GALWAY– PhotoShop. Convergence. The art of interviewing. The contingent from the Eagles Media Center learned about these topics and more at the journalism conference at Columbia University March 20-22. The students and advisers share below some things they learned at their workshops, as well as two to four fun things they enjoyed about the trip.

AMY SOUTH
In the workshops…
1) Learning how to walk and write
2) How to report during a crime or tragedy
3) Use vocabulary.com only if you want to widen your vocabulary or when dictionary.com is down
4) The origin of the corn flake

Fun experiences…
1) Eating at Five Guys and loving it, even though I don’t eat that type of greasy food at all
2) Getting a Starbucks latte with “Most Beautiful Girl” written on it after getting bad news

GIULIANA MARTONE
In the workshops…
1) I learned that even if you don’t like the outcome of something, you should give it a chance.
2) I learned that fashion follows trends and helps mark history.
3) I learned that for photography, it’s better to start with a decent camera but a better lens.
4) I learned that the story you tell yourself is different than the story you tell your world.
5) I also learned that type has a personality and a voice.

Fun experiences…
1) I enjoyed walking through Central Park because it was calm and spacious.
2) I also enjoyed eating dinner in Little Italy because the food was amazing.

AMY ENGEL
In the workshops…
1) How to “feather” in PhotoShop
2) Adobe Lightroom can do 95% of what PhotoShop can do and is cheaper
3) Everybody has a story
4) Interviewing isn’t hard
5) Dodging and burning tool use in PhotoShop

Fun experiences…
1) I enjoyed bringing Mrs. O to the songwriting class, and her reaction when she recognized the song the teacher wrote.
2) Reading comics on Ari’s phone

MRS. DECKER
In the workshops. . .
1)When editing, a reduce long sentences. Readability suffers after 25 words.
2)Poetry has a lot more math in it than I like to acknowledge. A poem only needs to contain iambic pentameter for 50 % of its verse for the poem to be labeled as written in iambic pentameter.   The irregularities in a poem’s rhythm adds to its sound and beauty.
3) Journalism usually moves along a horizontal plane, telling of events sequentially, while fiction moves on a vertical plane, delving into character and events.  Literary nonfiction allows journalists to report using elements of fiction to engage and challenge the reader.
4) Google maps has the potential to allow EMC writers to plot locations to highlight article content.  Writers  should read magazines to get ideas for article content, structure and layout.  The iPad 2 has potential to serve as an all in one reporter’s toolkit.
5) Vivid verbs are essential to quality  lead paragraphs (a.k.a. lede grafs in j-copy).

Fun experiences…
1) Listening to The Moth host describe England while standing next to Mr. Swain
2) Reading the subway ad for a doctor who performs puppy face-lifts.  “Is your dog a total dog?”  The before photo was of a bulldog and the after photo was of a terrier. Maybe I just let the cat out of the bag for a fun GTV segment!
3)Planning the GTV TODAY show segment.
4)Walking down the NYC sidewalks with Rocky

MARIAH HAYES
In the workshops…
1) Putting text on photos
2) Blacklist
3) Putting teasers on articles to get people to read other articles
4) Everyone has a story
5) Be respectful when interviewing someone

Fun experiences…
1) Central Park
2) The Moth StorySlam

MOLLY POKRZYWKA
In the workshops…
1) I learned about the effectiveness of using light to your advantage when taking pictures.
2) When writing or designing publications, you should have spaces or things that act as lines to draw your eye to the most important thing.
3) When a photo is discolored, such as yellowed, you need to adjust your white balance
4) Get action in your photos, or interesting things that draw your eye.
5) Having the right lenses can help when taking different types of photos.

Fun experiences…
1) Walking around, taking photos the last day
2) Listening to the people’s stories at the book store (The Moth StorySlam)

MRS. O
In the workshops…
1) I learned how journalism is changing, and heard from 3 young professionals who worked on their high school newspapers. They spoke about the importance of updating your skills and being linked in.
2) Even on websites, editing and writing is still very important. An executive at Mashable said she won’t hire someone who can’t write well or correctly.
3) A poet shared in his workshop that the Poetry Foundation has a great app that I downloaded to my phone.
4) When you are interviewing, it’s best to come up with open ended questions, and to allow them time to digress.
5) I learned about the poetry and inspiration behind the song “Story of a Girl” from the artist, now teacher who wrote and recorded it (thanks to Amy E!)

Fun experiences…
1) Being able to lead the group around the city and on the subway and not get lost
2) The Moth StorySlam
3) Starbucks

WILLA WHITMORE
In the workshops…
1) When writing a profile, write about a moment, not a topic
2) Ask for an example (worst/best, most/least)
3) When redesigning a newspaper, know what you want to change
4) Cover the news in a fair and balanced way

Fun experiences…
1) I really liked walking through Times Square at night.
2) Going out to lunch everyday wherever we wanted for an hour-ish

MARIAH SINGLETON
In the workshops…
1) When you’re writing an article on your opinion, don’t criticize others opinions
2) It’s important to use the right colors in your yearbook

Fun experiences…
1) I enjoyed the poetry/story show
2) Convincing Mrs. O and Mrs. Decker to take us out to Times Square at midnight

MR. SWAIN

After several years of attending CSPA conference and presenting to many different students and instructors from all other the country I have come to realize how much we, emc3 has grown. Other schools commented on how great our program is and that they hope to go back and integrate our models into their programs and curriculum. The classes at CSPA always offer more growth and ideas and this year was no exception. I listened to a group of students from a school in Mexico explain the development and distribution of their international art publication, Juxtapoz. This group of young and dynamic students has helped inspire the latest business curriculum for next year, International Business. These students sold their product all over the world from China, Africa, Europe to the CSPA conference. Listening to published, authors and cartoonist inspired future Village Press publications. My favorite NYC experience is watching the students try and cross the road or shake hands with Cookie Monster!

BEN MANNA
In the workshops…
1) If you have to meet a deadline, have a fun thing planned, like a pizza party, so people work hard to reach the goal.
2) When interviewing, instead of just being a scribe and writing everything down, actually engage the person in a conversation and get more info.
3) Have a fun, creative environment when you’re working on the site or writing an article.
4) When interviewing someone bring a tape recorder so you can go back and listen to the conversation.
5) If you really want to write an article/story but it’s “censored” by the school, there is usually a way of still writing it. Talk to your advisers and the Board.

Fun experiences…
1) Eating in the diner from Seinfeld
2) Dinner in Little Italy

STEVEN MACDONALD
In the workshops…
1) It’s better to publish a few quality pictures than to publish than a lot of pictures of questionable quality.
2) Interpretation is key in writing.
3) Music embodies poetry.
4) First impressions are key.
5) Leads: do not start with obvious, do not start with stupid, do not start with a question or quote

Fun experiences…
1) Checking out the displays at the Hard Rock Cafe
2) The Moth