Five takeaways from ONA 2013 for students

By Elise Schmelzer

The student newsroom at ONA13.
Photo courtesy of Laura Davison.

For some, this weekend was filled with tailgating and college football. Others spent the weekend in Atlanta learning about the future of digital journalism at the Online News Association's annual conference.

Laura Davison, an MU graduate student and former secretary of ONA Mizzou, was selected to work in the conference's student newsroom. Along with 19 other students, she spent the weekend recording the conference through blog posts, tweets and videos. From what they've collected, here are five ideas from the conference that students can apply to their own work.

NewsZou: A new student-produced site on trends and tools for journalists

By Hannah Schmidt

Photo credit: NewsZou.com

Journalism assistant professor and interactive director of KOMU-TV Annie Hammock has created NewsZou, a website to discuss digital tools and trends in the journalism industry. 

She started the site for her radio-television journalism course, Advanced Internet Applications, to teach students about blogging.

"The process gives students a chance to dive into the digital journalism industry to learn about trends and tools while they're practicing blogging," Hammock said.

5 questions to ask before applying for journalism internships

By Bridgit Bowden

Photo credit: photologue_np/Flickr

It's time to start thinking about summer internships. Starting the process can be overwhelming, but planning ahead can help you breeze through your applications.

Last year, I applied to more than 10 internships. For me, the process was stressful because I didn't think through all the details before sending applications. If I had planned more, I would have been able to narrow my options, spend more time on each application and manage my stress.  It's important to know what you're looking for in an internship before you go through the often time-consuming process of applying.      

Here are five questions to ask before you start sending your resume left and right. Hopefully, it'll make the process easier.

Live event blog: Picking the right journalism school path

By Cole Kennedy

We've got a crowded room here at 110 Lee Hills Hall (the Missourian building), but there are still plenty of seats for any latecomers. Hope to see some more underclassmen here to learn more about the options they have in the journalism school!

Amy Bruer, an undergraduate adviser, says not to get bogged down by all of the options - a lot of times, you'll end up figuring it out as you go. Also, the journalism school makes sure all students get a taste of multimedia reporting, because no matter what sequence you're in, you'll likely end up working in a multimedia environment.

Should a student elect for Strategic Communications, they have the option to choose between three newsrooms: Mojo Ad, AdZou, and Yaya Connection. They all have different environments, catered toward different emphasis areas and student strengths.

ONA Mizzou event: Picking the right journalism school track for you

By Andrew Gibson

Photo credit: Clyde Bentley/Flickr

I started at MU dreaming of becoming an ink-on-paper politics reporter. Yeah, I wanted to chase presidential candidates around the country. And maybe have an occasional appearance alongside Wolf Blitzer on CNN's "The Situation Room."

Then, not five months later, I started leaning toward magazine journalism. It sounded more relaxed than government reporting, and the thought of scrutinizing reader-submitted poetry in the New Yorker newsroom had me feeling fancy.

Finally, I settled on the multimedia glory of convergence -- but not before first going through a phase of broadcast infatuation.

What I'm getting at is: Picking the right track in the journalism school can be difficult. Not only do you have more than 30 to pick from, but you'll also be surprised by how much your interests change in just a few months. Plus, it's possible your envisioned career path doesn't pair best with the emphasis area you have in mind.

Although we can't make the decision for you, we can offer help. Join ONA Mizzou at 5 p.m. on Thursday, Sept. 26, as we host a panel of students and academic adviser Amy Bruer for a question-and-answer session on journalism school emphasis areas. They'll explain what to expect from course work and give you the lowdown on the culture of each newsroom or advertising agency. The event location is 110 Lee Hills Hall (that's the Columbia Missourian building).

If you have questions, don't hesitate to leave a comment here, email us or tweet us @ONAMizzou.