by Marcy Darin, IWPA Member
From Bluegrass to Blueline: Racing toward Success at NFPW
by Marcy Darin, IWPA Member
More than 200 women communicators from around the country "raced toward success" in the bluegrass of Lexington, Kentucky for the National Federation of Press Women's annual conference September 9-11. The three-day event led participants to explore Appalachian culture, probe the plagiarism of Jayson Blair, and shake hands with the matriarch of the Judd family.
In the gathering's first plenary session, JoAnn Huff Albers, former director of the Journalist School at Western Kentucky University, asserted that journalism schools had a responsibility to include ethics and law courses in their curriculums, but that elementary and high schools have failed to educate students on the elements of plagiarism.
"Teachers don't instruct children on how to source materials," explained Albers. The whole emphasis in on the content, not process."
Between speakers, participants could delve into at least two dozen workshops that covered such topics as romance writing, weaving your own story into your work, and privacy and the press.
In another plenary talk, participants got a glimpse of the future from a media researcher tracking the relationship between consumers and various media. According to the study of 400 Indiana households, adults were exposed to media an average of 12 hours a day. Trends toward wireless and interactive television will become more pronounced in the next two years, according to Michael Bloxham, director of Ball State University's Center for Media Design. By 2006, consumers will be able to watch their favorite sitcoms on their cell phones, Bloxham predicted.
IWPA's Cecilia Green was among 18 women honored as nominees by NFPW affiliates for the Communicator of Achievement Award. Other representatives from the Illinois affiliate receiving awards were: Marlene Cook; Cindy Cruz, Marcy Darin, Val Ensalaco; Suzanne Hanney, Linda Neumann, Rachael Reynolds, and Kristin Szremski. Ten members from the Illinois Press Women's Association attended the annual event.
While the professional workshops were plenty, most participants said that peer support was an equal draw. "It was good just to reconnect with colleagues in a supportive environment," said Cindy Cruz of Alsip who was attending her tenth national conference. "We're all in this together."
Marcy Darin is development associate for Cathedral Shelter of Chicago.