📺🍕🗳Presidential debate watch party and more
Journalism at CC news and info, week three Block 1
Happy third week. If you missed the last Journalism Institute newsletter, find it here. In this week’s edition we have new events, new reporting opportunities, and some advice on campus story ideas.
First, we hope to see you this Thursday when Alexandre Couture Gagnon, president of the Association for Canadian Studies in the United States, delivers a presentation titled “Changing goals: Canada’s and Québec’s cultural diplomacy in the United States.”
The talk and discussion is this Thursday, Sept. 12 at 5 p.m. in the Southern Colorado Public Media Center — our journalism headquarters — at 720 N. Tejon. Practice your open-ended questions, or see how you might write about this in an engaging way for the campus community.
🗓 Mark your calendar for these other timely upcoming events
📺🍕🗳 Tomorrow, Tuesday, Sept. 10, join the political science and German departments at the German House for a presidential debate-watch party with pizza. (Make sure to register here tonight or early tomorrow so they know how much food to get.)
🎥 On Tuesday, Sept. 10, Film and Media is hosting a lighting workshop for the department’s “Tech Tuesday” series. “In this workshop, we will cover 3 and 4-point lighting techniques, effective ways to use natural light, color gels to affect the mood or tone of your shot, and much more,” Technical Director Madi Powell said. Time/Location: Studio B at 3:30 p.m.
🔗 Want to partner with the Journalism Institute on an event for the college’s Conflict & Civility pluralism series? Funding is available. Here is the criteria for what they’re looking for if you have an idea and want to run it by us.
🌮 Journalism lunch. We’re thinking Block 2 for this, so keep an eye out. It will be a catered lunch at our headquarters where you can meet with journalism students and instructors, talk about journalism, and learn about opportunities.
🎬 Journalism Institute co-director Corey Hutchins will moderate a panel discussion with the filmmaker and subjects of the new documentary Trusted Sources following a screening. Location: Denver Press Club. Date: Sept. 26.
👀 In Block 3 (I’d say Oct. 29 or Oct. 30), one of the most important journalistic voices of his generation is slated to speak at CC’s Presidential Symposium. Not sure it’s public yet, so keep an eye out. We’ll also set up a lunch with him that day for anyone interested to come and connect.
🆕 New reporting opportunities for 2024
We’re adding to our steady stable of internship and practicum opportunities this year. Here are just a few:
🗞Our student who was reporting paid stories remotely for Sky-Hi News in Colorado’s Grand County graduated, and editor Tara Alatorre asked if we knew of anyone else who might fill those shoes. You need solid hard-news reporting chops and the ability to understand local government, and, more importantly, relay what’s important about it to newspaper readers. You would watch the video recordings of local government meetings and send in news stories about them to the paper. Hit Corey up if you’re interested and he can connect you. Learning how to remotely report on these types of meetings is a skill that will serve you greatly in the hybrid newsrooms of the future.
🪖 Colorado College alum Nick Cleveland-Stout flagged this interesting call for reporters interested in writing “for the military industry.” The folks at Inkstick media say they “believe endless war is a fundamental feature of American life. Whether or not you have any experience covering the defense industry, we are looking for reporters who share that vision and aspire to dig into the United States’ deep economic dependence on military and weapons spending. Inkstick Media is a nonprofit outlet that covers national security and foreign policy while, as a rule, accepting no funds from defense contractors or government entities that could color our views — a rarity on the defense beat. We’re also woman-led and majority-female.”
📰 Local Colorado Springs publisher Dirk Hobbs, founder of Colorado Media Group, is open to internship opportunities from CC students for his outlets that include NORTH magazine and the Southern Colorado Business Forum & Digest (The Digest digital and print version). Let Corey know if you’d like an introduction.
CC students produced nearly 200 stories for outside news outlets last year
Corey here. More and more we’re learning about the ways students in U.S. higher-education institutions are helping fill gaps in local news.
New research from the Center for Community News at the University of Vermont offers a picture of how that looks by the numbers.
The center identified more than 17,228 pieces of journalism students across the country produced — including students at CC — that appeared in more than 1,311 outlets.
Researchers got that figure by surveying leaders at 73 news-academic programs across 37 states and Washington D.C. “to quantify the extraordinary reach and impact of university-led local news reporting.”
The report included three higher-ed institutions in Colorado, including Colorado College where I calculated and submitted the numbers.
At CC, we identified roughly 185 individual stories students produced for local news organizations outside of the campus publications last year. That’s remarkable. Think we can beat it this year?
📣 Let us hear about those summer internships
Corey again. People I’ve heard from were impressed by the number and breadth of internships students did over the summer.
