“Go, go, go, go, to journalism camp. Go, go, go, go, don’t tell me you can’t. Go, go, go, go, where it’s all about. Go, go, go, go, to Media Now…"
Yes, this is a real song! If you don’t believe me, check our Twitter, @theDarNews.
So, if you haven’t already figured it out through my Snapchat stories and Tweets, I went to the journalism camp Media Now STL in St. Louis. The camp was on fleek and I found it very constructive and engaging. In all honesty, the Media Now STL camp was a near-perfect experience and I am very thankful for the time I got to spend there. In order to give you the full span of my experience, let me just walk you through the experience that was #MNSTL15.
It all started on Sunday, June 21. Even though I had to wake up at 3:50 a.m. in the morning, I was very excited for the road ahead, or should I say the flight ahead (it was my first commercial flight). After I hastily packed the remaining tidbits for my carry-on, my dad drove me, Darlingtonian Managing Editor Emily Orr, Social Media Editor Matthew McConnell, and our student publications adviser, Mrs. Forgette, an hour and a half down to Hartsfield-Jackson for our 8:35 a.m. flight. When we arrived at the airport, I wished my dad a Happy Father’s Day, unloaded our luggage from the car, and the Publications Squad entered what seemed like an endless maze of baggage check, security, escalators, trains, and people; there were so many people! We finally made it onto our flight and, within minutes, we were soaring 35,000 feet in the air, en route to St. Louis. After about 80 short minutes, the rushing waters of the mighty Mississippi River were in sight and the Gateway Arch zoomed into view. Once we landed, claimed our baggage, and exited the airport, I still could not even fathom the fact that, in only an hour and a half, I crossed half the country.
During my ongoing bout of awe with the mechanics of flight and jet propulsion, the “Squad” rented a Chevy Traverse and we were off to the Gateway Arch because, when in Rome, do as the tourists do. Somehow I feel like we were robbed, even more so than Emily did after she bought a $33 Cardinals t-shirt, but that’s another story, when we could not go to the top of the Arch; the next tour began in about two hours and we would be late if we waited for that. Plus, it was a bit windy and stormy so the Arch swayed quite a lot and the Squad might have thrown up if we went inside… Maybe it was actually a blessing that we did not make the tour. After we left the Arch, we ate at the Hard Rock Cafe, where we waited about 30 minutes for a few hamburgers and chips, but it’s okay. When we left, we were fully on our way to the camp. After we took the wrong exit, we eventually arrived at check-in 10 minutes early, did a cursory set-up of our rooms, and rushed over to the auditorium to hear a presentation from, who I called, the “world-famous” Kate Manfull, who was the organizer of Media Now with her husband, Aaron. Once we heard our marching orders, we all went to our first classes, mine relating to Editor-in-Chief Leadership (surprising, I know). Emily went to “Writing on a Deadline”, Matthew “Broadcast: Mobile Video and Live Broadcasting,” and even Mrs. Forgette went to the class “Teaching with Digital Tools” for advisers. So, for the first time in forever, I was alone in a strange school going to a new class with people I did not even know.
However, after I spent a solid seven minutes in the wrong class, I was off to a rocky start. My condition did not improve later in the day when I went to the wrong building completely. I was jet-lagged and tired and completely out of sorts. Luckily, my instructor was Mitch Eden, student publications adviser of the Pioneer yearbook and the student news magazine The Kirkwood Call at Kirkwood High School in Kirkwood, Mo. (that’s a lot of Kirkwood). He understood that I was nervous and a bit flustered and he welcomed me into his class, regardless of my initial tardiness. The next day I was on time.
Also, on the first day, the class began individual projects, mine being the authoring of my staff’s official manual and policies. While it was a tedious and time-consuming task, the creation of our manual and policies was certainly fruitful. Without a doubt, I came to realize how important a set of codes and laws really are to a student-run publication. There are clear parameters set and everyone has a role in maintaining an efficient workflow.
While I was enrolled in Media Now, I met some amazing friends who really helped me to understand that, everywhere around the country, there are students and editors just like me, struggling to meet deadlines and trying to whip his or her programs into shape. Two of the central figures in this realization were Maddie Reihs and Cassie Allen from Ray-Pec High School near Kansas City, Mo. All three of us had to create policies from scratch, but unlike my dilemmas of developing a theme and a news magazine, they were strapped with creating a theme altogether and debating whether or not to even keep their newspaper (of which I was given a copy before I left). Throughout our time at camp, Maddie, Cassie, and I worked together in group activities and brainstormed ways to improve our own publications.
