Prospective students hone their craft at Community College Journalism Day

Dozens of students attended USC Annenberg’s Community College Journalism Day, sponsored by the McCormick Foundation, on Oct. 21 (see the day's agenda). School of Journalism director Geneva Overholser opened the event by introducing guest speakers Gale Holland and Michael Finnegan who discussed their investigative report about the Los Angeles community colleges’ corrupt rebuilding plan. Following the presentation, students participated in interactive workshops of their choice. The workshops focused on a variety of journalism topics, including sports writing and photo journalism.  Playboy Magazine deputy editor and adjunct journalism professor Stephen Randall was also on hand to discuss the inner workings of magazine production. The day ended with an hour-long conversation with USC Annenberg Associate Director of Admissions Therese Bagsit and representatives from California State Universities of Fullerton and Northridge. The trio compared and contrasted the differences amongst the three schools. Factors included varying academic focuses and teaching techniques. Bagsit emphasized the importance of journalism school for “the connections you make with faculty in the media and the skills you will need to be a journalist on a daily basis.” Students then had the opportunity to inquire about transfer requirements, extracurricular activities and internships. Several participating students said they developed new areas of interests following the workshops, while others decided on which journalism school would be their best fit.