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CSMA Adviser Update

America needs journalists... and journalism teachers

CSMA AdviserUpdateAmerica needs journalists... and journalism teachers

Don't forget! Friday is our ONE DAY coverage contest date for this year.

Find more information below, but be sure to help your students get organized to cover "just a random day" in your school community. An extreme example of choosing one day, randomly, to cover can be found in Pulitzer-winner Gene Weingarten's new book "One Day," which features reporting on Dec. 28, 1986. Here is a link to one of the chapters. Weingarten had to track down sources from all over the nation to interview and recreate scenes.


Your students just need to do what they do best: report on what is happening on your campus and in your community.

The Sad Little Fact
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Start planning for this year's ONE DAY coverage contest

We are excited to present Friday, Dec. 6 as the designated day for our annual coverage contest. We hope there will be lots of options for your students' coverage angles and we also hope that this "day of coverage" can be incorporated into your print or online/video media.


A change this year is that entries are not due until Jan. 10, 2020, so there should be plenty of time to write, edit and design entries. Of course, entries may be made anytime after Dec. 6, and all entries will be through our online contest site at www.betterbnc.com


CSMA is offering up to $1,000 in vouchers to the top entries -- with the final number and the final amount of each voucher determined by the entries we receive. Those vouchers can be applied toward any CSMA event in 2020, including workshops and J-Day.


Check out the five entries from 2018 that earned $200 vouchers here.

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Broadcast journalists offer school outreach

Earlier this year, the Colorado Broadcasters Association identified a lack of student interest in our industry and a lack of effort, by broadcasters, to educate students about the broadcast industry.

In response, the CBA created a Future Broadcasters Committee with a goal of sharing and educating students about our industry, through the first-hand accounts of successful broadcast employees. The committee has recruited well-rounded broadcast employees who can talk about the many different areas within radio and television.

While media and journalism students are a great place to begin, we certainly do not want to limit this outreach to those students only. To date, we have had three extremely successful presentations at Metro State University, Colorado State University and at the Colorado Student Media Association's J-Day.

Now that we have a solid selection of presenters available to visit with students, we're looking for opportunities to present to students. If you would be willing to invite us into your classroom please contact Justin Sasso via email and we can work together to arrange a visit. Students have already told us the presentations are "extremely educational" and "have opened my mind to areas of the industry I had not even considered a career in."

CBA is eager to connect with you and your students, Email Justin directly at Justin@coloradobroadcasters.org

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Bring working journalists into your classroom

JEA has been partnering with the Society of Professional Journalists for the past two years, helping SPJ connect with classrooms across the country through the #Press4Education program.


JEA leadership has received wonderful feedback from teachers about the free classroom visits from industry pros.


Currently we have lots of Coloradoprofessional journalists signed up as volunteers ... and they're just waiting for teacher requests.


To get something started, no matter your location, fill out this form and start some new relationships with working journalists.


Students love hearing from the pros and making those connections. And the professionals love getting into schools and meeting you and your students.

CBA opens Awards of Excellence submission window

The Colorado Broadcasters Association is excited to announce the 2019 Call for Entries for the Awards of Excellence. There are several new items to note this year, including…

  1. Updated online entry system.
  2. New “Radio Podcast” Category.
  3. New Small Market Television Category.
  4. Longer TV "Best Regularly Scheduled Newscast" Time Limit.
  5. Entry prices are the same as last year.

Click to view the 2019 Call for Entries.

Emails including a User ID and password were sent out prior to this email. If you submitted entries last year you should have received this email already. If you did not receive an email with your User ID and Password check your SPAM folder first. If nothing, follow these instructions for creating a new account at this LINK.

Get familiar with the new format of the entry page, so you're not delayed close to deadline. On the left side of the screen, under RESOURCES, you'll find helpful documents that will answer most of your questions.

Click to go to Entries Express.

Good Luck!

Justin Sasso
President & CEO
Colorado Broadcasters Association

New CSMA board takes over Saturday

The 2019-21 executive board, led by incoming President Jessica Hunziker, MJE, and Immediate Past President Annie Gorenstein Falkenberg, CJE, will have its first meeting on Dec. 7, 1 p.m., at Regis Jesuit HS. All advisers are invited to attend board meetings.


Congratulations to the following CSMA member advisers who were elected to two-year terms:

Vice President/President-Elect Kristi Rathbun, MJE

Secretary Christine Fry

Digital Media Coordinator Patrick Moring, CJE

Advocacy Coordinator Sergio Luis Yanes, CJE

Education Coordinator Tina Barber, CJE

Middle School Coordinator Yvette Manculich, CJE

CSMA recommends online portfolios for semester exams

As we reach the middle of November, many of us are looking for ways to satisfy local requirements for semester exams of some sort while not creating even more work for busy media students. CSMA recommends using web-based portfolios, created by students, as a “best practice.”


Most importantly, our students should get started on their online portfolios NOW, and not wait until late in their senior year.


Proponents of alternative performance assessments bet that "capstone" projects, portfolios, and performance-based tests can deepen students' learning and teach them valuable skills for college or the workplace.


CSMA recommends that advisers explore incorporating electronic portfolios as the most effective way to assess and share student work in media. The advantages over traditional semester tests are numerous.


The portfolios are a constant work in progress, and students can add to them from any computer with an Internet connection. They are easy to share, whether with other instructors, universities, or potential employers. They can include multimedia samples as easily as work samples from student print publications. And portfolios that are based on national standards for contests (we recommend the JEA standards and expectations as a good place to start) can be submitted with little extra effort for local, state and national scholarship competitions. Check this page on the JEA site for lots of tips on how to create a top portfolio.


There are several website builders out there offering a free version, and that is sufficient for online portfolios. We recommend Wix https://www.wix.com/ based on past portfolios submitted for our annual Dorothy Greer Scholarships. Of course, https://wordpress.com/ offers useful templates, as well. It is also free. “Free” site builders are somewhat limited but are a great way to explore building online portfolios at no financial risk.


You can find examples of top portfolios on the www.jea.org site, and also on the CSMA site. Available samples are found at the bottom of this page, next to the names of Greer Scholarship winners.

You have either joined for this school year or been contacted about CSMA renewal

All advisers of student media who advised CSMA member media in 2018-19 have received at least two follow-up emails as reminders. Can't remember if you have renewed or joined? You can always check out current membership list on our site. It is up to date through Dec. 4.


This will be the last Adviser Update sent to non-members this school year (though you can check in on our website for event news).


Colorado Student Media Association memberships are by school medium, and we offer four options: print news, yearbook, online, and video media. A single membership is $65. We offer a convenient online membership form, and you can choose either to pay with a school credit card or ask to be invoiced.

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Connect with CSMA

Email: jpkjournalism@gmail.com
Website: colostudentmedia.com
Location: 9253 Sori Lane, Highlands Ranch CO
Phone: 303-550-4755
Facebook: facebook.com/coloradostudentmedia
Twitter: @ColoradoSMA