UPDATE AS OF MARCH, 12: J-Day 2020 is Cancelled Out of an abundance of caution and in consultation with Missouri Interscholastic Press Association and MU campus leaders about COVID-19 precautions, Scholastic Journalism Day – J-Day – on Wednesday, March 25, is cancelled. Visit https://mipajournalism.com for more information and updates.

This J-Day promises to be one for the record books.

There’s been several changes to the lineup, so check it out!

We’ve added fresh content including more hands-on sessions, featured speakers, more roundtables, a brand new Strategic Communication scavenger hunt, dropped some bits to accommodate all the new activities attendees wanted, but kept your favorites with the Onsite Photo contest and awards ceremony. You and your students have an awesome day!

MIPA is pleased to announce the line up of speakers and sessions for #JDay2020!

• 8-8:30 a.m. Check in opens
• 8:45-9 a.m. J-Day KickOff
• 9:15-10 a.m. Session 1
• 10:15-11 a.m. Session 2
• 11:15 a.m.-noon Session 3
• 12:15-1 p.m. Session 4
• 1:15-2 p.m Session 5
• 2:15-3:30 p.m. Awards Ceremony — includes SJOY, JTOY, EJE, AOY, Taft, Knight, Contributing Medium Award winners, plus recognizing the individual All-Missouri award winners on stage

NEW! A Strategic Communication Scavenger Hunt will be offered from 9:15 to 11 a.m. Check out the details and sign up here: Link closed due to cancellation of JDay 2020 .Students wishing to participate must sign up before arriving at JDay.

The Onsite Photo Contest will run in the 9:15 to 10 a.m. session with a critique later in the day. Students should bring a DSLR and SD card reader. Registration will be onsite in the Jesse Hall auditorium foyer on the morning of JDay, 8-8:40 a.m.

Registration for JDay itself is now closed due to the cancellation. Stay tuned for details.

Schedule: (check below for class descriptions)

• 8-8:30 a.m. Check in opens — Jesse Hall lobby

• 8:45-9 a.m. J-Day KickOff — Jesse Hall Auditorium

• 9:15-10 a.m. Session 1

  • All Words Have Meaning: Discrimination, Harassment & Retaliation
  • Anatomy of a Great Yearbook Spread
  • Don’t Forget to Have Fun!
  • Editor-in-Chief Roundtable
  • Heroes with cap(e)s
  • Let’s Get Real – Broadcast on ESPN 3
  • Live Sports Broadcasting on the Road
  • Making your videos & story-telling look like the pros!
  • Photography: On Site Contest
  • Photography – Good to Great
  • StratComm Scavenger Hunt
  • There’s No Shame In The Small Town Game
  • Tips to a Better Interivew: Who is Thommie Pong
  • Video Postcard

• 10:15-11 a.m. Session 2

  • Behind The Camera
  • Everyone’s Got A Story
  • Exploring Editorial Leadership
  • Great Editor = Great Leader
  • Headline Writing & Design
  • Live Sports Broadcasting on the Road
  • Making your videos & story-telling look like the pros!
  • Print the News & Raise Hell
  • Self-Care and All Other Kinds of Leadership
  • So you want to cover sports, do you?
  • StratComm Scavenger Hunt (continued)
  • Sunshine 101
  • Using Social Media to reach your primary target: students
  • Wendy’s and U.S. Navy: Brands that inspire connections

• 11:15 a.m.-noon Session 3

  • The Arch and The Arts: Community Impact Through Strategic Communication
  • Behind The Camera
  • Best of the Best
  • Juniors, High Flyers: Get Inside the Minds of SJOY Judges
  • Podcasting Basics
  • Radio: The Most Personal Mass Medium
  • So you want to cover sports, do you?
  • Talking Across Differences
  • There’s No Shame In The Small town Game
  • Unfair or Illegal. What’s the Difference?
  • Wendy’s and U.S. Navy: Brands that inspire connections

• 12:15-1 p.m. Session 4

  • The Arch and The Arts: Community Impact Through Strategic Communication
  • Human Space Flight Exploration
  • Photo Layouts
  • Photography Critiques from today’s OnSite Photo Contest
  • Radio: The Most Personal Mass Medium
  • Adviser Luncheon and MIPA Meeting

• 1:15-2 p.m Session 5

  • Conquering Theme
  • Discover a treasure trove of stories from the past and present
  • Everyone’s Got A Story
  • Human Space Flight Exploration
  • Inside Mizzou Athletics
  • Let’s Get Real – Broadcast on ESPN 3
  • You and Your Light
  • Radio: The Most Personal Mass Medium
  • What to Know About Drones Before You Fly

• 2:15-3:30 p.m. Awards Ceremony — Jesse Hall Auditorium

Campus Map to the Breakout Sessions.

