Mark your calendars! On Saturday, Nov. 17, the
Columbia Daily Spectator in conjunction with
The Blue and White magazine and Columbia InterPublications Association will be hosting a day-long conference on the content and business sides of the media industry. Among a
long list of prominent figures in journalism are speakers such as Paul Steiger, the editor-in-chief, president, and CEO of ProPublica; Jeffrey Klein, the co-founder of
Mother Jones; Jon Steinberg, the COO and president of BuzzFeed; as well as Matt Turck, the publisher of
Slate. The conference currently features four panels ranging from Steiger and Klein’s keynote on “Innovations in investigative journalism,” to “Modern media revenue strategies.”
By using its unique location, conference organizers were able to access some of the most brilliant minds in journalism. Individuals from publications including the New York Times, Gawker, the New Yorker, the Wall Street Journal, and more will be at the conference to share stories and advice with prospective journalists, young professionals, and seasoned veterans alike. Though the conference is billed as an event for students and people just starting out in the industry, organizers hope that people with even just a slight interest in what’s going on in media today will attend. “We see [the conference] as a service,” says conference director Trevor Cohen, CC ’13. “We want people to learn from it and benefit from it and we want to cater to as many people as possible.”
Conference organizers hope that the event will not only benefit Spectator financially – conferences such as these being one of the latest tools the media industry is looking to for revenue generation – but will also solidify its place as one of the foremost college papers in the nation. The Columbia Media Conference is something organizers plan to annualize, the prominent names they’ve secured this year hopefully securing even more in the next.
Besides building community, solidifying reputation, and ensuring financial independence for Spec, the main goal of the Columbia Media Conference is to serve as a forum, allowing audience members to hear from interesting people who are doing amazing things. “It’s a rare opportunity to see all these people together,” says Cohen, “It’s going to be a fantastic discussion.”
The conference is open to anybody and everybody, with registration open through the day of. Help us by making this conference BIG and inviting friends, family, colleagues; anyone and everyone who’s interested in learning about the latest in the journalism industry. To find out more about the conference, check out speakers, and register, click here.
