THURSDAY SUMMARY
Catherine Caruso
The National High School Journalism Conference was an amazing experience both educationally and socially.
Day one consisted of a lot of fun, as I traveled on a bus with cushioned seats to go to the KMOV television station. While at the news station, me and my peers had the opportunity to see KMOV’s nine o’clock Great Day segment live. Sitting on the sidelines of the set, I got a front seat view on how the show ran and was prepared for TV. Three large cameras were mounted on wheels and had the ability to move around with the touch of a button. One host held a remote control to scroll through the words on the teleprompter. The hosts invited guests on and moved throughout different parts of the set all in one hour long segment.
At the end of the broadcast, we were given the opportunity to ask questions to the three hosts, and were provided with valuable insight on the work needed to succeed in their industry. The hosts expressed the growing need for the ability to be knowledgeable in multiple aspects of the media industry no matter what part you plan to go into. The host who had been in the news industry for the longest recalled that he was asked if he knew how to photograph, edit photos, and write all for one job. The host had studied these concepts before, but was not an expert and expressed that sometimes you need to believe in your ability to learn and be ready for the unexpected.
On the set at KMOV
Later on that day, I went on another bus to the St. Louis Zoo. We were accompanied by a retired photographer who had spent lots of time photographing the animals at the zoo. I saw bears, zebras, giraffes, penguins, and more at the zoo. And of course we stopped at the gift shop where all of the stuffed animals were at the end!
Back at the convention center, there was an exhibit hall with colleges advertising themselves at different tables. We got tote bags and lots of candy and stickers. At the end of the day we all went to the Sen Thai Asian Bistro for dinner before we headed back to the convention center for the opening ceremony.
The opening ceremony consisted of multiple professional photographers sharing their photos and their journey to each photo throughout important moments in history. The photographers shared photos from elections, protests, fires, and families fleeing their country to come to the United States. We gained insight on what the day-to-day is as a photojournalist; capturing human emotion in a world of constant change.