Register for Fall National College Media Convention in Kansas City!
Convention | Adviser Awards | Confabs | Member Training
Registration is now open for the National College Media Convention Nov. 4-7 in Kansas City, Missouri! Make plans now to join us for the largest gathering of collegiate journalists, media students and their advisers! You can save with early bird prices through Oct. 13:
Student/Adviser Member: $175
Student non-member: $225
Nonmember Adviser/Attendee: $295
Step into the heart of how stories are reported, produced and shared—across every platform. The fall convention will bring together students, advisers and media professionals from across the country for four days of learning, connection and collaboration. Presented by Associated College Press and College Media Association, the convention will feature sessions, speakers, critiques and contests across print, broadcast, audio, and digital media.
Attending offers a unique opportunity to learn from industry professionals, build practical skills and connect with peers from across the country. Through workshops, panels and keynotes, participants will gain insight into the evolving media landscape while sharing ideas and real newsroom experiences.
With nearly 1,000 attendees, the convention also serves as a space to showcase student work, receive feedback from experts and explore career paths in media.
Register for Convention
The convention will be hosted at The Westin Kansas City at Crown Center. Attendees can reserve discounted rooms at $215 per night for up to quad occupancy. (About $262, including taxes and fees.) Rooms are subject to availability and must be booked before Oct. 16 to receive the discounted rate. One person may reserve up to 10 rooms at a time.
Reserve Your Hotel Rooms
If you have an idea for a convention session, please submit a proposal! Submissions are reviewed on a rolling basis with selections based on relevance, originality and impact. Chosen sessions will be announced when the full program is finalized.
Submit a Session
There’s still time to nominate yourself or a fellow adviser for one of CMA’s Special Honors, including the Frank LoMonte Ethics in Journalism Award, Montgomery Distinguished Service Award, Ken Nordin Award for College Media Research, Noel Ross Strader Memorial Award, Ron Spielberger Service to CMA Award and Dan Reimold Student Media Champion Award.
Click here to read full descriptions of each award. The nomination deadline is June 30.
Click Here to Nominate Yourself
Click Here to Nominate Someone Else
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| Jackie Alexander | Rhys E.S. Finch |
“Hey, Where’s the Nikon?”: Managing Your Equipment
4 p.m. ET Wednesday, July 15 *Note special time!*
Cost: FREE
If you’ve ever torn apart a storage closet five minutes before a shoot wondering who last checked out your best camera—or discovered a “new” microphone that’s actually older than your students—you’re not alone. In college media programs, equipment management often lives somewhere between guesswork and shared mythology. This session is about moving beyond that chaos with practical, simple systems to track what you have, who has it and how old it really is.
Presented by Jackie Alexander, University of Alabama at Birmingham, and Rhys E.S. Finch, Ithaca College
JACKIE ALEXANDER serves as the director of student media at the University of Alabama at Birmingham. Her groups consist of a literary arts magazine, digital news outlet, creative services agency and entertainment network. Her passions include royal scandals, lunch and constantly wondering where all the SD cards went.
RHYS E.S. FINCH currently serves as Ithaca College’s manager of TV & Radio Operations where he oversees more than 650 students. He acts as the general manager of the award-winning broadcast co-curricular organizations ICTV, VIC Radio and WICB-FM. He previously served alongside Jackie Alexander as the assistant director of student media at the University of Alabama at Birmingham where they overhauled their department’s equipment management system.
Register for July Confab
CMA Confabs are monthly virtual sessions open to all CMA members. Attendance is free, but registration is required. Confabs are held on the third Wednesday of each month (excluding convention months.) Speakers and topics are subject to change. Follow event links to sign up and access the latest details. You can renew your membership or join CMA as part of registering for confabs.
Did you know CMA members can access Confab recordings online for a limited time following each event? Recent Confab recordings are available in the members-only section of the CMA website, along with the Adviser Handbook and other helpful resources.
CMA will host New Adviser Training from 1 to 5 p.m. ET July 13-14 online. Cost is $250 for members and $500 for non-members. Conceived with the needs of new advisers in mind, this training includes expert-led sessions on critical topics such as media law, business development, policy and student training, as well as unparalleled networking opportunities. The track also offers veteran advisers opportunities to refresh their skills and share their expertise with new advisers.
New Adviser Training is presented four times a year: in person at the fall and spring national conventions and live online in January and July. Click here for a detailed list of New Adviser Training courses included.
Register for July New Adviser Training
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| Joshua P. Darr | Mike Reilley | Claire Wardle |
“Taming the AI Monster: AI as a Tool, Not a Crutch” (three sessions)
2 to 4 p.m. ET Monday, Aug. 10, Tuesday, Aug. 11, and Wednesday, Aug. 12
Cost: $200 for members; $350 for non-members
AI has been a hot-button issue for several years, and we’re still facing questions about how to ethically and responsibly use the wide range of tools in student media. In this three-day, in-depth training, you’ll learn tactile skills around developing clear policies and using AI tools effectively. Topics will include:
- Developing AI ethics policies;
- Using AI tools with “cautious curiosity;
- Understanding pitfalls and legal/ethical issues of AI tools; and
- Effective prompt writing
The training will be presented by Joshua P. Darr, Newhouse School of Public Communications, Mike Reilley, University of Illinois-Chicago, and Claire Wardle, Cornell University.
(Topics are subject to change.)
JOSHUA P. DARR is an associate professor at the Newhouse School of Public Communications, Director of the Local NExT Lab, and a Senior Researcher in the Institute for Democracy, Journalism & Citizenship at Syracuse University, teaching classes in political communication. His research focuses on local news, partisan polarization, and campaign strategy. Darr has co-authored two books: "Home Style Opinion: How Local Newspapers Can Slow Polarization" (2021) and "Storefront Campaigning" (2024). He received an Andrew Carnegie Fellowship in 2022 for his project investigating how newspapers can earn trust and reduce polarization. Darr earned his Ph.D. in political science from the University of Pennsylvania.
MIKE REILLEY is a senior lecturer at the University of Illinois-Chicago and founder of JournalistsToolbox.ai, a free website featuring AI tools and training videos. He’s the author of two books: “Data + Journalism” (Routledge, 2023) and “The Journalist’s Toolbox: A Guide to Digital Reporting and AI” (Routledge 2024). Mike has spent the past decade teaching Google News Initiative and other digital and AI-driven tools to more than 22,000 journalists and educators in more than 600 trainings in 46 states. He’s currently the lead trainer for both the RTDNA/GNI Election Fact-Checking Program and the ONA/Microsoft AI in Journalism training program.
CLAIRE WARDLE is an associate professor in the Department of Communication at Cornell University. She is considered a leader in the field of misinformation, verification and user generated content. In 2015, Claire co-founded the non-profit First Draft, a pioneer in innovation, research and practice in the field of misinformation. She went on to co-found the Information Futures Lab at Brown University’s School of Public Health. Over the past decade she has developed an organization-wide training program for the BBC on eyewitness media, verification and misinformation, led social media policy at UNHCR, been a Fellow at the Shorenstein Center for Media, Politics and Public Policy at Harvard’s Kennedy School, and been the Research Director at the Tow Center for Digital Journalism at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism.