Check out the current lineup of speakers who will cover many themes and trends to transform your scholastic journalism program. Some sessions are listed under more than one category.

Broadcast:

• Behind The Camera (session repeats) – sports broadcast –  Presenter: Lyndall Dodson – There is more to running a camera as a sports event than just moving it back and forth. Each camera position has specific assignments that help the production tell the story of the event. This session will dive into those assignments for football and basketball.
• Live Sports Broadcasting on the Road (session repeats) – broadcast – Presenter: Ben Merithew – In this session broadcast advisers and students will get tips and tricks on how to cover a live sporting event from away locations. Get insight on what it takes to prepare for the game, from making the arrangements with the host school to the technical setup once on location.
• Making your videos & story-telling look like the pros! (session repeats) – broadcast – Presenter: Pete Grigsby – Proper Video Shooting & Technique for stories, such as framing, lighting, angles, natural sound, etc.
• Podcasting Basics – podcasting – Presenter: Jane Bannester – Welcome to the world of podcasting. This introduction will help add an additional type of medium to your program. You will leave with the tools and resources needed for creating podcasts, lesson ideas for multiple subject areas and examples.
• Radio: The Most Personal Mass Medium (session repeats) – radio – Presenter: Scotty Cox – Radio invites an instant friendship, familiarity and rapport between listeners and the on-air host. Clear 99’s Scotty Cox will take you behind the mic, into a world that engages, captivates and is a trusted companion for people of all ages. Audio is red hot and a must for those wishing to connect with their audiences. Career opportunities abound in this field; come learn about them.
• Video Postcard – broadcast – Presenter: Eric Thomas – Video is intimidating with all of the terminology and gear. So, let’s keep it simple here. By focusing on composition, we will learn how to make visually interesting videos that showcase a place. This is a great project that your entire staff could do with nothing more than a smartphone or tablet. Bring your device and let’s create something!
• What to Know About Drones Before You Fly – drone journalism – Presenter: Jane Bannester -Just like Dorothy in Oz, your first time experiencing a new world can be both exciting and overwhelming. This presentation will explain the updated drone laws and discuss how you can prepare to take the Part 107 certification test.

Contests and Competitions:

• Juniors, High Flyers: Get Inside the Minds of SJOY Judges – Presenter: Christina Geabhart – Come hear from a national judge for the Student Journalist of the Year contests about what judges look for in the next SJOY and how to build up your portfolio of work. The SJOY winner and entrants are encouraged to come talk about their process and share tips as well. Great session for juniors and high flyers.
• Onsite Photo Contest – Presenter: Mary Prichard —  When you check in be sure to sign up to compete in the themed photography contest. Bring your camera and an SD card to compete!
• Onsite Photo Contest Critiques – Presenter: Mary Prichard — Come take a look at the photographs taken during the morning’s Onsite Photo Contest. Mary Prichard, the photography teacher at North Kansas City High School, and a professional photographer will critique the submissions and provider pointers for all photographers.
• Strategic Communication Scavenger Hunt — Presenters: Jessica Cordonier and Karen Johnson — The hunt will be offered from 9:15 to 11 a.m. Check out the details and sign up here: https://mipajournalism.com/3671/j-day/new-strat-comm-scavenger-hunt-coming-to-j-day-2020/ Students wishing to participate must sign up before arriving at JDay.

Design:

• Anatomy of a Great Yearbook Spread — Presenter: Leah Blasé — You’ve seen it before in a great yearbook – a design that makes you stop and think “This is GREAT!” So what makes it great? Explore tips and a true formula for all the pieces that make a great yearbook spread.
• Best of the Best – design, photography – Presenter: Eric Thomas -Using examples from the NSPA best of the year competitions, see what is new, trendy and effective in design these days. Because I am a total photo dork, you will get lots of examples of how to make magnificent showcases of your staff’s photography.
• Photo Layouts — yearbook, photography, design — Presenter: Eric Thomas — Yearbook design has a bunch of smart and simple rules that help designers organize photos into a beautiful photo layout. But what are those rules? Often, beginning designers have no idea. And advanced designers (and editors) don’t know how to put those principles into words for the newbies. This session will cover all of this.

