Paper last week was good, right? I hope the staff and I have been keeping you up-to-date on current happenings around SLO, and the greater U.S. That being said, keep an eye out this week because there is some more good stuff about to hit the stands.
In the meantime, the editor-in-chief (EIC) and I are getting ready to jet off to Orlando, Fla., for a journalism conference to learn how to make the Mustang Daily a better publication.
We leave Wednesday for a five-day conference held by the Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) and College Media Advisers (CMA) organizations. This is the 90th Annual ACP/CMA National College Media Convention, and lucky for the EIC and I, it is in Orlando.
Personally, I’m hoping to get a glimpse of a Kardashian (haven’t seen them since Vegas this summer, but that’s a whole different story) or maybe Brooke Hogan. Do any of these people even live in Florida still? Probably not … or they are most likely in Miami. I’ve never been to Florida (well, besides a layover on my way to Jamaica for spring break last year, but that is a different story too), so the state is kind of melting together in my head.
So, instead of waltzing around Disney World or Sea World, which are both definitely in Orlando, the EIC and I will be hitting up some oh-so-exciting journalism lectures. I’m not even kidding. Sure, by now I’ve had enough lectures to last a lifetime, but I am excited to learn more about my field of choice — journalism and its forever-changing industry.
Last year, the Mustang Daily staff was lucky enough to go to the ACP conference in Hollywood because it was just down the coast. I got a taste of what conferences of this sort are like, and I liked it, a lot.
I learned about everything from managing a newsroom to how to write better headlines to helpful multimedia tips to getting along with the advertising staff — the latter two were taught by some of Cal Poly’s own.
As I stumbled around with whichever staff member shared the same lecture interests as me, we also mingled with newspaper staffs from universities and junior colleges all over the country. I even met the reporter who broke the Four Loko story at Central Washington University.
I have yet to plan my schedule for this year. I’m thinking on Wednesday night, after the EIC and I freak out about missing a work night and pray Thursday’s paper comes out flawless — I have faith in the staff — we will lay down on our hotel beds and circle the most interesting lectures.
Like I said before, this year I hope to meet an Orlando-local celeb, but if that falls through, I’ll settle for the free Wi-Fi and early showing of “Anonymous” we can attend.