The Michigan Interscholastic Press Association (MIPA) holds a fall journalism workshop for students and staff who are studying journalism. Aside from developing new friendships, interacting with friends, learning from others, and being in the community, I learned about various tips and strategies I can use to enhance my journalism skills. There were 60 different workshops and I picked three; Photoshop Wiz Bang Wow- Cool Tips and Tricks by Ike Lea from the Lansing Community Center, Environmental Journalism 101 by Garet Elison from MLive, and Diversity in the Newsroom by Dr. Alexis Howell from News Nation.
This year, the conference covered everything from how to start and launch a career in journalism/sports, the environment, editing tricks, AI features in editing, how to cover protests, social movements, politics, government, police, social media tricks, how to be a responsible journalist, the do’s and don’ts, mental health, podcasting, filming tips and tricks, storytelling fundamentals, diversity, techniques for podcasting, to how one idea leads to more.
To start the day off, I attended “Photoshop Wiz Bang Wow- Cool Tips and Tricks” led by Ike Lea from the Lansing Community Center who showed us concepts and things you can do on Adobe Photoshop. Although I haven’t used Photoshop during my time as a young journalist, just knowing the concepts it is used for and how it works is knowledge I have for the future. He showed us how to create brushes, layering, removing backgrounds, textures, a few new tricks for opacity, effects, making stickers from an image, and his photo element rules. A controversial topic that was discussed was what is copyrighted material. It was also of Interest to me how to remove powerlines or people from a photo. Personally, I believe that if you take a photo and people are in it, it should not be removed as it makes the topic more interesting.
The second workshop I attended was “Environmental Journalism 101” taught by Garret Ellison, an environmental reporter for Michigan Live (MLive). After he introduced himself, he told us what MLive was all about and shared some of the stories he had worked on. A typical day for him includes writing 2-5 articles a week all on the environment. I always thought, as a journalist, your job was to cover all types of stories even though your background might be in a different field. He shared some of the perks of being a journalist like traveling, interacting with experts in the field, and increasing his knowledge of environmental issues. He gave us some suggestions on how to get started in a career in journalism and some advice for when we entered the field. Mr. Ellison shared with us his dos and don’ts for conducting a successful interview. He suggested to always carry a transcriber or download an app so you don’t have to rewatch the whole interview. He also recommended getting a nice relatively inexpensive camera to start. Mr. Ellison also reiterated the point to be an honest and authentic journalist.
The last workshop I attended was “Diversity in the Newsroom” taught by Dr. Alexis Howell from NewsNation. Dr. Howell started by introducing herself, she then asked those attending what the term diversity meant. Our conversations ranged from if the room was diverse, the comfort levels of different conversations with co-workers to how some conversations are discriminative. Next, we analyzed different situations that have occurred and the kind of coverage it got. I remember when I first started watching the news, everything, regardless of race, got reported on. This workshop was interesting to see really how much journalism has shifted from when it first started.
After the MIPA fall conference, before getting on the bus to go back to West Bloomfield High School, those who attended the field trip were allowed to walk around Lansing For an hour to explore and find some good food. A group of us ended up at Sidecar Slider Bar for lunch before boarding the bus to head back to West Bloomfield High School.
After talking to some of my classmates about their experiences, especially those who attended for the last two years, all agreed the speakers from this year were much more engaging. A few of us were talking to Mrs. Williamson about our experience and we wished we had brought some microphones, cameras, and stabilizers to record and make a highlight reel.
There is a saying, “See it, share it.” That is the kind of journalist I want to be. I want to share everything I can. I don’t want to be one-sided. I want to cover every perspective and everything I can. I want to practice journalism the way it first started, by being neutral.
