Logan’s Experience
The trip to Washington, D.C., for the Society of Professional Journalists’ MediaFest 2025 was my first time going there. I didn’t know what to expect, but I was pleasantly surprised by the city. It was lively on every street corner, restaurant and bar, and the gorgeous array of government buildings and corporate skyscrapers was pleasing to the eye.
On Thursday, the first day of the conference began. I was fortunate enough to get selected as one out of 10 of the 800 total conference attendees to be taken on a tour of U.S. News and World Report, along with other journalists from the conference and a tour guide, who took us there via the metro. The tour guide at U.S. News and World Report was a great guy with whom I connected well. It was inspiring to hear how he had just graduated from college in May of this year, and yet he was already working at a prestigious place in such a short amount of time. The tour was wonderful, as he took us all around the building. We had a live Q&A with three bigwigs from the company, whom I had the chance to ask several questions to, and our tour guide even took us to the building’s rooftop patio, which overlooked the city.
After the tour, I had the chance to attend a session called “Storytelling Through Videography,” which was about the power of storytelling through a picture and lighting without dialogue.
On Friday, Luke and I attended three sessions: which were “Talking to Strangers,” the second session of “Editor-in-Grief” and “Deadlines and Dating.” My favorite session was “Talking to Strangers,” led by professional journalist and interviewer Dean Nelson.
According to Nelson’s website, “Dean Nelson is the founder and director of the journalism program at Point Loma Nazarene University in San Diego. He writes occasionally for the New York Times, the Boston Globe, San Diego Magazine, Westways, Sojourners, and several other national publications. He has won several awards from the Society of Professional Journalists for his reporting and has written or co-written 14 books. Nelson is a frequent speaker at writing workshops and retreats…In addition to directing the PLNU journalism program, Nelson also hosts the annual Writer’s Symposium By The Sea, where prominent writers come to discuss the craft of writing. Nelson has interviewed Amy Tan, Anne Lamott, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar, Rob Bell, Deepak Chopra, Ray Bradbury, George Plimpton, Joyce Carol Oates, Garrison Keillor, Billy Collins, Bill Moyers, and dozens of others. Many of those interviews are available for viewing on the University of California Television’s (UCSD-TV) website. They have been broadcast worldwide and downloaded or viewed more than 4 million times.”
Nelson was an incredible speaker. In a nutshell, he spoke on how to engage someone in an interview who is reluctant to answer questions. I took three pages of notes, learned a lot and even had the chance to connect with Nelson after. Not only was he full of wisdom and very well-spoken, but he was a great person and extremely down to earth.
On Saturday, we made it back home to Indianapolis after a long day of TSA issues with American Airlines, as we had to deplane three times. Yes, the statement came true; the “third time was the charm” for us.
Overall, D.C. was an incredible experience for me, as I thoroughly enjoyed myself. I would definitely recommend going if you have not been, and I’m for sure going back sometime in the future.
Luke’s Experience
Attending MediaFest 2025 in Washington, D.C. was not my first rodeo in the nation’s capital, but it was my first during a government shutdown.
It was an amazing learning opportunity, but most importantly, an eye-opening experience to the many people who deal with the same situations we do. Unfortunately, there are some who have it worse than others. Shoutout to those who have to deal with overarching administrations, I stand with you fully.
Not to brag, but The Reflector has a really good workplace culture. One session dealt with relationships in student journalism, and a few students told their stories and it made my jaw drop. The amount of internal fighting I heard was incredible. Disagreements are bound to happen, but some of these situations went beyond that. People dating each other and breaking up was the tip of the iceberg, as some are dealing with jealous staff because of their editorial board elections.
Another session I attended was on self-care during crisis reporting. The most valuable lesson from the session was to remember the people involved are more than just a number or statistic; each of them has a story to tell.
My favorite session was the first editor-in-grief session, as the presenter had a very good sense of humor. It was interesting to hear the philosophy of the editor-in-chief is above a bunch of anarchists. The editor should be tough at first and then lighten up later.
Outside the conference, I enjoyed meeting The Reflector Advisor Katie Greenan’s brother, Michael. It was kind of him to spend time with us and give us a tour of C-SPAN. He is very intelligent and funny — he has one of those personalities that resonates with people. We talked with people at C-SPAN on the tour, and they absolutely loved Michael.
Overall, attending MediaFest reminded me why journalism matters and why being a part of it is something to be proud of. It also opened my eyes to how student journalism can be vastly different from professional journalism.
