Named for one of the region’s most influential pioneers in broadcast journalism, the Tom Bigler Journalism Conference welcomes a wide variety of professionals from print, broadcast, public relations, photo and sports communication fields to the Wilkes University campus in Northeast Pennsylvania for an intensive one-day glimpse into the exciting world of journalism. This year marks the 13th anniver
sary of the conference. More than a dozen professionals offer 45-minute interactive sessions to area high school students who have shown an interest in or aptitude for communication. The conference is free for all students, and also offers a simple lunch, student media competition, newspaper exchange and hands-on workshops with Wilkes students. Approximately 240 high school students from the region attend the event annually. In the interactive sessions, students will enjoy the opportunity to meet and talk with people they recognize from reading the newspaper, watching the nightly news, or whose award winning photography has been widely published in popular magazines. Most of the sessions involve lively Q & A time at their conclusion, and many students have noted afterward how valuable this first “up close” experience with the field was for them. This year’s conference theme is “The First Amendment: Student Press Rights and Responsibilities,” and our keynote speaker is Frank LoMonte, executive director of the Student Press Law Center in Arlington, Va. The SPLC is actively involved in student rights nationally and LoMonte provides lectures and workshops across the country. We thank the sponsors of the 2013 Tom Bigler Journalism Conference: the American Society of Newspaper Editors, the 1 for All center, the Brechner Center for Freedom of Information and the Robert B. McCormack Foundation,
