“How can journalism be a dying field when this is the time when it is most needed?”
This question was proposed by Dr. Joe Dennis, a professor and the chair of mass communications at Piedmont University, at UGA’s multimedia journalism summer camp this past summer. Dr. Joe Dennis also led a session on grammar and AP Style rules at the Georgia Scholastic Press Association’s (GSPA) fall conference last week.
On October 28th, a group of 12 ACAD high schoolers attended the GSPA 2025 fall conference at UGA’s Tate Student Center. The students were led by teacher chaperones, Marlana Street and Tricia Edmison. The journalism conference is focused on helping students improve their scholastic journalism skills through a variety of sessions. These sessions were led by the UGA Grady College of Journalism & Mass Communication professors, faculty advisors for high school papers, Grady College student ambassadors, and GSPA student ambassadors.
The sessions were catered to high school student journalists and advisors, but on a variety of different platforms, like yearbooks, literary magazines, and newspapers. Sessions ranged from topics about trends, authentic reporting, and photography, to the importance of protecting student press freedom, bias in the age of misinformation, and sports podcasting. There were a total of five rounds for the sessions, and yet, you were still missing a great session during every timeslot. Freshman Emma Drennen, an attendee of the conference, commented on her favorite session.
“My favorite session was definitely the truth and bias in the age of misinformation,” Drennen said. It was very informational and relevant, and I enjoyed learning how to spot lies in different kinds of sources.”
Mrs. Edmison, a teacher chaperone and faculty advisor for the Spartan Review, commented on her favorite session as well.
“The summer retreat session was my favorite because it’s been something that has already been percolating in my mind anyway, but to see another group put it together, make it happen, was nice to see,” Edmison said. “They found a way to build in professionalism on the paper while also not taking up too much time through a class.”
The conference proved to be a highly beneficial experience for many. Students took advantage of the networking and info sessions where they were introduced to the professional world; for example, freshman Samantha Iezzi made a LinkedIn page at the conference. Emma Drennen commented on her most beneficial experience.
“For me, it was learning how to improve the school’s articles like the homecoming review and make them less repetitive,” Drennen said. “Switching up lanes to have more creative and unique stories for the whole audience.”
The conference truly served as a learning opportunity for the Spartan Review. The staff hopes to use what they learned from other publications to further improve the paper. They strive to create a cohesive piece of media that captures all students’ voices and brings factual information to you, their community and audience.