We also obsessed over different dialects in different parts of the country. So, apparently, they call it a “shopping cart” everywhere except the South, where it is totally a “buggy.” Speaking of shopping, there are only like 14 Krogers in Missouri, so nearly no one knew about them. Another thing, I got on an elevator with three buttons and I said, “Mash ‘two’ for me,” and everyone looked at me like I was crazy! I guess it’s just “press” or “push” in Missouri. Plus, there was ZERO Coca-Cola anywhere on Maryville University’s college campus where the camp was held. When Mrs. Forgette went to the store for allergy medicine, I told her to pick up a Coke for me because, literally, ALL this campus had was Pepsi.
Some of the most famous, or infamous depending on who is speaking, activities from the camp were the large group sessions. During the first one, Emily and I were in a group of seven people tasked with designing a “dream media bus” to cover any event we imagined. It took only about two minutes before we were designing a tour bus designed to cover a Beyoncé concert, dubbed the “BeyHive” after her fan base. Then, about 10 minutes after we began designing, the counselors brought out trays of candy and icing and instructed us to build our idea. Using Swiss Cake Rolls, Nutty Bars, Jelly Beans, Oreos, and more, we created the best bus ever, or at least the judges thought we did seeing how we won the competition. The next day, I was in a group with Maddie, Cassie, and a few others and we set out to create a media superhero out of construction paper, tape, and more paper. Our superhero was the Media Trap Queen, able to save a news story with a single “Flicka da wrist.” We did not win, of course, but we still had a fun time.
On the final night of camp, the night activity was a foam birthday party for Media Now, which was turning five years old. People were “whipping” and “Nae Nae’ing” all night. The Cupid Shuffle made an appearance and even "Fergalicious," to which Emily and I did not hesitate to re-enact Thornwood’s RUMPUS 2015 Lip Sync. With cake and "5"-shaped balloons abound, the party was the perfect ending to the perfect time at camp.
The next day, the Squad had to wake up extra early to pack all of our things and get to breakfast. Mrs. Forgette showed me a Tweet from my instructor, Mitch Eden, stating that “It will be difficult. It will take time. But it will be worth it. First Media Now EIC to respond wins a special treat.” So, noticing that no one else had yet responded, I did, wondering what this mystical “special treat” could entail. After breakfast, we split and went our separate ways to our class sessions one last time. When I arrived, Mitch acknowledged my reply. To my surprise, the treat was my very own copy of Kirkwood’s Pioneer yearbook. The razor-sharp design and beautiful colors that I had coveted throughout the session was now being placed into my hands by my instructor. I felt so privileged. After that, I also collected a few copies of The Kirkwood Call to use as reference for The Darlingtonian and took my seat.
In my EIC class on the final day, we were to present our completed projects. The manual/policies of both Darlington and Maddie and Cassie’s Ray-Pec were completed and I presented after they did. To our surprise, Mitch rewarded our synergy and efforts with the "Ray-Pec Consultant Award" for me and the "Darlington Consultant Award" for Maddie and Cassie. We had made it through the session, barely.
Unfortunately, to catch our flight back east, the Squad had to cut out of camp before the big awards ceremony in the auditorium, where I am told I won an award that will be mailed to me. “Ethan earned the 'CEO Award' in the Editorial Leadership class at Media Now STL,” Mitch announced to the auditorium, “because he showed passion, dedication and a drive unlike most campers. He was hungry for feedback and thoughtful in discussion. He is passionate about improving Darlington’s media program in all areas: yearbook, print mag and online.” Even though I was not at the awards ceremony, I hope I can live up to these kind statements and I really do look forward to another year in student publications!
I won’t even address the delayed and late flight back. I am just so glad to be back in the South, where everyone drinks Coke, pushes buggies around Kroger, and mashes the buttons on elevators.
Even though my experience at Media Now has come to a close, I treasure everything I have learned from my time at journalism camp. A special thanks to Kate and Aaron Manfull for organizing such a wonderful camp, to Mitch Eden and Nancy Smith for your sage counsel and instruction in the classroom, to Maddie and Cassie (who ended up axing their newspaper after all) for your support and role in my experience, to my staff members for being so eager to learn, to Mrs. Forgette for introducing me to journalism camp, and, finally, to Pinky. You know who you are.
Click here to read senior Ethan Pender's original blog post on The Darlingtonian.
Click here to read a news story about the Media Now STL conference.
