Nicholas Thornon
MC Contributor
Jackson State University’s School of Journalism and Media Studies gave local high school students a look into the world of the mass communication during the SJMS conference held from April 7-8 in the Mississippi eCenter.
Media professionals from various communication platforms including television news directors and general managers, print and online newspaper editors, public relations, sports media and more shared knowledge with the students at the conference entitled “Multimedia Platforms in the Digital Age.”
A few of the special guest speakers in attendance were award winning cartoonist Marshall Ramsey, Michael Wallace, ESPN NBA reporter, and JSU alum Demarco Morgan, national correspondent with CBS news, was the keynote speaker.
The conference was jammed packed with interesting topics that ranged from news directing, management, social media, sports media, and public relations.
Students from Clinton and Murrah High Schools who work for the school newspapers and yearbooks were invited to participate in the conference and get a look at future career options in the field of media.
“I participated because I am a member of yearbook and journalism project in my senior class.” She added, “It gave really good aspects of journalism. I learned a lot things regarding journalism that I couldn’t even think of before I came here,” said Courtney Harper, a Clinton High School student.
Clinton High school senior, Anna Tomlinson, said that her highlight of the conference was guest speaker Marshall Ramsey.
“His discussion was very interesting and humorous. He kept me engaged, and it was oddly inspiring. He is very genuine and a people’s person. It’s nice to see people who are influential in this way. The fact that he started off his career as a janitor, and built himself up inspires me and makes him more relatable,” said Tomlinson.
The students weren’t the only ones who were excited about the event; the speakers that came out where also thrilled about the conference.
Throughout the conference, students asked questions of the speakers that who gave personal details within their professional careers that kept the students listening intently.
Jennifer Sadler, marketing instructor at the University of Mississippi said she is often asked how she made it in the field.
“I am not just an African-American that worked in corporate America, who is now a professor in the south. I am also a single mom on top of all that. So there are a lot of different elements that come with that, which will help people understand my background. If you take a look at my story, then you’ll understand that you can be exactly where I am or further ahead,” said Sadler.
This was SJMS’ first conference since becoming a School of Journalism in November of 2015.
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