CSMA Adviser Update

Find more information on our site, but be sure to help your students get organized to prepare your coverage of this past Friday. 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. We will send several listserve messages with more details. Jan. 10 is the deadline for uploads, to provide time to prep.

Of course, entries may be made anytime after Dec. 6, and all entries will be through our online contest site at www.betterbnc.com

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

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.

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. 11.

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.

This is the final Adviser Update of the DECADE. We will return on Jan. 9, with lots of information on our spring contests, professional development opportunities and more.

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