[1]NASHVILLE, Tenn. (BP)–More than 160 people from 28 universities and colleges have registered for the inaugural Baptist Press Student Journalism Conference, set to begin Sept. 27 in Nashville.
Well-known Washington writer and commentator Fred Barnes will address conference attendees Sept. 29 at the Baptist Press Excellence in Journalism Competition, said Will Hall, vice president for news services of the Southern Baptist Convention’s Executive Committee.
Joining Barnes as keynote speakers are Scripps Howard columnist Terry Mattingly; Will Norton, dean of the school of journalism and mass communications at the University of Nebraska; and Colleen Rudy, KFMB San Diego; Ted Olsen, Christianity Today Online; and Ed Plowman, World Magazine.
“This conference will be a great opportunity for Baptist student journalists to network with Christian journalists working in both religious and secular media,” Hall said. “We want to let our Baptist students know that you can be a Christian and be a successful journalist, too.”
The terrorist attacks in New York, Washington and western Pennsylvania will be the focus of attention at several conference venues.
On Sept. 28, students will have an opportunity to assess media coverage of the terrorist attacks in a lively panel discussion. Several workshop leaders were on site in New York and Washington and will provide firsthand accounts during their workshops.
[2]Also, a multimedia presentation featuring Baptist Press photography, as well as a new patriotic anthem written by Michael W. Smith, will be shown.
“This is going to be a first-class conference,” Hall said. “We’ve invited some of the best and brightest journalists to not only lead seminars, but spend one-on-one time with our student journalists.”
Barnes is executive editor of The Weekly Standard and host of the “Beltway Boys” on the Fox News Channel. From 1985-95 he served as senior editor and White House correspondent for the New Republic. He covered the Supreme Court and the White House for the Washington Star before moving to the Baltimore Sun in 1979. Barnes has appeared on “Nightline,” “Meet the Press,” “Face the Nation” and the “NewsHour with Jim Lehrer.”
Barnes graduated from the University of Virginia and was a Neiman Fellow at Harvard University.
During their free time, students will be treated to a concert by Rocketown Records artist Ben Glover.
The conference will be held at the Southern Baptist Convention building in downtown Nashville, Hall said.
For additional information on the conference, call (615) 782-8615.
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