Claire here again! The CMA conference brought in many journalists who spoke about their experience with specific stories and also in a broad sense.
Michigan State University:
And in addition to the sessions that gave specific information, I attended a session in which the Michigan State University student-run newspaper editor-in-chief and reporters came to talk about their coverage of Larry Nassar, a man convicted of sexually assaulting hundreds of girls while working as a doctor for Michigan State University and USA Gymnastics.
They touched on the pressure they felt while trying to cover the stories and events while they were happening, and how they spent hours and hours in the courtrooms and the toll it took on themselves. Many of the reporters experience secondhand trauma because they had sat in the courtrooms listening to the 156 impact statements and all the other time spent reading and researching the survivors’ stories. Some advice they gave was to never give up your personal health for a story, because it is most likely not worth it.
Overall, the women who came to speak had so much strength and knowledge from the continuous coverage of Larry Nassar, and explained the tactics used to make their stories show the strength of the survivors. They made a statement when they took the front page of their newspaper and listed the names of all the survivors of the abuse, showing the strength.
Lauren Duca:
On the last day, we listened to Lauren Duca, an opinion editor for Vogue magazine, speak about her experience writing on political pieces and how need to not be afraid to voice our opinions.
Duca touched on the difference between fairness and accuracy, and that for news reporting it is much more straight-forward and factual than opinion writing. For her, speaking the truth is the most important part of writing because what’s the point of writing if it’s not true?
Through her funny and eye-opening presentation, I learned to find my own voice and stand by what I believe in no matter what backlash it might have.
Overall, the College Media Association conference allowed me to further my journalistic skills, and provided me with valuable information to bring back to the The Beacon to implement in our own staff.
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