Journalism programs greet prospective students

More than a dozen prospective students turned out for the annual Explore Conestoga open house on March 26, to check out the college’s Journalism Print and Journalism Broadcast programs. Following two scheduled morning presentations led by journalism coordinator Larry Cornies, student visitors and their parents got a chance to tour the school’s print and broadcast journalism labs and studios, as well as other parts of the college’s Doon campus.

Special thanks to the journalism students who volunteered their time on a busy Saturday to take part in question-and-answer sessions and lead tours: Amanda Baines (second-year print),  Michael Cottrill (first-year broadcast), Ashley Idle (second-year print), Paul Irvine (second-year print), Lindsay Johnston (first-year print), David Parbhakar (first-year broadcast) and Tiffany Wilson (first-year print).

Palu tells journalism students: Never accept “no”

Photographer Louie Palu's advice: Be creative and persistent. Photo by Dave Chidley.

In his address to Conestoga College journalism students at their annual gala last night, award-winning photographer Louie Palu said they must be inventive, creative and dogged in the pursuit of their chosen vocation — and never to accept “no” as an answer on stories they yearn to cover.

“This is the most exciting time ever to be a journalist,” Palu said, citing the endless possibilities emerging for creative and persistent storytellers. “There are no limits” to what can be done online, in print and in broadcasting, just as there are myriad possibilities in terms of the tools journalists can use to do their work.

Through his own still photos and video, Palu described his career path from a member of his high school’s camera club, through the mining industry of Northern Ontario, the battlefields of Afghanistan, the confines of Guantanamo Bay, the corridors of power at the White House, and other settings in which he’s gathered the images that have been seen around the world. Many of the most memorable, he said, required him to push beyond the initial “no” of editors, military officers, politicians and others who, at first, didn’t appreciate his storytelling objectives.

Though he was a staff photographer at the Globe and Mail for six years, Palu credited the CBC and the Toronto Star for helping him become a truly multimedia journalist. He is now equally at home with still photography, videography and writing as storytelling modes.

The student winners of last night’s awards, as judged by industry professionals in the Waterloo Region, were:

1. The Cambridge Times Award for Best News Photo: Amanda Baines (winner); Lisa Olsen (honourable mention)
2. The Cambridge Times Award for Best Feature Photo: Marcus Matthew
3. Guelph Mercury Award for Best News Story: Lisa Olsen
4. NOW Media Best Videography Award: Nathan Cox
5. Faculty Award for Best Writing by a Student in Year 1: Lindsay Johnston
6. Faculty Award for Most Promising Videographer: Dan Whyte
7. School of Media and Design Best Reporting Award: Alex Cooke
8. CJOY/Magic FM News Radio Announcing Award: Roslyn Wheaton
9. The News Photographers Association of Canada Best Sports Photo: Ashley Idle (winner); Thomas Parent (honourable mention)
10. Rogers Best Television Report Award: Nathan Cox
11. CTV Southwestern Ontario Digital Media Award: Peter Kovacs
12. Goderich Signal-Star Award for Best Opinion Writing: Marcus Matthew
13. 570 News Radio Reporting Award: Samantha Fitzsimmons
14. Faith FM Radio Feature or Documentary Award: Patrick Finnigan
15. Edward J. Hayes Award for Best Feature Story: Thomas Parent
16. Most Promising Newswriter, First Year Journalism Print: Elissa denHoed
17. Most Promising Newswriter, First Year Journalism Broadcast: Michael Cottrill
18. Most Promising New Media Journalist: Wei-Lon Lee
19. Best News Reporting, Videography: Leeanna McClean and Asia Skilandziunas
20. Waterloo Chronicle Best Arts/Entertainment Story Award: Ashley Idle (winner); Gerald Upton (honourable mention)
21. Ross Weichel Award for Best Editorial: Ashley Idle (winner); Robert Conte (honourable mention), Lisa Olsen (honourable mention)
22. Best Feature Story, Videography: Leeanna McClean
23. School of Media and Design Best Videography Award: Peter Kovacs
24. Carl Fletcher Award for Best Sports Reporter: Ryan Young
25. Ken MacKenzie Memorial Bursary: Craig Hennessey
26. Andy Dugan Memorial Award for Most Dedicated Student: Ashley Idle
27. Alumni Association Award of Excellence, Journalism Print: Marcus Matthew
28. Alumni Association Award of Excellence, Journalism Broadcast: Patrick Finnigan
29. Alumni Association Award of Excellence, Videography-Broadcast Journalism/Documentary: Peter Kovacs
30. CTV Southwestern Ontario Broadcast Journalist of the Year: Hilary Eastmure
31. Waterloo Region Record Award for Journalist of the Year: Amanda Baines
32. Rogers All-News Radio Stations Student Academic Grants: Maria Torriente, Brigitte Szucs
33. Rogers All-News Radio Station Student Scholarships: Hilary Eastmure, Patrick Finnigan, Nathan Cox

Students in the second-year broadcast journalism class. Photo by Dave Chidley.

Students in the second-year print journalism class. Photo by Dave Chidley.

Outhit nominated for newspaper awards

Jeff Outhit

Waterloo Region Record reporter Jeff Outhit, who teaches computer-assisted reporting in Conestoga’s New Media: Convergence program, was nominated for a prestigious National Newspaper Award this week. The nomination for an NNA comes weeks after Outhit was nominated twice for Ontario Newspaper Awards.

The NNA nomination was in the politics category; the ONA nominations came in the enterprise/investigative reporting and municipal affairs reporting categories.

In both cases, Outhit used research assembled with the help of students in Conestoga’s New Media program to provide the basis for his nominated stories.

Photographer Louie Palu to speak at annual gala

International award-winning news photographer Louie Palu will be the guest speaker at this year’s annual journalism gala on March 24.

This year's guest speaker: photographer Louie Palu

Palu’s news photographs have been published in numerous publications around the world, including The New Yorker, The New York Times, Time, Newsweek, The Atlantic, The Washington Post, Forbes, The Toronto Star, The Walrus, Geist, National Post, The Economist, NPR, The Globe and Mail, Wall Street Journal and Sunday Times Magazine. He has covered the war in Afghanistan for five years and is known for his work on the detention centre at Guantanamo Bay. Palu’s work is part of a number of private and public collections, including The Library and Archives of Canada, Portland Art Museum, George Eastman House International Museum of Film and Photography, The Museum of Fine Arts Houston and the Portrait Gallery of Canada.

A record 190 tickets have been sold for the annual event, at which 33 awards will be presented to deserving first- and second-year students.