On Oct. 10 of last year, we launched this weblog - Innovation in College Media - as part of the Center for Innovation in College Media, a non-profit 501(c)3 corporation, with the sole purpose of prodding our fellow advisers and student journalists to embrace and implement new media initiatives on their campuses.

It’s been a busy year. We’ve put on a successful hands-on new media workshop, surveyed the landscape, consulted with various college media outfits and interviewed numerous professional journalists.

But it’s not enough. We’ve tried over the past year to spread the “gospel” of new media, and it seems to be working - for some. We think it can work for many more.

And so we’re announcing a change to the way we do business. We’ve opened up the Center for Innovation in College Media as a membership organization.

We’re asking for folks who are concerned, passionate, or just curious to join us in our quest to prepare students and make information available to as many people as possible by becoming members of the CICM.

We think we’ve come up with a pretty good list of incentives:

• A contest that recognizes the best in college new media in numerous areas, with clearly delineated judging criteria.
• Critiques - In-depth analysis and suggestions for improvement from those in the know in the media industry.
• Networking - A special site for student journalists and advisers to post profiles and solicit advice for the pressing problems of new media.
• Jobs - a chance for students to showcase their work for potential employers, with a secure place for those employers to look for information.
• Workshops - this spring, we’re partnering with the National Press Photographers Association for our new media workshop - in March, in Nashville, Tenn. - to give hands-on training to student journalists and advisers who may not be able to get the training otherwise.
• And, as always, the free flow of information through this weblog - spotlighting significant student initiatives, interviewing professionals, and providing a clearinghouse for information that will help us all advance college media in the 21st century.

We’re excited about these changes. We think we have a game plan for the future, and we obviously hope you’ll join us as we seek to understand and adapt to that future. The alternative is too bleak to consider.

A year ago, we asked ourselves “Why not?” and leaped off into this adventure. Today, we’re asking for folks to join us as we ask “Why not?” Even if you’re a professional, if you care about college media, we hope you’ll join to support the cause.

Click here for info on how you may join us. We’ve already got one school signed up for a web critique and several member organizations that we’ll be spotlighting soon.

Bryan Murley - Director for Innovation

Chris Carroll - Director for Operations

Ralph Braseth - Director for Communications

The Center for Innovation in College Media

This entry was posted on Tuesday, October 30th, 2007 at 10:22 pm and is filed under CICM shop talk. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.