engineer and executive director of the UofA Resiliency Center; Jacqueline Froelich, investigative reporter for KUAF- 91.3 FM who has experience in environmental coverage; and Fran Alexander, an environmental activist who contributes to the columns to Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. The trio presented their views and experience as an environmental journalist, scientific expert, and expert..
From 10 to 10:50 a.m. “Covering the Arts,” “Creating a Digital Magazine,” and “Chat GPT and its impact on journalism,” were presented. “Covering the Arts” was done at the UATV studio and two journalists, Jaclyn House, host and producer for “Good Day NWA,” and April Wallace, associate features editor for the Northwest Arkansas Democrat Gazette. Dave Bostwick, a faculty member at the University of Arkansas, presented the session on ChatGPT while Paula Anderson, creator of publications featuring emerging and enterprising entrepreneurs in several Tennessee cities discussed creating a digital magazine.
The final sessions of the morning included Axios reporter Alex Golden discussing newsletters; Arkansas State University Professor Terrance Armstard and Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette Photo Editor Spencer Tirey discussing photography in a session moderated by UA student Maggie Green; and a session on freelancing presented by journalist Erica Sweeney and University of Arkansas Professor Bret Schulte.
From noon to 3:30, SPJ visitors from outside the area went to Crystal Bridges Museum of American Art to eat at Eleven, a restaurant and coffee bar, and to tour the museum exhibits.
The annual regional Mark of Excellence awards were presented at a banquet the evening of April 22. Student journalists from four-year institutions from throughout the area were honored. The NWACC Eagle View was not a competitor in the Mark of Excellence competition, but NWACC student Alivia Ogle, a reporter for the student newspaper, was presented with a scholarship check from Northwest Arkansas Pro Chapter.
Eagle View Newspaper 