I’d like to write something about it and would love to hear from any student about your internship, including links to stories you produced.
Just send me an email (Corey.J.Hutchins@gmail) offering some quotes about what you did, what you learned, what you thought of it, and how our program helped prepare you. Also, I’d really like to hear what you wished you’d learned in classes before you found yourself in a professional environment doing the work — whether it was a newsroom or anywhere else.
I’m currently working on a unique-in-the-nation project to help students in academic journalism programs in Colorado more easily connect with our state’s local newsrooms, and I’ve researched the journalism workforce pipeline, so I’m kind of obsessed with how these internships work (or don’t).
➡️ Journalism classes we’re offering this year
Here’s what we have on our course grid for this semester and the next:
Block 2: “Reporting on Politics,” taught by Vince Bzdek, who is executive editor of the Gazette in Colorado Springs and Denver, and Colorado Politics. He’s a CC grad who served as a politics editor of the Washington Post.
Block 3: In “Inbox Journalism: Writing for Newsletters,” taught by Corey Hutchins, students will learn about entrepreneurial journalism, developing a beat you’re passionate about, and becoming an authority on it while cultivating an audience for your work. Newsletters are a growing market in journalism, and you’ll hear from plenty of newsletter writers while creating one yourself.
Block 4: “Introduction to Journalism,” taught by Tina Griego, is your gateway to becoming a journalism junkie. Learn from one of the best in the business. Intro is the only required course for journalism minors.
Block 5: In “Radio Journalism” with Steven Hayward and Peter Breslow, the former senior producer for NPR, you’ll learn your way around audio broadcast journalism.
Block 5: “Introduction to Journalism,” taught by Corey Hutchins, will teach you what sets journalism apart from other forms of communication, why it’s important to society, and, most importantly, how to do it. By the end of the class you’ll wind up with stories you can publish in the campus newspaper and beyond.
Block 6: “Financial and business reporting,” is led by Heather Perlberg, a senior reporter for Bloomberg who covers wealth and the 1%, and is a CC grad. In it you’ll learn about the world of reporting on business and industry. Bloomberg reporters Kathy Burton and Annie Massa will teach the class well.
Block 6: “Secrecy, Surveillance, and Democracy,” taught by Diane Alters and Juan D. Lindau, teaches at the intersection of those three themes.
Block 7: In “Reporting on Wildfires,” taught by Corey Hutchins, students will learn how to better cover wildfires, which are getting bigger, hotter, and more frequent out here in the West. This is a field trip class and you’ll publish your reporting at Burning Questions.
All of these classes count toward the journalism minor. If you have any questions about them get in touch with Corey.
🦅 🗞 INTERNSHIP: The Crestone Eagle
Want to learn how a newspaper that serves the town near our Baca campus operates from top to bottom?
Get in touch if you want to stay at our Baca campus for a block while interning at the monthly Eagle. This counts for the minor.
Send Corey an email with “Crestone Eagle internship” in the subject line.
#ProTip: It’s best if you can get a group of journalism minors who can all agree on a block. At least two. Age requirement: 21.
🤑 Submit published student journalism, win scholarship from SPJ
As a board member of the Colorado chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, Corey will let you in on a little secret: Your chances of winning this are strong.
That’s not because he has any influence as a judge, but because he happens to know how many applications the chapter gets each year. If you believe in your work, he strongly recommends you apply.
Details here:
Sheldon Peterson Award
Broadcast journalism scholarships of up to $5,000 sponsored by the Colorado Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists
This scholarship is open to high school seniors and college and university students attending any accredited U.S. college or university. To be considered, applicants must plan on entering a career in broadcast journalism and be from or living in Colorado.
A concise cover letter that may include a statement of financial need and that explains how the applicant intends to use the scholarship. An essay (no more than 500 words) that illustrates the applicant’s writing abilities and plans for a career in broadcast journalism.
The names and contact information for three references.
A current resume.
Three work samples.
Applications must be postmarked or received at the email address below by Feb. 14, 2025. Scholarship recipients will be notified in the spring and will be invited to attend an awards banquet in the Denver area. The scholarship money will be paid to the student’s institution. All award amounts will be decided by the SPJ Scholarship Committee.
Email completed applications to Doug Bell at dgoal@aol.com.
Scholarship recipients will be notified in the spring and will be invited to an awards banquet in the Denver area. The scholarship money will be paid to the student’s institution. All award amounts will be decided by the SPJ scholarship committee.