Documentary Journalism:

• Wendy’s and U.S. Navy: Brands that inspire connections – (session repeats) – A presentation team from VMLY&R will showcase client work that brings brands closer to customers, customers closer to communities, and communities closer to the wider world. This will be demonstrated through work as diverse as Wendy’s Feasts of Legends role playing game and the U.S. Navy’s Faces of the Fleet online documentary series — work that connects with people on an emotional level and enhances everyday experiences.

Editing:

• Editor-in-Chief Roundtable – leadership – Presenter: Christina Manolis – Current and potential editors can meet to share insight on questions, issues, and successes that they have in their journalism programs.
• Don’t Forget to Have Fun! — Presenter: Megan Palmer — Deadlines, leadership, writing and photography are all important to focus on, but before you can get your staff to buy in to all of that, you need to remember it should still be fun. Come get ideas for icebreakers, teambuilding activities, recognition and more! Be ready to share the great things you are already doing to build your own team.

Interviewing and Communicating:

• Talking Across Differences — Presenter: Ron Kelley — Talking Across Differences will provide students with the necessary context and tools for navigating their way as a journalists or a strategic communicator in a complex, diverse and changing society. Learn about five essential components that lead to the best kind of reporting and excellence journalism.
• Tips to a Better Interivew: Who is Thommie Pong – Presenter: Dan Mueller — Every great story or caption has to start with an interview. Learn how do conduct an interview and get quotable quotes.

Leadership:

• Don’t Forget to Have Fun! — Presenter: Megan Palmer — Deadlines, leadership, writing and photography are all important to focus on, but before you can get your staff to buy in to all of that, you need to remember it should still be fun. Come get ideas for icebreakers, teambuilding activities, recognition and more! Be ready to share the great things you are already doing to build your own team.
• Exploring Editorial Leadership — Presenter: Julie Lewis — Empower students to harness, amplify, and exhibit their leadership. This session will focus on research-based perspectives, which have helped MIPA’s scholastic journalism advisers transform their student newsrooms. Learn how MIPA advisers effectively developed, strengthened, and sustained their student leadership. Walk away ready to create a community of learners committed to your whole news production.
  
• Great Editor = Great Leader — Presenter Dan Mueller — Great publication editors must be effective leaders. Come learn ideas and methods for leading your staffs. Learn how to motivate your staff to work for a common goal and avoid common pitfalls. In order to create a great product, you must have strong student leader.
• Self-Care and All Other Kinds of Leadership – Presenter: Leigh Rogers – Leadership comes in many roles: officer, editor, staff member, team member. Every person on the staff has the potential to be a wonderful leader. However, even the smallest amount of leadership comes with stress and challenges. This session focuses on how to care for yourself, how to care for your team, and how to care for your program in order to be the best leader you can be.

Legal Issues:

• All Words Have Meaning: Discrimination, Harassment & Retaliation – Presenter: Kyle Farmer – Journalists are more aware of the power of words than most. The words we write and speak carry weight and can lead to change. But it is important for journalists to recognize that some words may have one meaning in the real-world context and another in the legal context. The goal of this session is to focus on the words discrimination, harassment and retaliation so attendees can feel comfortable discussing these topics in the proper way.
• Sunshine 101 – accessing public records – Presenter: Matthew Barba – The Missouri Sunshine Law gives the power of oversight to the people and helps keep government from taking action that benefits only a few or hurts the community as a whole. The Sunshine Law is vital to ensuring government works for all citizens at every level and is critical to having an informed citizenry.

• Unfair or Illegal. What’s the Difference?– Presenter: Kyle Farmer – Everyone has a concept of what is fair and what is unfair. It is not as clear, however, when something is illegal instead of simply being unfair. The goal of this session is to help focus attendees on the differences between unfair and illegal and to recognize the factors to analyze to make the determination.

Non-profit:

• The Arch and The Arts: Community Impact Through Strategic Communication –(session repeats) – Presenters: Ryan McClure and Beth McClure – With more than 1.5 million nonprofits in the U.S., you can pursue your passions and use your communication skills to benefit public charities, private foundations and many other types of nonprofit organizations. Learn more from two who work for nonprofits in St. Louis. Ryan McClure serves as executive director of the Gateway Arch Park Foundation, and Beth McClure recently joined The Literacy Project for The Gathering UMC after completed eight years as director of Marketing & Communications for the Center for Creative Arts. 
• Heroes with cap(e)s – Presenter: Rachel Robinson – Everyone loves an underdog story where the little guy emerges as the hero. But, what do you do when the underdog wins but the victory isn’t recognized, when the conflict of the narrative is quite literally a conflict? Strategic communicator Rachel will show examples of how her organization communicates to and on behalf of an underappreciated and largely unrecognized targeted audience. Based on the lessons she has learned, Rachel will share key storytelling principles you can use to present your underdog as a caped hero.

