My PDX Media Day

On Friday, I went to the Portland Media Day at the U of O campus in downtown. I had a lot of fun on that day. I got to learn about what I need to know and what is required to become a journalist.


The first session I went to was Utilizing Social Media. This session talked about how social media plays a big role in journalism. It was led by Carly Langdon. She’s worked for Herff Jones Yearbook. At the session, Langdon talked about how some news companies use social media to help spread news. So instead of going on to the news websites to check on today’s top stories, you can see it on your social media pages.


The second session I went to was how mobile messaging (and emojis) can enhance your journalism. What I learned from this session is communication can enhance your journalism and grow your audience. This session was run by Ben DeJarnette. He works for WhereBy.US. He talked about how people can text news to each other.


The third session I went to was How to Write a Feature Story. In this session, I learned that in order to write an interesting story, I need to do a lot of investigating by going out and interviewing people, gathering information, and the toughest part, writing it in a way that people want to read. This session was lead by Daphne Martin. She’s a journalism teacher.


The fourth session I went to was Photojournalism After Newspapers. In this session, I learned how to take good photos that can be used in a newspaper article. Tom Patterson, who works at Patterson Photography, taught us you have to be in complete focus in order to take a good photo.


The last session I went to was Coming Together. This session was about what do you need in order to become a journalist. Kathryn Helmke, a teacher at Aloha High School, loves teaching journalism. She said you have to be or feel like a part of the journalism family in order to become one. Treat everyone well and everyone will treat you well back.