Mentors Make Convergence Project Worthwhile

Saturday, July 26, 2008

By Cindy Von Quednow
The UNITY News Online

Does the ideal newsroom exist? It does once every four years in a selected city in the United States.

It includes hungry reporters and photographers, video editors, producers and camera people for print, web, radio and TV from all over the nation. You name it, we’ve got it. The UNITY News, that is our name, convergence and diversity is our game.

But we’re forgetting the final element to this newsroom of the future: mentors, also known as overseers, helpers, guides and masters of a craft who have taken time away from their personal and professional lives to help aspiring journalists hone their skills and their futures.

It was our mentors’ jobs to come up with newsworthy story ideas in the “Windy City”, assign stories, shape stories and edit the final product.

“I wanted to give back to the next generation of mentors,” said Tracy Jan, a reporter for the Boston Globe and a mentor in the print track.

“I know that some of my reporters this week were probably frustrated at times… I’m sure they thought I was a pain, but I‘m hoping that they got something out of it.”

Editorship requires management and patience. “She’s been tough but she’s never been mean,” said Virginia Torres, a student who is currently Jan’s mentee in the UNITY newsroom. “If anything [Jan's] been really patient and helpful.”

Those characteristics are required in any field of journalism, and it’s easier to acquire them when you have someone guiding your steps.

“Jerome’s been one of the best mentors I’ve ever had, he’s been really hospitable,” said Martha Flores, a radio student working with mentor, Jerome Vaughn. “He goes beyond the extra mile to help students and I’m pretty sure that if he wasn’t a mentor, he’d still be helping me.”

During this unique experience I have met journalists with all kinds of backgrounds and goals. The fact that we have had the privilege to be mentored by seasoned professionals who have been through the same grinder and are now working for prestigious organizations is impressive.

Experience and practice is nice and all, but reassurance, guidance and just a simple pat on the back or a kick in the tush can go a long way.

This is a collective “thank you” to our mentors, for guiding us through this tough but worthwhile endeavor of media convergence. Your diverse backgrounds, stories and lives completed our utopian newsroom, and I hope that the four organizations that come together once every four years will continue working hard to make the eclectic newsroom in the McCormick center a reality.

And who knows, maybe we’ll see you in four years!

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topic: UNITY Convention

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