An Open Letter to Our Donors

To Student Publications Alumni and Donors:

My name is Haley Goldberg, and I am a sophomore news reporter at The Michigan Daily who attended the Institute on Political Journalism’s conference “Journalism, Politics, & the Presidential Campaign of 2012.” Thanks to the Career Enhancement Fund at Student Publications, I was able to travel to Washington, D.C. on Nov. 4 and 5 with three of my Daily co-workers to learn about the field of journalism and the upcoming presidential election.
I wanted to attend the conference to expand my knowledge about politics and political journalism, and I definitely received a great education from doing so. The conference began with a session featuring the Managing News Editor of Gallup.com. I enjoyed learning about the polling process, and I feel confident that I can properly analyze and assess the validity of a poll. The next two sessions discussed the relationship between religion and politics, and also a view of the political landscape. These were both very informative, and I learned skills to objectively report politics and religion to the best of my abilities.
After this session, I was able to attend a tour of the C-SPAN studios, situated a few blocks from our hotel on Capitol Hill. The tour of C-SPAN was interesting, because the studio and office seemed a lot more intimate than I anticipated. All the co-workers were excited to share their work with us, and I enjoyed seeing a workplace where the employees all truly love their jobs. I hope to take that positive atmosphere I observed in their newsroom and carry it over to The Daily newsroom.
At the banquet dinner that followed the C-SPAN tour, I listened to my favorite speaker of the conference: Karen Travers, a national politics reporter for ABC News. Travers detailed how she worked her way up in the field of journalism from being the Editor-in-Chief at her college newspaper to an ABC News correspondent. What was so motivating about her speech was the drive and determination she described having in college, which I could tell was still prevalent as she talked to the conference that night. I learned from Travers that being a journalist involves having a passion for the field, and constantly working hard and pushing forward. I asked Travers how her experience at a publication in college assisted her when she began looking for a career in journalism, and she told me the basic skills she developed at her college paper were very beneficial when she started her career. This showed me how important my work at The Michigan Daily is for my future. I have such a great opportunity to lay down the foundation for my journalistic skills and develop a passion for the field, and, like Travers said, I’m going to take full advantage of the experience.
On the second day of the conference, I enjoyed a session about social media in the newsroom. While previously I had concerns about the relationship between social media and journalism, this session showed me this new connection is an exciting opportunity. The speakers discussed how to use social media to reach a vast audience of readers and to expand the presence of a publication, and I hope to implement some of their suggestions and expand The Michigan Daily’s social media ventures.
Finally, the closing trip to The Newseum in Washington, D.C. was a great experience. As I was looking through the history room with the front page of papers from every major event in American history, I realized how important journalism truly is. Not only are journalists writing about the news, they are writing history. People across the country found out about the bombing of Pearl Harbor and the success of the Polio Vaccine through these papers delivered to their front doors. As a journalist, I have the power to inform the public and update them on the most important issues our world faces, and this trip through the museum gave me the confidence to do just that.
Overall, I learned so much about political journalism and the field of journalism itself through attending the IPJ conference. While I may walk away knowing politics isn’t a topic I’m extremely passionate about, I know the field of journalism is where I belong. I developed so many skills from the conference that I plan to carry over to my work at the Daily. From better interviewing techniques to reporting angles, I learned what I need to do to improve my work. Furthermore, the experience of traveling to Washington, D.C. made the conference amazing as well. I was learning about political journalism in the heart of political journalism, and having that connection to the topic in discussion was incredible.
Thank you so much for allowing me to attend the IPJ conference and have this amazing adventure with my fellow colleagues. I return to Ann Arbor with a newly ignited passion for journalism, and I can’t wait to carry that over to my work at The Michigan Daily.

Sincerely,

Haley Goldberg

You can find news reports by Goldberg by clicking here.