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WJMC 2024 Photo Dump!! (Session 1, 7/7 - 7/12)
Hey I’m finally back! I’m aware that this is a month after the time I was there, but I got caught up with stuff in my personal life and didn’t find the time to update everything. I’ll be doing a photo dump plus some notes about the day. Hope you have fun reading :)
Welcome to my WJMC Blog!!
Hello! My name is Luna Rehn, I am fifteen years old, and I am attending the first week of WJMC in 2023!
Earlier this year I was invited to attend WJMC, or Washington Journalism and Media Conference. WJMC is a six-day event specifically for sophomores and juniors. We will get to stay at George Mason, just outside of D.C! During the week, we will attend lectures and speeches from big names in journalism and acquire career and life advice to help us along our journey. I have the honor to hear from reporters, journalists, Pulitzer Prize photojournalists, former media CEO's and even get to interview my state representative.
Time flew by and I'm flying out for the conference on Sunday! I'm very excited yet nervous as I have never flown by myself. I plan on reading some recommended books, shown below, and listening to music to pass the travel time.
I am so excited to attend, and to document my journey!
first day at wjmc
for those who may not know, I was invited to a very prestigious conference for young journalists at George Mason University (near Washington D.C.) and today was...I’m not gonna say jam-packed, but WOW.
It was really great, actually--we’re grouped into different “color groups” in order to form more intimate bonds (which would otherwise be difficult in a conference of 300+ high school students), and my group is full of really great, awkward-but-enthusiastic people--like me, so it works out great! My roommate and I have...very different personalities, but we’re getting along well thus far.
We had a color group meeting, then a speaker, and that’s what I really wanna dig into: the speaker. Because Mikayla Bouchard, senior staff editor at the NY Times, had some really important stuff to say, focusing particularly on getting one’s first job
when looking for a job, you want to hit two of the three P’s--Project, Payment, People.
Be willing to learn different skills to become more marketable
Networking. Communicate with people, make connections--get mentorships, if possible, because these people can introduce you or refer you to the jobs you might want
Hold off on leaving after the first year and try to put down roots, to see what comes of this
Be hungry, take jobs that might not be the perfect fit--the experience is necessary
Carry yourself with strength
Say yes, yes to new opportunities and learning experiences and any time someone says hey, you might be a good fit for this, wanna check it out? Say yes, because the experience will help in the long run
It’s not what you say, it’s what they hear--the she said, he said game is perfectly viable in journalism to keep a person’s words or bias from reflecting on the reporter
If something on a story touches you deeply, use that. Find the logic behind the emotion and chase it, use it to create a story that keeps its humanity and still gets the necessary facts across
We had another meeting after that, but that’s what really stood out to me.
WJMC DAY SIX - FINAL DAY
WJMC DAY SIX
Today, I woke up so exhausted but excited to go home. I packed up all my things and left my room as I found it. Breakfast was nice, it was just me and Delaney. Carsten and Madison decided to go to Starbucks to celebrate Carsten’s birthday.
Our color group announced each other's awards, and I got an award for best messages in the group chat, making people laugh. Our final speaker taught us many things, mainly that things won’t go how you think they will.
They had a twelve-minute video of all the stuff we did. It was fun, cheering when we saw someone we knew. I spent some time with my friend group, Carsten, Delaney, Madison, and Carlee. We had a lot of laughs.
Then, it was time for me to board the bus to the airport. I won’t lie; I shed a few tears saying goodbye to my friends, but I found someone I met yesterday, Renne, and sat next to them on the bus. The airport was a lot less hectic than I thought it would be.
The trip home was nice. I thought it would be a pain, considering the eight-month-old next to me, but he was calm. He made the trip more entertaining.
Once I landed, I finally saw my family again after five days, the longest and the farthest I'd been away from them. It made me feel independent, but I was ready to go back.
Overall, WJMC was incredible. I learned so much, and the speakers and staff were amazing, but the best part of the trip by far was the people I met. I would have been begging to leave if I hadn't met Carsten and Madison the first night.
So, that was my trip! I hope this sufficed as documenting, and I will be posting photos tomorrow!
24 hours!
In 24 hours, my plane will be landing in Washington, DC! As the days grow closer to July 9th, I get more and more excited - and nervous. It's my first time traveling alone, but the excitement is definitely overshadowing the nervousness.
Can't wait for my first day!
Tired. Will update the last few days and tonight somewhere around tomorrow.
Day 2/3
Apologies for not updating yesterday. I was very tired.
Day 2
In the morning, we had a simulation that centered around the First Amendment. The scenario was that a teacher had admitted that she purposefully alters AP scores as she gets a pay bonus for passes. The student journalists made a report on it, the principal had it censored, and now the school board has to decide if the report should be censored or if it can be released with no censorship.
My character was an overworked school board member raising their four young kids by themself while their spouse is deployed.
When the final verdict was made (the paper was to be released uncensored and the principal and assistant principal were to be investigated), I turned around and saw the person playing the principal doing this.
We later went to Planet Word and had some fun there. Journalist Doni Holloway was the speaker there.
We later went to tour the memorials. I visited the WWII Memorial, Lincoln Memorial, Vietnam Veterans Memorial, Korean War Veterans Memorial, among other veteran statues.
Day 3
Our first speaker of the day was Andrias White Murdaugh, an event planner and journalist. Her speech was very upbeat and put a lot of focus on the youth correspondents. After that was Kevin McCarthy (not the one you’re thinking of m), a film critic on Fox 5. His speech was also very good.
We later went to the National Press Club and saw Susan Goldberg, President and CEO of GBH, and Nicholas Johnston.
Also. Some stuff that was provided.
