Student journalists love to debate their craft

By Jason Gondziola

Student journalists from Ontario and Quebec were given a chance to learn from Montreal media professionals last month at Concordia. The Eastern Canada Student Journalism Conference, which ran from March 26-28, brought together writers, editors and photographers from 10 Canadian University Press (CUP) publications.

Started in 1938, CUP is a non-profit co-operative news service comprised of 62 student newspapers from universities and colleges across Canada, and primarily provides members newswire and information-sharing services.

The organization makes use of a network of six bureau chiefs from the Atlantic to British Columbia, who are responsible for generating timely and relevant news stories from each region.

“It’s the only one of its kind,” explained Steve Faguy, conference organizer and outgoing editor-in-chief of The Link. “It’s the largest student-press cooperative in the world, and I believe it’s also the oldest. There’s nothing really quite like it.”

The strength of the organization, according to Faguy, is that it networks student newspapers with their peers across the country. If one newspaper is having a problem in a particular area, there’s a good chance that one of the member papers has dealt with it before.

“It means that the people who are involved really have a firm grasp of what the needs are for student journalists, because they come from the same background,” said Anna Sarkissian, conference co-ordinator and The Link’s recently elected editor-in-chief.

The conference gave student journalists an opportunity to learn from their counterparts in professional media. They covered a number of topics, from website design to a 12-step program for starting a magazine, as explained by Stephan Hardy and Phillip Todd of maisonneuve magazine.

An engaging round table discussion on objectivity in the media, which included freelance journalist Ken Hechtman and Gazette columnist Mike Citrome, was one of the conference’s highlights.

“Some people got a little bit fired up,” recalled Sarkissian. “It was a productive session for us. A lot of issues were raised, from various perspectives, and I personally gained a lot from that.”

Concordia staff and faculty members also made presentations. Public Relations Co-ordinator Chris Mota delivered a talk on public relations and universities. Director of Archives Nancy Marrelli, part-time English lecturer Simon Dardick and outgoing Link literature editor Scott McRae, all of Véhicule Press, discussed the realities of getting started in the publishing world. Matthew Hays, journalism lecturer and film critic for the Mirror, was also present.

One of the strengths of these conferences is that they put a face to the organization, according to CUP President Craig Battle.

“One of the main focuses of the organizations is community and to create a cooperative of Canadian students,” said CUP President Craig Battle. “On top of that you’ve got your educational seminars that, in the spring, act mainly as a way to train new staff coming into the paper, to get people excited and to build your journalistic IQ.”

This conference marks the end of Battle’s term as president, and the end of the university student paper publishing year. The next regional conference will take place in the fall, with CUP’s national conference following this January in Edmonton.