And this one…
Helen Verba Award
Print/convergent scholarships of up to $5,000 sponsored by the Colorado Pro Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists
This scholarship is open to high school seniors and college and university students attending any accredited U.S. college or university. To be considered, applicants must plan on entering a career in print or digital journalism and be from or living in Colorado.
A concise cover letter that may include a statement of financial need and that explains how the applicant intends to use the scholarship. An essay (no more than 500 words) illustrating the applicant’s writing abilities and plans for a career in journalism.
The names and contact information for three references.
A current resume.
Three published stories.
Applications must be postmarked or received at the email address below by Feb. 14, 2025. Scholarship recipients will be notified in the spring and will be invited to attend an awards banquet in the Denver area. The scholarship money will be paid to the student’s institution. All award amounts will be decided by the SPJ Scholarship Committee.
Email completed applications to Doug Bell at dgoal@aol.com.
Also, if you are practicing journalism, you should seriously consider joining the state chapter of SPJ. Learn more about our state’s Society of Professional Journalists chapter here, and find out how to join here. We have student rates.
Membership gets you a press card you can use as a credential for events you plan to cover or to more easily identify you as a journalist when you’re reporting in the field. If you have any questions about SPJ membership, Corey is happy to help.
He’s also happy to answer any questions about this scholarship opportunity should you be thinking about applying.
More journalism opportunities and other odds & ends
💡 Students often tell me one of the hardest parts of writing for a campus publication is coming up with story ideas. Chatwan Mongkol, who writes the excellent Nutgraf newsletter about student journalism, wrote a super useful recent post outlining great campus reporting ideas that students could emulate almost anywhere. Find it here. (Mongkol will be joining our “Inbox Journalism: Writing for Newsletters” class in Block 3, so register for that class if you still can and want to hear from one of the best.)
💸 Take advantage: As a CC student you get free access to the New York Times, Washington Post, Wall Street Journal, the Economist magazine, and more, which can save you a lot of money on subscriptions. You can sign up through Tutt Library. Find more information about how to access these publications and others here.
🤫 Speaking of Tutt, the library has reserved time there on Friday mornings during Blocks 1 and 2 for a student co-working space. "Research Swarms” are open for students working on projects. “Students may work independently alongside other students, and a librarian will be available for consultation as desired,” we’re told. Light refreshments are also available. You don’t need to an appointment, and can simply drop in on Friday mornings in Tutt Library room 327 from 9 a.m. to noon if you aren’t in class.
🔎 If you took “Investigative Reporting and Public Service Journalism” (or didn’t but still want to learn more about that kind of work), consider applying for this AccessFest24 Fellowship for free registration for the Investigative Reporters and Editors conference, AccessFest. That’s the annual conference for the group IRE taking place virtually Oct. 17-19. You also get a one-year membership to the group. Apply here. Deadline Sept. 9.
➡️ The Mental Health & Journalism Summit is free and online, and will take place Oct. 8-12. More information here.
🔥 In 2021, CC journalism minor Miriam Brown wrote a sociology thesis paper titled “Experiences of Burnout Among Student-Journalists at a Private Liberal Arts College,” which you can read here. “This study attempts to examine not only how burnout
manifests in student-journalists, but also why it occurs in the first place,” she wrote.
📍 Bookmark these journalism resources
Make sure you’re keeping up with the latest trends in journalism (including student journalism) by bookmarking some of these outlets and keeping up to speed:
Inside The Newsroom — The Newsletter For Journalists (featuring journalism jobs, internships, and opportunities)
The Nugraf, a weekly newsletter by Chatman Monkol about student journalism, featuring “original reporting on the state of student journalism and dedicated sections for showcasing stories by student journalists and highlighting industry opportunities.” (Warning: students who took Inbox Journalism might be envious of Mongkol’s slam-dunk idea for a national newsletter.)
Don’t fall prey to the “News Finds Me” phenomenon, and make sure you’re always actively seeking out news and information.
📝 Have you officially registered for the journalism minor?
Do you identify as a journalism minor but might not actually be registered as one on paper?
Here are the requirements for a journalism minor at CC:
“Introduction to Journalism” and three other topics in journalism classes or others that qualify from English or film and media.
Complete an internship.
Complete a practicum: a long-form piece of journalism in the medium of your choice published outside of a campus publication (what’s your dream outlet? Let’s try!)
If you want to register for the minor, fill out this online form. Put Corey or Steve down as your advisor, and we’ll sign off on it. Then let’s meet to talk about what you might want to consider for an internship or practicum.
Get in touch
As always, feel free to get in touch any time, or let us know if you want us to take you off this list. — Corey Hutchins & Steven Hayward