Most days — often multiple times a day — cherubs gathered in Fisk Hall for a lecture, eager to learn.
This year, cherubs’ favorite lectures included “Interviewing Techniques” by guest lecturers Bret Begun and Cynthia Wang; “Erasing the Archives,” a discussion about what should be removed from already published media; and instructor Erin Ailworth’s lecture on disaster reporting.
Professor Jeremy Gilbert spoke to students in the first week about the impact of artificial intelligence on journalism, referencing tools he hopes to develop to engage more readers, such as using AI to adjust the readability of articles for different audiences.
“Every day, AI is becoming more prominent in our lives. If I become a journalist, I know it’s going to be involved somehow, and I need to know how to use it,” Braden Stone, from St. Petersburg, Florida, said.
Crystal Zhu, from Cupertino, California, enjoyed the ethics lectures. Students and instructors debated about whether it was ethical to publish certain photos, articles and quotes, voting with red, yellow and green cards. “I learned that ethics is really complicated, and everybody can have different thoughts,” Zhu said. “The standard is different everywhere, and these kinds of ethical debates happen every day in newsrooms.”
Begun made his lectures entertaining by engaging with the audience, making him a favorite.
Begun and Wang’s lecture on interviewing involved them demonstrating different ways students should shake hands. Annika Chu, from Palo Alto, California, said, “It was really funny to watch them act out different scenarios in which they shook hands, where one was floppy and limp and one where they were way too enthusiastic.”
