Hi everyone,
I hope you're all well. I wanted to thank those of you who were able to make the meeting today, which was held at 5 p.m. in The Globe office. At any rate, we will be using this site as an extra form of communication, which will keep everyone updated that cannot make meetings and remind those who can what was discussed. So bear with me until we get everything hammered out perfectly. Feel free to comment on this post as a way of communication, and let me know if you have any ideas, concerns or questions.
--Kristina
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Members who attended the meeting:
Jessica Chapman
Emily Marburger
Jessa Lignelli
Colleen Ferguson
Veronica Skoglund
Brittany Johndrow
Sara Zullo
Kristina Martin
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For starters, I have some good news! Cinemagic Theater in Squirrel Hill will be screening "The September Issue" for another week. The two showtimes are 5:20 and 7:10 p.m. At our meeting, we tossed around the idea of going Wednesday or Thursday. More people were available on Thursday; however, it doesn't matter to me. I will not be able to make it because of my Thursday night class. I am very angry about this but would like to arrange a get-together for all of you. I am assuming that the 7:10 showing on Thursday would work best. However, if more people are able to attend on Wednesday evening, I will be able to drive six people along, and we can see the 7:10 showing. But please let me know what you all would like to do.
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Also, some SPJ members are attending the high school workshop on Friday, Nov. 6 from 8 a.m. to 1 p.m. A small breakfast and lunch will be provided, and our main priority will be to assist the students. We are asked to not wear jeans or sneakers; try to dress in a business casual manner. If you need to leave early, that's totally fine; I already asked Nan Knapp. I will be e-mailing Nan a final count of volunteers this Thursday. Here are the names of volunteers I have so far:
Emily Marburger
Adelyn Biedenbach
Brittany Johndrow
Jessa Lignelli
Veronica Skoglund
Kristina Martin
And I believe that Sara Zullo said that she could. Please let me know if you are interested, so that I can tell Nan. Or if you realize you cannot come, it is totally fine, but please tell me because I don't want Nan to think more people are available than there really are.
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Many of you know we are trying to hold a "blogfest." Right now, we are hammering out the details as to which bloggers and photographers will be coming. The idea was to team up with the NPPA and co-host the event; I'm unsure at the moment that they will still be teaming up with us. Right now, we are hoping to hold the event on Thursday, Dec. 3 from 5 to 7 p.m. This could possibly change, but try to keep that night free. The night's event will likely be split in half, having a panel discussion for about an hour and then have guests be able to communicate with each blogger or photographer. We were thinking that we could set the room up like an internship fair and have photographers display their work, as bloggers can have their blogs ready for anyone to view and discuss. Light refreshments will be served; those details have not been finalized as of yet. I will be updating everyone soon on final details of the event. Stay tuned!
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We are planning to show "Roman Holiday" on Sunday, Nov. 15 at 8 p.m. The default screening location is room 212 in the University Center; however, I am going to ask if we would be allowed to see the film in JVH and see what they decide. Light refreshments -- popcorn and baked goods along with soda -- will be served, as group members are going to donate the food being served. As an added bonus, we are talking with a few movie critics from local publications in hopes that one will be able to come and tell tips on how to write a good movie review and share stories about past experiences. This is a light-hearted event, not a serious one. The critic will come to tell stories and add color to the event. It is going to be open to the entire campus and will not anything for students who decide to attend.
At the meeting, we mentioned having David Grande, a journalism professor, have his students attend so that we are guaranteed so many guests. Grande could give his students the review assignment he has given students in the past and have them do a write up on "Roman Holiday." As of yet, this is just an idea, but more details will follow.
(And for those of you who may be concerned, the Steeler game is at 1 p.m. on Nov. 15. Don't worry, I already checked.)
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Instead of doing a jean drive, we are going to do a winter clothing drive. The items being collected can range from hats to coats and sweaters. The clothing will go to either the Salvation Army or another local organization. The incentive for students to donate has not been officially decided, but it will involve coupons from a nearby business, most likely food related. As we are collecting clothing, we will be handing out ads to notify students about our cell phone drive we will be holding.
The cell phone drive will take place directly after Christmas break, when many students will return to school with new phones they received from Christmas. The drive will last until the end of January, and the phones will be donated to a nearby women's shelter, which will likely be the one in Beaver, Pa. Any ideas you may have for both of these events are open for discussion. Please let me know what you think.
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At the meeting, we all agreed that we would implement the mentoring program we had previously mentioned in the spring semester. There is always an Introduction to Mass Communication class offered, and we will likely help out three students per person -- for those who wish to be helped, of course. I think this will be a nice way of helping out the underclassmen, as some of our members are upperclasssmen or have experiences that they can share with the younger students. It will be informal; we will be helping with assignments or having them "shadow" us while working on newspaper layout, logging tapes, etc. It will hopefully be a positive experience for the students and for SPJ members. More details will follow in the future.
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We also discussed fundraising possibilities at the meeting. It was decided that we must do as much as possible to raise money. We will likely go to local businesses and ask for coupons or donations along with buying small "goodies" to fill the basket, which will be entered in a raffle. Any fundraising ideas are welcome. Please let me know your thoughts.
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And we would like to team up with our on-campus radio station,WPPJ, and have an ad contest where people can sign up, draw the best ad to fit the upcoming WPPJ artist in concert and win a prize after the best ad is chosen. The ad will be blown up to be the size of a poster and will be hung at the event; the definite prize has not been chosen but was suggested to be a dinner for two -- the contest winner and visiting artist -- at a local restaurant, like the Hard Rock Cafe. This event is barely developed but has been discussed. More details will follow after we speak to Kayla Seybert, general manager of WPPJ.
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The "Mocktail Party" will be held on Dec. 10 in the evening at the Michael Berger Gallery, which is located on S. Sixth Street in South Side. Since it is located just off of East Carson Street, students have the option of walking or taking the shuttle that will be offered. It will be a great bonding experience for all students and will be a nice change of scenery, as many events are held on campus. The students will be asked to wear clothing they would wear to a cocktail party -- dress pants, button-up shirts, dresses or skirts. There will be a small admission fee -- no more than $5 -- and the funds raised will go to the Journalism Travel Fund, which gives financial aid to students who attend the outings like the spring DC trip. We plan to have broadcast students mixing playlists during the evening and other students passing out the "mocktails" and appetizers. More details will follow in regards to this event.
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And lastly, we will be visiting the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette on Dec. 11 around 10 a.m. to attend the morning meeting, which is where staff members will decide what is to be placed in the paper. Please dress nicely -- business casual attire is fine. Come with questions, too. We will possibly be able to take a mini tour of the building. To ensure we are on time, we will meet in the lobby of Academic Hall 30 minutes before the start of the time they are expecting us. Please let me know everyone who will be interested and able to go to the Post-Gazette.
