Communications Students Attend Magazine Conference
Kathryn Allen
Issue date: 3/11/09 Section: News
On March 6th, 17 students accompanied by Dr. Kim Trager-Bohley, ventured downtown to the Time & Life Building on 50th and 6th Avenue to attend the third annual "Find Yourself in Magazines" Insight Conference. The conference was thought as quite successful amongst those who attended from MC.
The main goal of the conference founders, who were sponsored by the organization, Magazine Publishers of America, or MPA, was to provide insight into the magazine world and introduce an impressive lineup of professionals from the magazine industry, who in turn would provide useful personal experiences and inform their audience on what magazines are looking for today in employees.
The first keynote address was given by Chandra Turner, executive editor at Parents magazine and founder, as well as president of Ed1020.com, a networking and mentoring online organization. Personable, knowledgeable, and extremely funny, Chandra's presentation was one of the most interesting parts of the morning. With the economic crisis wreaking havoc on all parts of the magazine industry, Turner gave nine specific and appealing reasons why students looking to enter the world of magazines still have plenty of opportunities despite the widespread downsizing.
The address was an uplifting start to the morning and intrigued many, as well as Dr. Trager-Bohley, who said "I found Chandra Turner's examination of the ways in which our economic downturn actually presents opportunities for college students particularly interesting. Due to layoffs and hiring freezes, interns are increasingly assigned to projects formerly reserved for editorial assistants. As a consequence, these students should have killer resumes when they go on the job market." Extremely informative, the conference would have been worth going to just for Turner's presentation alone.
The two preceding presentations were in the form of two panels, both consisting of top magazine industry professionals from companies such as ESPN, People en Espanol, Hearst Digital Media, Essence Communications, ContentNext Media, Glamour, Newsweek, Meredith Hispanic Ventures and Fortune/Money. With such an impressive group of panelists, the information they provided was highly intriguing and also very useful. A common thread of all their expressed ideas enforced a need for up-and-comings to be aware and knowledgeable about the digital aspects of the magazine world.
The main goal of the conference founders, who were sponsored by the organization, Magazine Publishers of America, or MPA, was to provide insight into the magazine world and introduce an impressive lineup of professionals from the magazine industry, who in turn would provide useful personal experiences and inform their audience on what magazines are looking for today in employees.
The first keynote address was given by Chandra Turner, executive editor at Parents magazine and founder, as well as president of Ed1020.com, a networking and mentoring online organization. Personable, knowledgeable, and extremely funny, Chandra's presentation was one of the most interesting parts of the morning. With the economic crisis wreaking havoc on all parts of the magazine industry, Turner gave nine specific and appealing reasons why students looking to enter the world of magazines still have plenty of opportunities despite the widespread downsizing.
The address was an uplifting start to the morning and intrigued many, as well as Dr. Trager-Bohley, who said "I found Chandra Turner's examination of the ways in which our economic downturn actually presents opportunities for college students particularly interesting. Due to layoffs and hiring freezes, interns are increasingly assigned to projects formerly reserved for editorial assistants. As a consequence, these students should have killer resumes when they go on the job market." Extremely informative, the conference would have been worth going to just for Turner's presentation alone.
The two preceding presentations were in the form of two panels, both consisting of top magazine industry professionals from companies such as ESPN, People en Espanol, Hearst Digital Media, Essence Communications, ContentNext Media, Glamour, Newsweek, Meredith Hispanic Ventures and Fortune/Money. With such an impressive group of panelists, the information they provided was highly intriguing and also very useful. A common thread of all their expressed ideas enforced a need for up-and-comings to be aware and knowledgeable about the digital aspects of the magazine world.