Society & Culture

UGA’s Grady College to host Digital News Bluejeans Workshop

Athens, Ga. – The University of Georgia Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication will host the Digital News Bluejeans Workshop March 28 from 9:30 a.m. to 4 p.m. in Studio 100 at the college.

The workshop is open to alumni, students and members of the general public, and is created to provide helpful, practical information for improving coverage and digital news storytelling.

“We started doing the workshop because young professionals always pay attention to accomplished leaders, trying to learn their particular skills,” said David Hazinski, a Jim Kennedy New Media Professor at the Grady College. “We also try to look at current trends in the profession. This year, one of them is brand journalism. We’ll have some experts in how to do that and why it matters to young journalists.”

This year’s workshop includes the following topics and speakers:

Brand Journalism
• Ashley Callahan, content strategy and public relations manager, Chick-fil-A Corporate.
• Megan Priselac, multimedia journalist and social media coordinator, The Coca-Cola Company.

Multimedia Storytelling
• Scott Rensberger, freelance journalist and media trainer based in Washington, D.C.

Talent
• Elaine Reyes, CCTV news anchor and host of “Americas Now.”

Resume Reel Review
• David Hazinski, a Meigs Distinguished Teaching Professor and owner of Intelligent Media Consultants, LLC.

The Bluejeans Workshop is sponsored by the Grady College, CNN and CNN Newsource. Registration is $35 prior to March 23, or $50 March 23 or after. The price includes lunch. Registration can be completed at http://grady.uga.edu/bluejeans/registration.

“CNN’s sponsorship has been a tremendous help in keeping costs down for young journalists while allowing us to bring in some of the top trainers in the world,” said Hazinski. “We’ve had experts from network presidents to the head of news gathering for Al Jazeera to a prominent Egyptian anchor reporting on the Arab Spring. We try to open young journalist’s minds to some of the diversity in digital journalism as well as give them additional intellectual skills.”

Participants are also encouraged to bring their resume reels for a personal critique from panelists and Grady College faculty during the final session of the workshop.

UGA Grady College
Established in 1915, the UGA Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication offers undergraduate majors in journalism, advertising, public relations, digital and broadcast journalism and mass media arts. The college offers several graduate degrees and is home to the Peabody Awards, internationally recognized as one of the most prestigious prizes for excellence in electronic media. For more information, see www.grady.uga.edu or follow @UGAGrady on Twitter.