Photography:

• Best of the Best – design, photography – Presenter: Eric Thomas -Using examples from the NSPA best of the year competitions, see what is new, trendy and effective in design these days. Because I am a total photo dork, you will get lots of examples of how to make magnificent showcases of your staff’s photography.
• Onsite Photo Contest Critiques – Presenter: Mary Prichard — Come take a look at the photographs taken during the morning’s Onsite Photo Contest. Mary Prichard, the photography teacher at North Kansas City High School, and a professional photographer will critique the submissions and provider pointers for all photographers.
• Photography – Good to Great — photography — Presenter: Alyssa Moses — Learn how to take your photography from good to great. Learn how to get the right photo, and pick the best one.
• Photo Layouts — yearbook, photography, design — Presenter: Eric Thomas — Yearbook design has a bunch of smart and simple rules that help designers organize photos into a beautiful photo layout. But what are those rules? Often, beginning designers have no idea. And advanced designers (and editors) don’t know how to put those principles into words for the newbies. This session will cover all of this.
• You and Your Light – photography – Presenter: Eric Thomas – When you see a beautiful photo — whether on Instagram or the New York Times — it is likely beautiful because of light. Photographers create more amazing photos when they understand the basic characteristics of light and its effect on the viewer. Lots of examples and fun hands-on experimenting.

Sports Journalism:

• Behind The Camera (session repeats) – sports broadcast – Presenter: Lyndall Dodson – There is more to running a camera as a sports event than just moving it back and forth. Each camera position has specific assignments that help the production tell the story of the event. This session will dive into those assignments for football and basketball.
• Inside Mizzou Athletics – sports communications – Presenter: Nick Joos – Visit with Nick Joos, Mizzou Athletic’s deputy athletic director for communications, in this session. His duties include helping journalists cover the Tigers, working with the SEC Network, leading strategic communication efforts for sports and being the point person for all athletics-related sunshine requests.
• Let’s Get Real – Broadcast on ESPN 3 (session repeats) – broadcast – Presenter: Lyndall Dodson – Learn how your students can have an authentic educational experience by sending your events to ESPN 3. From what equipment is needed to how to get full training and support, this session will help you find the answers.
• Live Sports Broadcasting on the Road (session repeats) – broadcast – Presenter: Ben Merithew – In this session broadcast advisers and students will get tips and tricks on how to cover a live sporting event from away locations. Get insight on what it takes to prepare for the game, from making the arrangements with the host school to the technical setup once on location.
• So you want to cover sports, do you?(session repeats) -Presenter: Jenifer Langosch – Whether you dream of holding a microphone on the sidelines, having your byline appear in print or carving out a role behind-the-scenes, this session is for you. Jenifer will cover all the bases as we explore what it takes to build a career in sports journalism. She’ll discuss various career paths, identify skills you’ll need to break into the business, dispel some of the myths about working sports and predict where the industry is headed.
  

Story Telling:

