Study Abroad- to Uganda!

While many students have already had internships, many are still looking. Why not expand your search to a journalism study abroad option? This summer Scripps Jschool is offering a 4 week, 9 credit hour trip to Africa! The title of the program, "Uganda: Media, Diversity and Governance: Summer 2010," gives a little insight into what an exciting opportunity this trip truly is!

The coordinator behind this trip, and the Director of the Institute for International Journalism, Dr. Yusuf Kalyango, gave SPJ members a more in-depth look into the program. While you do receive credit, it is more of an internship, hands-on type of program. Students will have the opportunity to speak with government leaders, professors, and even participate in a dinner with the King of Uganda. Students will be able to focus on specializations by working with news organizations, advertising firms, the national parliament, and nongovernmental organizations. They will also go on weekend trips to see the local flora and fauna of Eastern Africa, visit historical and cultural sites, visit a game-wildlife national park, and in the process receive 9 credit hours and complete a tier III course. Is it the chaos of Africa you are worried about? Dr. Kalyango has arranged for everyone to stay in a four star hotel with all the amenities of a four star hotel in the United States, including an indoor and outdoor pool, workout facility, and a variety of food choices for breakfast and dinner everyday.

If this is a program that even slightly catches your interest, go to the information session February 2, in Sing Tao room 101 at 6:00 p.m. There Dr. Kalyango will discuss further details such as price and affordability and any other questions you may have. There isn't a lot of spots left in this competitive internship so if you are really interested you could always secure a spot by going here and signing up!

Thanks!

Mark of Excellence Award

You worked hard last year to write, produce and hopefully publish your journalism articles or broadcasts. A college journalist attempts to publish their work to obtain clips, create a portfolio, gain some experience and have proof that your career path isn't entirely a dead end. Now, SPJ is offering a chance to use those published works to win the Mark of Excellence Award.

This Award is presented annually to honor the best in student journalism. It is offered to any student in a college or university in the U.S for work published in 2009 in print, radio, television or online categories. There is also a category for published art/graphics or photos! Entries will first be judged at the regional level then first place regional winners will make it to the national competition. Ultimately, the national winners will be honored at the 2010 SPJ Convention & National Journalism Conference, October 3-6 in Las Vegas. Judging will be based on certain criteria such as accuracy and completeness, enterprise and ingenuity, significance, clarity, and adherence to high journalistic standards among others

To sign up or nominate a friend click here There is a $9 entry fee for SPJ members and an $18 entry fee for non SPJ members (but everyone should be an SPJ member anyways!)

As journalists we are nearly obsessed with writing the next best story in an attempt to inform the public, why not attempt to boost our resume while we're at it? A Mark of Excellence Award is a perfect honor to do that!

go to http://www.spj.org/a-moe.asp for full details.

OU SPJ's New Year, New Agenda

Hi everyone,

Welcome back from break! OU SPJ has a lot of exciting new ideas and plans to benefit all of you! First of all, we will now have our blog updated about twice a week with profiles, meeting information, interviews and any other interesting journalism information we can find! Our twitter and fan group will be reminding you of our meetings to come and keep you up-to-date with our national chapter. Our goal is to supplement your journalism education in any way we can to give you a leg up in such a competitive field.

Our first meeting of the quarter will be Tuesday January 12th at 5:00 p.m. We will be securing a computer lab for an iMovie Workshop with Taylor Mirfendereski, a J-school student, former NBC intern and OU SPJ's Vice President! Check out her website to see more of Taylor's credentials. This will be a great opportunity to branch out and get some interactive media experience- a must for today's journalists, who are expected to have knowledge in many areas of media. Check our twitter roll soon for the exact location!

In the meantime look forward to our agenda for the rest of the quarter. Things such as a Women in Communications meeting, an interview with a sports journalist, an anchoring workshop with RTNDA and our February Battle of the Bands! A collaborative event with ed2010 we will have 3 journalism judges, great bands and a lot of fun!

Stay in touch with this blog for more updates, news and valuable information to keep you current and in the know.