Image via Craig Brown, MT Advisor 

By: Auzzy Byrdsell, Editor in Chief  

The summer break is a crucial transitional period for student-led media publications across the nation. As new editorial and executive boards are formed, students move up in leadership and recruit new talent to innovate their newsrooms. The Associated Collegiate Press (ACP) committed themselves to providing these student journalists with the necessary resources and environments to develop them into effective leaders with the annual ACP College Media Mega Workshop from July 20-22. 

As the only HBCU representatives, The Maroon Tiger sent Kobe Scales (Sports Editor and Social Media Director), Kollin Washington (managing editor of visual media), Colin Royal (managing editor of print), Craig Brown (MT advisor) and myself to participate in the workshop. This year’s ACP workshop was held at the University of Minnesota’s (U of M) Twin Cities campus; Morehouse College covered travel and food for all Maroon Tiger participants. ACP contributed lodging in U of M dorms. 

Institutions from across the nation like Loyola Marymount University, Stevenson College, Georgia Southern University, NC State University, Pepperdine University and many more had both student and administration representation in Minnesota. University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) had an overwhelming presence with leadership from six student publications under their student media. 

The workshops were split into different tracks that catered to multiple areas of journalism like sports editing, leadership, photography and video, advising and more to address a plethora of interests for both students and administration. Over the three-day event, each track guided participants through discussions and activities sharing ideas and experiences from their respective publications. ACP carefully selected faculty from the institutions present and ACP staff to lead the tracks.

“One of the coolest parts was definitely just how fast we developed a sense of community. We had instructors but it was us bouncing ideas off each other,” said Micah Ernest, editor in chief at the Stevenson Villager at Stevenson University. 

“Having that community as far as  journalism, and everyone wanting to use their passion to progress was really special,” he said. 

Going into his first year as editor in chief, Ernest said the Stevenson Villager is being built from the ground up with only one other person on staff with him. After participating in the leadership track, the ACP workshops surrounded him with a framework and ideas on a system to effectively recruit and build the future for his publication. 

Outside of working together during the workshop sessions, students were also able to take lunch breaks together and were housed in the same dorm buildings to further deepen rapport and chemistry which bled into their work environment.

Elizabeth Smith is the director and advisor of Pepperdine Graphic Media at Pepperdine University and president of the board for ACP. Her guidance in the leadership track steered introspective discussions on how to lead newsrooms through adversity. 

“The Mega Workshop is an incredibly valuable experience for college journalists as they prepare for, and continue to do, journalism work for their campus communities. During this three-day workshop, students get to collaborate with their colleagues and faculty from across the nation and dive into an immersive experience based on topics that support all newsrooms,” she said. 

The Maroon Tiger’s group also had the chance to explore Minnesota by attending a Twins game and visiting Vikings stadium and facilities over the trip.  

ACP plans to have their Fall National College Media Convention in Atlanta from Oct 29 – Nov 2 at the Hyatt Regency Atlanta. To learn more about the ACP and their future events, click here. 

Copy Edited by: Colin Royal, Managing Editor of Print 

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