• Covering Human Space Flight Exploration (session repeats) – space exploration – Presenter:  Joy Johnson – July 20, 2019, marked the 50^th anniversary of Apollo 11 landing the first humans on the moon. NASA Solar System Ambassador Joy Johnson will discuss the Who, What, When, Where, Why and How of space exploration and some of the challenges journalists face in covering science. When the technological difficulties in reaching Mars are overcome, some J-Day participants might be among those report the news.
• Discover a treasure trove of stories from the past and present – historical writing – Presenter: John Konzal – The State Historical Society is a treasure trove of stories from the past and the present about Missouri that you can access for personal interests or professional needs. J-Day guests can tour the new building and learn about the holdings, which include thousands maps, photographic images and editorial cartoons, a newspaper collection dating from 1808 with newspapers from all 114 Missouri counties and so much more.
• Everyone’s Got A Story (session repeats) – story telling – Presenter: Ethan Colbert – Troy Blackwell is a small farmer in northeast Missouri, who sells his wheat crop to a group of Jewish bakers in New York City. Eva was 13 years old when she sat on a park bench with her mother and watched as the German city of Munich burned to the ground. Amber Riley is a sharpshooting trap shooter, who doesn’t mind being the only female trapshooter in a predominantly male sport at her high school. What do these people all have in common? They all have a story. It is our job as journalists to tell those stories. Let’s dive into how we can do our jobs better, conduct better interviews, and tell better stories.
• Heroes with cap(e)s – Presenter: Rachel Robinson – Everyone loves an underdog story where the little guy emerges as the hero. But, what do you do when the underdog wins but the victory isn’t recognized, when the conflict of the narrative is quite literally a conflict? Strategic communicator Rachel will show examples of how her organization communicates to and on behalf of an underappreciated and largely unrecognized targeted audience. Based on the lessons she has learned, Rachel will share key storytelling principles you can use to present your underdog as a caped hero.
• There’s No Shame In The Small Town Game (session repeats) – newspaper – Presenter: Ethan Colbert – When I told my peers at the J-School that I was planning on going into small town journalism, working for small town weekly or daily newspapers, many were skeptical and questioned why I would want to do that. What I have come to learn after five years in the community journalism industry is that there is no shame in working for a small town newspaper. Instead, of shame, there is passion, engagement, and pride.
• Using Social Media to reach your primary target: students – social media reporting – Presenter: Jane Bannester – How do you know what audience you are reaching? Analytics has the ability to gauge your audiences use of your websites, videos or social media. Ritenour HS media program observed that our greatest reach to students was through Instagram. Come hear what we learned and how we created a program that focused on social media as our main media to increase reach.
• Video Postcard – broadcast – Presenter: Eric Thomas – Video is intimidating with all of the terminology and gear. So, let’s keep it simple here. By focusing on composition, we will learn how to make visually interesting videos that showcase a place. This is a great project that your entire staff could do with nothing more than a smartphone or tablet. Bring your device and let’s create something

Strategic Communications:

• The Arch and The Arts: Community Impact Through Strategic Communication –(session repeats) – Presenters: Ryan McClure and Beth McClure – With more than 1.5 million nonprofits in the U.S., you can pursue your passions and use your communication skills to benefit public charities, private foundations and many other types of nonprofit organizations. Learn more from two who work for nonprofits in St. Louis. Ryan McClure serves as executive director of the Gateway Arch Park Foundation, and Beth McClure recently joined The Literacy Project for The Gathering UMC after completed eight years as director of Marketing & Communications for the Center for Creative Arts. 
• Wendy’s and U.S. Navy: Brands that inspire connections – (session repeats) – A presentation team from VMLY&R will showcase client work that brings brands closer to customers, customers closer to communities, and communities closer to the wider world. This will be demonstrated through work as diverse as Wendy’s Feasts of Legends role playing game and the U.S. Navy’s Faces of the Fleet online documentary series — work that connects with people on an emotional level and enhances everyday experiences.

Writing:

• Headline Writing & Design – Presenter: Leah Blasé — Don’t just slap a label on your yearbook or newspaper spread! Find out what makes a great headline and how to make the design of the headline a key to draw readers into your spreads.
• Print the News & Raise Hell – opinion writing – Presenter: John Beaudoin – Your news, sports and feature writing components may be the backbone of your newspaper, but editorials, columns and editorial pages can often prove to be your heartbeat, invoking emotion, driving conversation and setting the tone for your editorial policies. Writing compelling editorials and columns takes a willingness to be bold while showing a responsibility of the newspaper to shine a light on wrongdoing, corruption or misconduct.

Yearbook:

• Anatomy of a Great Yearbook Spread — Presenter: Leah Blasé — You’ve seen it before in a great yearbook – a design that makes you stop and think “This is GREAT!” So what makes it great? Explore tips and a true formula for all the pieces that make a great yearbook spread.
• Conquering Theme – yearbook – Presenters: Leigh Rogers and Brenna Jones – Creative Development of Theme, This presentation covers abstract ways to approach theme development and how to engage your team in the creation process. We will discuss ways to reach a demographic, how to structure design around a theme, and the power of the classroom brainstorm.
• Photo Layouts — yearbook, photography, design — Presenter: Eric Thomas — Yearbook design has a bunch of smart and simple rules that help designers organize photos into a beautiful photo layout. But what are those rules? Often, beginning designers have no idea. And advanced designers (and editors) don’t know how to put those principles into words for the newbies. This session will cover all of this.

