Editing at all hours: Volunteering with the ONA Student Newsroom during a virtual conference

Editing at all hours: Volunteering with the ONA Student Newsroom during a virtual conference

Drafts submitted at 5 a.m.

Publishing at 10 p.m.

It’s been a very different experience this year for the ONA Student Newsroom and Innovation Lab.

ONA and the program chairpeople brought the program back this year, in a limited capacity, despite the conference remaining virtual. I was honored to be invited to volunteer as one of six mentors working with nine students from across the country.

In my opinion, the best part of this year’s modified program was that students had the opportunity to do a story about the journalism and real world issues prior to the start of any conference sessions. I was pleased that many of the students chose to report on the intersection of the pandemic and our business.

Despite the strange hours and time zone-confusion, it was a pleasure to work with these students. These opportunities push me beyond the writing and editing I do in the newsroom because they force me to teach and explain my changes.