Inspire future media professionals, speak at Mass Communication Week

Have you ever thought it would be fun to speak in front of a group of college students? Do you want to inspire college and high school students who are interested in going into mass media? You can do that during Mass Communication Week at Texas State University in San Marcos.

Each October, the School of Journalism & Mass Communication hosts Mass Communication Week, bringing in notable experts discussing issues, trends and work in mass communication. Whether it’s an anchor from CNN International, a social media rock star or a local reporter or public relations practitioner, our students get to hear firsthand what they need to know to go into journalism, broadcasting, advertising, public relations or social media.

You can be a part of that. We’re looking for speakers for the 2010 Mass Communication Week, Oct. 25-28. During this week we will look at issues, trends and working in mass media.

If you are interested in speaking at Mass Communication Week, simply email dq10@txstate.edu. Please include:

• Your name and the name of any other panelists for your presentation
• Topic and title of your presentation
• A brief (1-2 paragraph) synopsis of your presentation
• If you have specific day/time preferences (sessions are usually between 9:30-4:50)
• Finally, please let us know if you or one of the people on your program is a graduate from the journalism program at (Southwest) Texas State. While not a requirement, we do like to bring in as many alumni as possible.

The deadline for speaker proposals is Sept. 2, 2010. Selected participants will be notified by Sept. 15.

To get an idea of past speakers/topics, view the 2009 Mass Communication Week schedule. Also, a slideshow from last year can be found here, or you can simply review this blog.

Please know:

• Sessions are 75 minutes in length and can be a panel or an individual.
• All rooms will be fully equipped with full multimedia, including computers and Internet access.
• There are generally between 50-100 students attending each session, but depending on where the session is, we could have up to 250 students.
• In addition to Texas State students, high school students from media programs in Laredo and San Antonio often attend Mass Communication Week.
• Last year, we streamed several sessions online, with good results. We are looking to do the same this year with some of our sessions.

Finally, while we realize you are professional giving of your time, please know we are an academic department at a public university and have no funding to pay for speakers. In some instances, if the speaker lives outside of a 150-mile radius of the university, we may be able to reimburse for travel. If this is something you request, please let us know in your proposal.

Laredo VMT students learn about college journalism

TXState Mass Comm Week - VMT Laredo High School from kymfox on Vimeo.

Students from Laredo's Vidal M. Trevino School for Communication and Fine Arts learn about journalism at their magnet school, which includes a newspaper, online news site and a radio station serving the nearby community. The high school students visited the Texas State University School of Journalism and Mass Communication during Mass Comm Week to check out the campus and attend a few Mass Communication Week events. They attended sessions given by mass comm professionals and also heard from Texas State Mass Comm students.
The high school visit was co-sponsored by the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and the University Bookstore.
Photos and slideshow by TxState student Marissa Deslatte
Music by TXState's Hip Hop Congress from their "Texas STATEment" CD

Communication Arts High School - San Antonio checks out Texas State

TxState Mass Comm Week - Comm Arts High School-San Antonio, Northside ISD from kymfox on Vimeo.

Students from San Antonio's Northside ISD Communication Arts High School visited the School of Journalism and Mass Communication during Mass Comm Week to check out the campus and attend a few Mass Communication Week events. Along with mass comm professionals, they also heard from Texas State Mass Comm students and visit the dorms.
The high school visit was co-sponsored by the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and the University Bookstore.
Slideshow & Photos by Allison Birk, TXState mass comm student
Music by Hip Hop Congress, from their "A Texas STATEment" CD

LBJ High School-Laredo spends time at TXState

TXState Mass Comm Week 2009 - LBJ High School, Laredo from kymfox on Vimeo.

LBJ High School-Laredo students visited the School of Journalism and Mass Communication during Mass Comm Week to get a taste of college life. Hip Hop Congress entertained at lunch. The high school visit was co-sponsored by the D.D. Hachar Charitable Trust of Laredo, School of Journalism and Mass Communication, the Office of Undergraduate Admissions and the University Bookstore.
Slideshow & Photos by Lorna Stevens, TXState mass comm student
Music by Hip Hop Congress, A Texas Statement CD

Getting the most out of networking

By Heidi Morrison

Lisa Marie Gomez, owner of LMG Communications, and Gary Underwood, Director of Communications at Time Warner Cable for the Dallas area, discussed how simply knowing people is one of the best tools we, as mass communication majors, can bring to the table.


"All of you are going to see yourself at some point in the future," Gomez said.

Gomez said your knowing the right people can get you that job or help you get to that specific source.

She talked about her own experience when she was a reporter and needed an interview with Rick Perry. She kept calling and was getting nowhere.

"They kept giving me the runaround," she said.

Then she called her cousin who worked for the governor. He called the same person she had been speaking to, and that's what made it happen.

"Relationships matter," Underwood added. "If you've got good friends in these industries, you can use them for good."


Underwood said Time Warner hired him because he has relationships and knows how to use relationships to make things work.

"What matters is I know people and I can get that job accomplished," he said.

If you're networking and you want to keep in touch with a specific person, Gomez and Underwood said it takes seven to ten different encounters for someone to remember you.

"Handwritten notes are the best," Gomez said.

Be genuine and simple when making acquaintances, not too outgoing, they said.

They suggsested finding things out about them, their likes and dislikes. The more effort you make to know someone, the more they will appreciate it.

When it comes to applying for a job, Gomez said your networking capabilities is one of the most important things you can add.

"What makes your skyscraper just a little bit taller than the other one?" she said.

They said consistently keeping in touch is important.

"Networking is not the occasional activity," Gomez said.

She recommended two "must-haves" for networking: a LinkedIn page and business cards, as well as two "must-do's": Google yourself to see what comes up and if that's what you want to show up, and send handwritten notes because it shows that you took the time and effort to get in touch with the person.

Underwood said spelling is important for credibility and he mentioned two words we should never use because they are not actually words: "irregardless" and "anyways."

Gomez brought up an imperative point when talking about her internship at KVUE in Austin. She said she was the only intern willing to do everything. Even thought they were not paid, she worked graveyard shifts. She did all the jobs that interns didn't want to do for no pay, which in return, gave her opportunities that the other interns never had.

"When you have an opportunity to shine, take it," she said.