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Community journalists from around the state of Kansas, and even from out of state, braved threatening weather to attend the regional community journalism conference, 2001: A Community Journalist's Odyssey, at the Manhattan Holidome on Thursday, Feb. 8. Some of the highlights included a welcome from Jeff Burkhead, the new executive director of the Kansas Press Association, and panels geared to help participants recruit and retain quality employees, cover disasters in their communities, and more effectively reach their communities as they become more diverse. The luncheon included the presentation of the Huck Boyd Leaders of the Year award to Howard and Sharon Kessinger, publishers of the Marysville (Kan.) Advocate. This award was presented by Ron Wilson, executive director of the Huck Boyd National Institute for Rural Development, and is awarded each year by the Institute to "those judged most outstanding among the people who have beeen featured on the Institute's Kansas Profile radio program during the previous year." It seemed appropriate to present this award to the Kessingers during the conference. The luncheon speaker was Steve Buttry, the national correspondent and writing coach for the Omaha World Herald, who talked about "Enterprise Reporting and Coaching on a Deadline." Other featured speakers included John Hatcher, director of educational programs for the Center for Community Journalism at Oswego State in New York, presenting "Finding the Point in a Pointless Forest"; tips on covering disasters in your community from Ann Charles, of the Parsons Sun, and Bill Felber, of the Manhattan Mercury; improving your column writing, by Ned Seaton, general manager of the Manhattan Mercury; and the historical and technical aspects of writing better obits, by Janice Hume, of K-State, and Garrett Ray, of Colorado State University. Get more information about the conference from our January 2001 newsletter.
Community Newspaper Showcase of Excellence The Community
Newspaper Showcase of Excellence was project profiling award-winning
community newspapers. After seven years, this project was discontinued,
but we still have copies on file. Workshops
The Huck Boyd National Center for Community Media has sponsored workshops in Hill City, Ellsworth, White City, Iola and Manhattan, Kansas. The workshops focus on helping journalists serve their communities better by enhancing their skills in writing, editing, interviewing, and implementing technology. The Center plans to expand these workshops, using various technologies in 2000. (More..) Most recently, the Center sponsored "2001: A Community Journalist's Odyssey," a regional conference for community journalists and journalism students that included a day of special sessions on everything from writing better obituaries to making the most of the World Wide Web for your newspaper. Here is a digest of helpful hints from the day's sessions.
Circuit Ride Program The Center's
Circuit Ride Program serves as both a research tool for the Center
and a way to let publishers express their concerns and successes.
The purpose of these visits is to discuss issues community newspaper
publishers must deal with to keep their papers active and profitable.
Page last updated on December 8, 2004 |
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