Media professionals will give advice and speak about their career experiences at the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences and the Office of Student Media’s fourth annual NSU Multimedia Conference on Jan. 30 from 8:15 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the Carl DeSantis Building.
The speakers will include professional newspaper reporters, television reporters, photographers, music producers, sports editors, radio personalities, bloggers, entertainment lawyers and social media producers. NBC 6, WSVN News, Channel 7 FOX News, the Sun-Sentinel and the Miami Herald are among the represented companies at the conference.
Janette Becerra, office manager for Student Media, is involved with the organization of the conference. She said that this year, the conference will include professionals who use mediums like music.
“Any student can benefit from the conference, even if they’re not going into a media field. It’s going to develop you as a professional,” Becerra said. “But if you are interested in those areas, this is a huge opportunity for you to network, which is the biggest thing in this industry. Talking to people and seeing their experience gives you huge insight.”
Becerra said that learning from media professionals can be different from learning in a classroom.
“Professors, especially here at NSU, know a lot, but whenever they tell me they’ve had a job in the field for 20 years, it makes me want to listen. It gives you a whole different side than just studying material from a textbook,” she said.
Stephen Andon, assistant professor in the College of Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences, has presented at the conference the past three years, bringing in media professionals working in the sports industry to talk to students. This year, he’s presenting on strategies in social media for sports teams, fans and players.
“Hearing from someone who’s being paid by the industry has a different kind of credibility than a professor saying you have to do this thing in a field,” he said. “There’s obviously a wealth of information that professionals have that [professors] don’t have. You get a broader picture of what it’s like to work in a media field.”
Andon also said that networking is important to a career in media.
“More so than getting good grades or getting good test scores, the way you get jobs is by knowing people,” he explained. “It works in all fields.”
Attendees will choose between more than 40 sessions led by different media professionals. Session topics include freelance journalism, finding internships, social media, photography, copyright law, writing for television news, clay animation and producing a documentary. The conference will include a small internship fair and end in a Q&A session with the professionals.
Senior communication studies major Natalie Moreau attended the conference last year and said she looks forward to returning to the conference this year.
“I think the conference is a great way to see different aspects of communications in the real world,” said Moreau. “I thought it was very beneficial for my major and great just getting to see different people in the field. I want to see who’s going this year and what they have to talk about.”
The conference is open to high school, community college and NSU students. Breakfast and lunch will be provided. The registration fee is $10, but the conference is free for NSU students. Registration closes on Jan. 29. To register, visit nova.edu/studentmedia/multimediaconference/registration.
Photo credit: Photo printed with permission from Janette Becerra