Adviser Exclusives:

• Exploring Editorial Leadership — Presenter: Julie Lewis — Empower students to harness, amplify, and exhibit their leadership. This session will focus on research-based perspectives, which have helped MIPA’s scholastic journalism advisers transform their student newsrooms. Learn how MIPA advisers effectively developed, strengthened, and sustained their student leadership. Walk away ready to create a community of learners committed to your whole news production.
• Let’s Get Real – Broadcast on ESPN 3 (session repeats) – broadcast – Presenter: Lyndall Dodson – Learn how your students can have an authentic educational experience by sending your events to ESPN 3. From what equipment is needed to how to get full training and support, this session will help you find the answers.
• MIPA Business Luncheon– MIPA board members – This meeting is for advisers, speakers and vendors only. During this annual session board members offer updates on MIPA events and programs, the new board will take office, speakers and teachers may meet each other, lunch will be available ($ for catered sandwiches and sides, sign up during registration) or you may bring your own lunch from home or off-campus, etc.

Campus Tours:

Campus tours must be requested by the adviser for their group. The adviser should go to https://bit.ly/2PCamHrand fill out the form on the “K-7 grade group tours” page. Due to MU being on spring break during J-Day, there will be a limited number of tour guides available. Tour requests will be processed in the order they are received.

You may also do a self-guided tour of campus by visiting https://bit.ly/2M8B6x7

Speaker Bios:

• Jane Bannester is celebrating her 23rd year at Ritenour High School in St. Louis, MO. Bannester leads the nationally, award-winning Media program, KRHS Media. Jane works with KRHS 90.1 FM, a FCC low-power, non-commercial FM radio station, the oldest in Missouri in a high school. Bannester was winner of the Missouri Journalism Teacher of the Year, EdSurge Top Journalism Innovative Educators, and JEA Distinguished Broadcast Teacher.

• John F. Beaudoin is a former Editor and Publisher of community newspapers in Iowa and around Kansas City. He has won more than 20 state and regional awards for his columns, editorials, news writing, photographs and newspaper design.
• Leah Blasé has been working with yearbook staffs for 25+ years helping students and advisers innovate and advance their yearbook. Leah’s energy is contagious and will be sure to excite your yearbook staff. Leah has extensive experience with design, writing, staff motivation and sales.
• Ethan Colbert joined The Herald-Whig in Quincy, Illinois, as a Reader Interest Reporter in March 2019. A Missouri native, Ethan graduated with degrees in political science and journalism from the University of Missouri in Columbia. He has previously worked for newspapers in Jefferson City, Columbia, Buffalo, Stockton and Bowling Green. In Bowling Green, Ethan served as the editor and reporter for one of the top weekly newspapers in the Show-Me State. Ethan continues to live on his family’s farm in rural northeast Missouri with his dog, Dixie, a yellow lab. Outside of the newsroom, Ethan is a self-described local history buff who loves exploring museums and historic homes. A devout St. Louis Cardinals and Mizzou Tiger fan, Ethan regularly attends sporting events with his family.
• Scotty Cox has avoided getting a real job for over 30 years. Since getting his first radio job while in high school, he has been a Creative Services Director, Program Director, Operations Manager, and has spent the last 20 years co-hosting the CMA/ACM/Marconi award winning morning show on Clear 99 in Columbia, MO. This has also led to some interesting side-gigs including stand-up comedy and being the producer for the Missouri Tiger Football Radio Network.

• When Lyndall Dodson retired after 24 years of teaching publications and broadcasting at Kearney High School, he thought he knew all there was about broadcasting sports events. After taking a job with Niles Media, a sports production company located in Liberty, he soon found out just how little he did know. “The first time Niles sent me out to train on a production truck was eye opening,” Dodson said. “The level of communication and teamwork was astounding. All the preparation that goes into a production, left me speechless.” Dodson has since worked as a producer, director, replay operator, and camera operator for college and high school events. He still has a love for teaching, and Niles Media has given him that opportunity with the ESPN Initiative. “I find this an incredible opportunity,” he said. “I know when I started the broadcasting program at Kearney, I had no experience and spent hours researching what I needed, equipment wise, and how to teach my students how to use that equipment. “The ESPN Initiative is an authentic learning experience. I love working with the advisers and students to help them understand the entire process.” Before entering the classroom in 1990, Dodson was a sports writer at the St. Joseph News-Press and Branson TriLakes newspapers.
• As the Senior Staff Attorney for the Missouri State Teachers Association, Kyle Farmer represents more than 47,000 members that work at all levels of school districts across the state. Kyle’s work in employment and education law has covered the full spectrum of the employment world from advising employers and boards of directors to representing employees in disputes with their employer. Having experiences on both sides of the table provides a unique perspective on the motivations, fears and desires of those involved in making decisions at the highest levels.
  

