High School Journalism Students Interact with Professionals at ECU | Eastern North Carolina Now

    Publisher's note: The author of this post, Rich Klindworth, is a contributor to ECU News Services.

    Learning to tap into their creative side was just one of the ways high school students said they hoped to benefit from an annual media workshop at East Carolina University.

    More than 200 students participated in the Eastern North Carolina High School Media Workshop on Oct. 25 in ECU's Mendenhall Student Center. The ninth annual event was co-hosted by ECU's School of Communication and the North Carolina Scholastic Media Association.

    "ECU's School of Communication is committed to serving this region," said associate professor Dr. Mary Tucker-McLaughlin. "By inviting regional high school students, we can offer these students an opportunity to interact with our staff, faculty and students and introduce them to college life through the journalism lens."



    The day included nearly 20 topics presented by ECU and local experts on storytelling, photography, yearbook coverage and the ins and outs of a press conference.

    "The content, the titles of the instructional sessions that we offer reflect the change in media of today," said Monica Hill, director of the North Carolina Scholastic Media Association.

    Some of those local experts were working media and communication professionals.

    "It's a real opportunity to get in there and talk with the kids about social media and how it's affecting journalism as we know it today," said presenter George Crocker, digital content manager for WNCT-TV in Greenville. "I'm actually hoping to learn a lot from them to find out what it is that they use to get their news."

    The keynote speaker of the event was award-winning editorial cartoonist Bob Gorrell. His work has appeared in USA Today, The New York Post, The Washington Times, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times and numerous other publications. Gorrell demonstrated political cartoon drawing and talked about the importance of journalists.

    "I think it's (the workshops) really great for the kids, it expands their options going forward and expands their pool of knowledge about the field," Gorrell said.

    "I thought that it was very entertaining and also helpful," said Anaicia Moore, a student at Pitt County Schools Early College High School at Pitt Community College.

    The information presented to the high school students helps them with classwork and extracurricular activities but also gives them an idea if a job in journalism could be in their future.

    "I learned a lot of story ideas that I could use and I also learned how to interview a person... It should help a lot in my yearbook class," said PCS Early College student Jennifer House.

    In fact, Oakwood School junior George Martin said he is considering journalism as a possible career because of the event.

    "I thought it was a really good experience actually because you talked to people that have been in journalism for years and you get to hear what they've gone through," Martin said. "I think I should look at journalism more seriously because it was a kind of passing thought for a career choice originally, but now I'm more interested - definitely."

George Crocker of WNCT-TV teaches the students about social media content that gets the viewer’s attention.
    Having a couple of hundred high school students on campus also makes for a good recruiting tool for ECU.

    "A positive and fun learning experience encourages high school students, I believe, to set goals for higher education. We want them to enjoy their experience at ECU while potentially learning things that they can take back to their high school newspapers and yearbooks," Tucker-McLaughlin said.

    "I feel there's a lot more to do at ECU now that I've been here," Martin added.