Tentative session offerings

The National College Media Conference features expert speakers on a wide variety of topics relevant to college journalists. Below is a tentative list of session titles. Stay tuned for a detailed schedule and session list in the weeks before the conference.

Advertising

• Blunt Truths
• Creating/Managing/Reporting Digital
• Effective Social Media
• Email Newsletters – Flytedesk
• If You Build It
• New Revenue Opportunities – Flytedesk
• Strategy & Design Multi Media
• What’s In Your Media Kit
• Working as a Strategist

Design and Visual

• A Shot in the Dark: Low-Light Performance Photography
• An Old Design Can Be New For Your Publication
• Beyond the Basics: Mastering Typography
• Crafting the Frame
• Creating Design or Art Headlines with Energy
• Design Clinic for Yearbook and Magazine Staffs
• Design Lab
• Designing Impactful Newsletters for Student Publications
• Digital Design: Making Your Online Presentation as Great as Your Journalism
• Get it Together: How to Put All Your Media Under One Umbrella
• Introduction to Digital News Design
• Jazzing Up Your Magazine Design
• Launching Your Visual Storytelling Career: Pro Tips for Aspiring Creatives
• Let’s Get Linear
• Marrying Design Creativity to Your Narrative
• Multimedia Storytelling
• My West Coast Page Is Better Than Your East Coast Page
• Photojournalism: From Wildfires to War, Reporting on Local Stories with Global Impact with Pulitzer Prize Winner David Swanson and Ethan Swope
• Redesign: Beyond the fonts, colors and grids
• The EYES Have it
• Walk the Walk: How to be a Creative Director
• Your Sports Page Sucks

Law and Ethics

• Advisers’ Roundtable
• AI Ethics
• Ask the Lawyer
• College Press Rights Primer
• Correct Me If I’m Wrong
• Copyright Law: A Primer
• Covering Protests
• Don’t Get Sued
• FOIA and You!
• How To Spot Biases – From News Sources to Your Personal Bias (Ground News)
• I’m a Press Lawyer. Ask Me Anything.
• The ABCs of L-I-B-E-L
• Using Product Solutions to Help Journalists Build Trust and Change Newsroom Habits
• Using Your FOI Toolbox

Leadership

• Correct Me If I’m Wrong
• From One Editor to Another
• How to Keep Your Staff Engaged
• Leadership Across Newsrooms
• Leading Through Breaking News
• Leading Through Change
• Leading Through the Big Story
• Mentoring for Success
• Newsroom Leadership: Featuring the M&Ms
• Staffing in a Perfect World
• The Realities of Being a Leader in Your Student Newsroom
• The Role of Journalists in News Literacy Education
• You’re Not Okay and That’s Okay: Keeping Your Staff From Tanking in Dark Times

Specialized reporting

• Behind the Paywall: Writing Sports Stories Worthy of Purchase
• Breaking Into Food Journalism
• Breaking Into Music Journalism Wherever You Are
• Bringing LGBTQ+ News Out of the Closet
• Covering LGBTQIA+ Issues While Protecting the Community
• Food Storytelling: It’s More than Viral Videos
• Investigative reporting: Finding documents and sources to report “Inflamed”
• Latinos in Sports Broadcasting
• Let’s Talk: How to Cover Religion on Your Campus Without Getting Political
• Life as a Gay Journalist in 2025/Why I Left Mainstream Media and Launched a Queer News Outlet
• Multimedia Storytelling
• Politics, Purpose and Priorities in the Trump Era
• Solutions Journalism in Your Newsroom
• The Art of the Feature: Crafting
• Stories That Matter
• Writing about Trauma in Nonfiction

Reporting and Coverage

• A Shot in the Dark: Low-Light Performance Photography
• A Simple Guide on Producing In-Studio “News Takes”
• Art in Storytelling: Finding the Perfect Balance
• Bridging the Gap: How Student Reporters Are Filling Local News Holes
• Columnists: The Original Influencers
• Covering Student Government: Navigating Drama and Staying Objective
• Crafting the Frame
• Edit Stories Fast, a How-To
• Framing Our Stories: A Conversation About Journalism, Solidarity Journalism, & Activism
• From Community College to University: Building the Skills for Academic Success
• From the Classroom to Professional Byline: A Blueprint for Pro/am Multimedia Reporting Partnerships
• Gamify It! Engaging Readers with Interactive Quizzes
• Get it Together: How to Put All Your Media Under One Umbrella
• Getting Your Foot in the Door: Tips and Tricks for Landing Your First Journalism Job 
• How to Interview Anybody About Anything: Simple Rules for the Smart Interview
• How to Speak to a Camera
• Investigative & Data Journalism: Student-professor Collaborations
• LA Strong: Student Journalists on the Frontlines of the LA Wildfires
• Next Level Story Packaging
• Reporting on Breaking News from the Inside
• Shining a Light After Tragedy: The Role of Student Journalists in Local Recovery
• Spanish or Bilingual: Lessons Learned from Publishing a Bilingual Magazine
• The Breaking News Desk: Covering High Stakes Stories with Speed and Accuracy
• Zero to 100: Strategies to Skyrocket Student News Social Media

Yearbook and Magazine

• Creating Design or Art Headlines with Energy
• Creating Yearbook Content to Capture Your Audience
• Design Clinic for Yearbook and Magazine Staffs
• Edit Stories Fast, a How-To
• From One Editor to Another
• How to Keep Your Staff Engaged
• Jazzing Up Your Magazine Design
• Staffing in a Perfect World
• What’s In A Theme

Other

• A Pro’s Perspective: Public Relations as a Career 
• Beyond Mainstream Media: It’s Time to Rethink Journalism Education
• Get it Together: How to Put All Your Media Under One Umbrella
• How to Interview Anybody About Anything: Simple Rules for the Smart Interview
• PR Your Way to Success: Building Your Personal Brand
• Redefining Identity: The Future of CSULB’s Newspaper of Record
• Spanish or Bilingual: Lessons Learned from Publishing a Bilingual Magazine
• Staying the Course: Student Belonging in a Time of Change
• Using Product Solutions to Help Journalists Build Trust and Change Newsroom Habits
• Zero to 100: Strategies to Skyrocket Student News Social Media