• Christina Geabhart, MJE, has served on the JEA national SJOY board of judges for more than a decade. In her 18th year teaching, Geabhart advises a quarterly newsmagazine, daily broadcast and website at Oak Park High School, Kansas City. She also serves as President on the MIPA Board of Directors. In the past, she’s served on the JEMKC board, the NSPA board of judges, among other volunteer work in journalism education.

• Pete Grigsby – 29 years of TV broadcast experience. Last 20 as KMBC TV Meteorologist in Kansas City and 11 years as broadcast instructor and meteorology teacher at Blue Springs South High School. www.PeteGrigsby.com

• Joy Johnsonis a solar system ambassador for NASA and teaches sixth- and seventh-grade science for the South Callaway R-II School District. Her love for science grew stronger when she was stationed at Vandenberg Air Force Base in California. As a member of the 30th Civil Engineer Squadron, her duties included ensuring the water distribution system to the launch pads and fire systems in the facility were in order for every mission. After six years on active duty, she went back to school and obtained a B.S. in Environmental Science, an M.S. in Environmental Science, and an M.Ed. in Teaching.
  
• Brenna Jones has been in yearbook for two years. She was copy editor her junior year and is now senior editor. She specializes in design and article writing, and in her two years, she won first place in a MIPA feature contest, second place in a MIPA editorial contest, and second place in another MIPA feature contest.
• Nick Joos, Mizzou Athletic’s deputy athletic director for communications, helps journalists cover the Tigers, working with the SEC Network, leading strategic communication efforts for sports and being the point person for all athletics-related sunshine requests.

• Ron Kelley, an associate professor in Journalism Studies, is the executive director of the Student Development, Diversity and Inclusion Program. The program works to recruit, retain and engage students from high school to college and into the profession and partners with industry, academic leaders and alumni. Kelley has worked as a television reporter and anchor at KTVE-TV in Monroe, LA and KSLA-TV in Shreveport, LA. He is also a past assistant news director at KOMU-TV. Kelley is the former director of the Multicultural Management Program at the Missouri School of Journalism. He coordinated and co-authored Guide to Research on Race and News, a guidebook on a comprehensive study on race and media funded by the Ford Foundation at the Missouri School of Journalism. Kelley has 30 years of experience in higher education, working in journalism education, advancement, media & external relations, fundraising and managing communications teams. He has a BS degree in broadcast journalism from Arkansas State University, a MS degree in Student Counseling & Personnel Services from Kansas State University and a PhD degree in Educational Leadership and Policy Analysis from the University of Missouri.
• Jenifer Langosch is currently a senior content manager for MLB.com. She previously worked for MLB.com as a beat reporter covering the Pirates (20007-11) and Cardinals (2012-19). During that tenure, her primary responsibilities included writing game stories and features, covering breaking news, and providing social media content. She has also been a regular contributor on MLB Network and served as a Cardinals correspondent and fill-in host on 101ESPN radio in St. Louis. Jenifer joined MLB.com after attending the University of Missouri, where she majored in both News-Editorial Journalism and French. Before graduating from Mizzou in May 2007, she held summer internships with MLB.com and Turner Sports Broadcasting Systems. She spent two years as a beat writer and sports feature writer for the Columbia Missourian newspaper and covered Mizzou athletics as a freelancer for the Springfield (Mo.) News-Leader from 2005-07.
• Julie Lewis graduated from the Missouri School of Journalism in 2001, returning later for a doctorate within the University of Missouri’s Educational Leadership Policy and Analysis Cooperative Program. Her dissertation research involved looking at MIPA’s scholastic journalism advisers teaching leadership in Missouri’s secondary schools. Her news-editorial undergraduate studies at MU instilled in her a passion for ethical journalistic coverage and education. Now, she passes on that legacy teaching at the University of Central Missouri and as lead adviser of the campus newspaper, “The Muleskinner.”

• Christina Manolis majored in journalism at Mizzou and has advised newspaper, yearbook and broadcast programs. She is currently a journalism adviser at Washington High School.

