Laney Tower

Issue date: 10/19/06 Last update: 10/20/06 at 6:48 PM PST Section: News

Media Credit: Alex Ioffe

The Journalism Association of Community Colleges held its annual NorCal 2006 Regional Conference Oct. 14 in San Jose. Journalism students from over 20 Northern California schools gathered at San Jose State University to attend workshops, discuss issues involving the world of journalism today and demonstrate their skills in competitive, on-the-spot contests. The Laney Tower was also able to snatch up a few awards along the way.

The conference began with a keynote address by San Francisco Chronicle investigative reporter Lance Williams, who co-wrote the provocative book "Game of Shadows," which chronicles the use of steroids in professional baseball.

In his speech, Williams discussed the difficulties surrounding the writing of the book and its consequences, including his approach. "I made it a point to emphasize the character of the players," Williams said, "not the scandal itself."

He also gave tips on dealing with sources of information. "Approach sources like you would a dog," Williams said. "No quick moves." He also discussed the repercussions he may be facing for not revealing his sources, which include an 18-month prison sentence.

Workshops provided something for everybody. They included subjects ranging from multimedia forms of journalism, magazines, freelance news photography and effective sports coverage, to getting through creative blocks, avoiding lawsuits and creating portfolios.

Various contests put students to the test, as they competed to write, draw and edit within a given time frame. Contests were judged by professors of journalism from the attending schools and included Laney's own Chair of the Department of Journalism, Burt Dragin.

At the end of the conference, awards were presented for journalistic works from campus publications during the fall and spring semesters preceding the conference. The Laney Tower won a number of awards including first place for a profile feature story by Tower staff writer Kathy Hrastar, whose piece centered on local director Jo Streit. The Tower also won second place for a bring-in photo by Tower photographer Michael Siu and third place for a profile feature story by Chris Poole. The Laney Tower also won the following awards: the General Excellence award, honorable mentions for best use of photos and graphics tabloid, inside page layout tabloid, a critical review by Nina Wegner, a news photo by Mary Uscilka, column writing by Kathy Hrastar, editorial cartoon by former Tower cartoonist John Isaacson, bring-in photo by Tower photographer Alex Ioffe, fourth place for front page layout tabloid, third place for a line illustration by Isaacson and third place for a student produced advertisement by former Tower editor-in-chief Devin O'Keefe.

All in all the students enjoyed a fun and very informative day. The next JACC conference will be held in March 2007 in Sacramento, and will include colleges from across the entire state of California.

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