Columbia Scholastic Press Association

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Conventions and Workshops

Overview

Spring National Convention

The 84th annual national CSPA convention will take place at Columbia University from Wednesday, March 19 through Friday, March 21, 2008.

Attendance is open to student editors and faculty advisers to newspapers, yearbooks, magazines, video productions and online media from schools throughout the United States and Canada, as well as overseas schools following an American plan of education.

Convention delegates can choose from 350 or more sessions organized in seven sequences: newspaper, yearbook, magazine, photography, broadcasting, advisers and law and ethics. All seven sequences will run simultaneously throughout the three days of the convention.

The winners of the Crown Awards for top publications will be presented at the Awards Convocation on Friday afternoon.

The Gold Circle Awards for top student individual awards will be available on Friday morning at the registration desk beginning at 9:45 a.m.

Tentative information on registration, sessions and including travel directions, are available here.

The 2009 dates are March 18, 19 & 20.

Summer Journalism Workshop

The CSPA invites newspaper and yearbook staffs to its 26th annual summer event for student journalists: its Summer Journalism Workshop, to be held at Columbia University from June 24 - 29, 2007.

Registration for this five-day intensive program will be limited to 350 participants, with no more than 30 from each school.

Students and advisers who will be attending sessions will also take part in an afternoon trip to Times Square for a press conference with current Broadway talent, lunch and the matinee performance of a Broadway show.

Registration and other information, including travel directions, are available here.

Fall Regional Conference

CSPA's 68th annual Fall Conference will take place on Monday, November 5, 2007 on Columbia University's historic Morningside Heights campus in New York City. The conference is open to student editors and faculty advisers to student newspapers, yearbooks and magazines. All types of secondary schools are eligible to participate: public, private and parochial.

The Fall Conference will offer about 80 classroom sessions during the day. Session topics will include: writing and editing; staff organization and motivation; design and layout; suggestions for special areas of coverage; and legal and ethical concerns for advisers and editors.

Advisers are welcome to attend sessions with students; in addition, some sessions will be organized for advisers only.

The Conference takes place during a short academic holiday for Columbia University and usually occurs the day after the New York City Marathon. Since hotel rooms are hard to reserve because of the Marathon, this conference is primarily advertised in the Northeastern states, although student and teachers from other states may also attend.

Registration and other information, including travel directions, are available here.

Latest SPR articles

A round-up of sessions presented at our 2007 Fall Conference, including: the right way to cover tragedy in your school, using new media in your newsroom, a discussion of the First Amendment rights of student journalists and the push to decrease bias in journalistic reporting.

Book Spotlight

Magazine Fundamentals Book Image
Magazine Fundamentals

A guide to organizing general, literary, and literary-art publications for a student staff. This book offers insight from over 30 advisers and includes over 250 student produced examples.