• As director of The Literacy Project at The Gathering UMC, Beth McClure leads more than 100 volunteers who provide one-on-one literacy tutoring to students in the St. Louis Public Schools and the Normandy Schools Collaborative. Previously she worked in marketing and public relations positions for the Center of Creative Arts, the Saint Louis Science Center and Fleishman-Hillard Communications. Beth holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri.

• Ryan McClure is the executive director for Gateway Arch Park Foundation in St. Louis. The Foundation is a nonprofit organization with a mission to ensure the Gateway Arch, its grounds, neighboring public spaces, and attractions is a vital, welcoming, well-supported resource for decades to come. He previously worked on public affairs and civic improvement campaigns at global communications firm Fleishman-Hillard Communications and corporate communications at Safety National and was president of Boys Hope Girls Hope St. Louis. Ryan holds a bachelor’s degree in Journalism from the University of Missouri and an Executive MBA from Washington University.
  
• Ben Merithew has been teaching high school journalism for over 13 years. He has advised newspaper, yearbook, web and broadcasting. Mr. Merithew started live broadcasting sporting and regular events at Fort Osage High School with his students in 2014 where they regularly produce over 50 live events each year. FOHS Broadcasting started broadcasting live events from away games in 2015 and currently broadcast all away football games along with select away games in other sports like baseball. He received the Missouri Interscholastic Press Association’s Journalism Teacher of the Year in 2011, the Missouri Interscholastic Press Association’s Taft Award for service to scholastic journalism in 2019 and is a past president of the organization.
• The Missouri Press Association works on behalf of newspapers in Missouri. Newspapers are important employers in over 230 Missouri cities and towns. They play a key role in communities, keeping local citizens informed, stimulating local retail business and fostering economic development. Its foundation provides journalism scholarships, conducts educational seminars, gives journalism merit awards, and coordinates Newspapers In Education programs. MPA also lobbies at the state capital on behalf of First Amendment issues.
• Alyssa Moses has been a professional sports and lifestyle photographer for more than seven years. She has worked with the Rams, Blues, and Cardinals in her career and loves to mentor new photographers to become the best they can be.
• Dan Muellerhas been working with yearbooks since he was on staff in high school and college. He has spent his entire adult life motivating students and helping them achieve their goals. Dan has over a decade of experience with design, technology, writing and photography.
• Megan Palmer is in her 12th year advising yearbook and newspaper at Park Hill South HS in Riverside. She is the MIPA secretary, has presented at national, state and local workshops, and was the 2013 MIPA Journalism Teacher of the Year.
• Mary Prichard, CJE, is the yearbook adviser at North Kansas City High School.

• Rachel Robinson is a marketing communications professional with a passion for storytelling. Currently, she is a communications manager for the American Angus Association and communicates in print, online and through video on behalf of the breed and the cattlemen and women who raise them. The daughter of marketing entrepreneurs, Rachel brings an innovative approach to her professional roles and strives to continually improve herself, as well as those who work with and for her. She worked at two different agencies, Woodruff and Osborn Barr, on a variety of different clients across the agriculture industry from animal health to crop protection to fertilizers before starting at the Angus Association. An agricultural journalism legacy, Rachel graduated from the University of Missouri and puts her journalistic and communications skills to work every day.
• Leigh Rogers  has taught yearbook at Hermann High School for five years and is the North of Highway 50 Representative for MIPA. Rogers also worked in her college Public Relations department, as well as on the staff of her college newspaper and magazine at William Woods University.

• The State Historical Society of Missouri collects, preserves, and publishes materials that enhance research and support learning opportunities in the study of the Midwest. Research centers in Cape Girardeau, Columbia, Kansas City, Rolla, Saint Louis, and Springfield provide access to an ever-growing number of reference materials and historical collections.
• Eric Thomas teaches the whole mess of visual journalism — not to mention other things! — at the University of Kansas in the William Allen White School of Journalism and Mass Communications. Before that, he was an active member of MIPA while teaching at St. Teresa’s Academy in Kansas City. He is also the executive director of the Kansas Scholastic Press Association. Come to his camp: The Jayhawk Media Workshop from June 7-11 in Lawrence, Kan.

• VMLY&R is a global brand and customer experience agency based in Kansas City and employs more than 6,500 employees worldwide. Client partners include Colgate-Palmolive, Danone, Dell, Ford, New Balance, Pfizer, U.S. Navy and Wendy’s. For more information: www.vmlyr.com.