Welcome to our News page! Make sure to check back monthly for important updates on events and other programming!
As always, if you have any comments or questions, don’t hesitate to email aspa@ua.edu.
OCTOBER 2024
WORKSHOP RECAP!
On Sept. 15, The University of Alabama Dept. of Journalism & Communication welcomed 38 students from Hayden High School and Gordon High School for our Tuscaloosa workshop! We heard from media professionals within the college and took a tour of the Digital Media Center inside Bryant-Denny Stadium!
WANT TO JOIN US IN AUBURN?
Join ASPA on the road at Auburn University on Thursday, Nov. 7! We have an outstanding lineup of Auburn faculty and staff to lead media sessions and give students hands-on experience. We may even have a furry, striped friend drop by (but don’t tell Big Al!).
To register for the Auburn Workshop, please fill out a registration form by October 31.
CONVENTION IS COMING SOON(ish)!
We’re hard at work finalizing the theme and on-site competitions for our annual ASPA State Convention on Friday, Feb. 21, 2025! If you haven’t already, make sure you’re familiar with the new guidelines and submission processes. If you have any specific questions, please email aspa@ua.edu.
QUICK READ
Political reporting can be scary, especially for student journalists, but it doesn’t have to be! Google has launched a new fact checking tool for journalists and media students focused on filtering out misinformation. The best part? All you need is a Google account to use it for free!
Try Google’s Fact Check Tool, and be sure to also check out their tips and tricks for brainstorming story ideas and honing in on the best angle!
SEPTEMBER 2024
New look, better us!
In case you missed it, ASPA and MJW have all new logos designed by UA Professor Jonathan Cumberland.
DUES ARE DUE!
If you haven’t already, please remember to register your program(s) for the 2024–2025 school year. ASPA membership dues are $25 per year, per publication.Forms are available on our website along with instructions for submitting payment.
FALL WORKSHOPS ARE COMING UP!
School is back, we’re back and that means our fall workshops are back! We are excited to partner with some of our old friends and are looking forward to meeting new ones in the next few months!
Tuscaloosa (University of Alabama): Tuesday, Sept. 17
TUSCALOOSA REGISTRATION CLOSED
Florence (University of North Alabama): Tuesday, Oct. 1
Birmingham (University of Alabama at Birmingham): Tuesday, Oct. 15
Auburn (Auburn University): Thursday, Nov. 7
To register your students for workshops, please fill out our registration form no later than 10 days prior to the workshop date. This ensures we will have programs, space and food for you and your students.
LOOKING AHEAD TO CONVENTION:
Our Board of Directors met this summer and spent two days reorganizing and revitalizing our state convention categories and guidelines. More specific information will be available in the next few weeks, but here are some important dates you need to pencil in if you’re planning on joining us in 2025!
Even if you’re a convention regular, it’s more important than ever to read ALL of the new guidelines and instructions for submissions and contests, as they are quite different than the past. This was done to streamline the process for your records and for the sanity of our judges (and director).
(NOT SO) QUICK READ:
Also, if you have any students who are 18 or will be 18 by Election Day, make sure they’re registered to vote!
SUMMER 2024
We’ve been kind of quiet on here as of late, but we wanted to pop in and give our ASPA community a summer update! We hope everyone’s been getting a much-needed break (we know we have) and have been enjoying the summer sun!
ASPA BOARD OF DIRECTORS
The Alabama Associated Press Association is thrilled to announce our new Board of Directors for the 2024–2025 school year!
Justin Foster, President
Justin Foster currently works as the Television Production Teacher for Pelham High School. He has grown the program from three students in 2018 to over 120 in 2024. He also operates cameras for companies such as ESPN, Fox Sports and CBS.
Abby Jaillet, Vice President
Abby Jaillet is entering into her 10th year of teaching high school English and Broadcast Journalism / TV Production. She currently teaches at Vestavia Hills High School, where she serves as the advisor for the Vestavia News Network (VNN).
Lesley Wolfe, Acting Secretary
Lesley Wolfe has spent the past twenty years working with a non-profit organization. Recently she has returned to graduate school to finish her master’s degree. She has two boys, 13 and 16 and enjoys working with students in local schools.
Our Board of Directors met from June 28–29 to write our new bylaws, as well as plan for the upcoming school year. We have exciting changes coming this fall for state convention, so be on the lookout for more!
MJW BOLDLY GOES…
From May 31–June 9, ASPA hosted the annual Multicultural Journalism Workshop (MJW) for its 40th anniversary. Our theme this year was, “MJW Boldly Goes…,” a nod to the progress multiculturalism has made in the media since 1984.
We were honored to welcome eight students from five states, including Alabama, Florida, South Carolina, Texas and Connecticut. Our students enjoyed sessions from local media professionals, met with some of our wonderful donors in Birmingham, visited Civil Rights sites throughout the state and toured some of the amazing facilities we have at The University of Alabama.
The 2024 cohort included: Denver Humphrey (Orlando, Florida); Jinwoo Jung (Madison, Alabama); Ellie Keum (Lakeville, Connecticut); Ana Lema (Boca Raton, Florida); Kaitlin Oden (Chalkville, Alabama); Kordell Stoudemire (Fort Worth, Texas); Mikiyah Washington (Montgomery, Alabama); and Zion Williams (Spartanburg, South Carolina).
If you want to read our students’ incredible work from camp — which you absolutely should!! — check out the latest issue of The MJW Journal.
ASPA would also like to give a huge shout-out to our two fearless camp counselors, Lesley Wolfe and Drew Daws, for staying with our campers at the dorms, driving them around and helping with writing and editing. You are both rockstars!
PLANNING AHEAD
We know most teachers aren’t even thinking about school yet, but we love to get a head start over here! Below are some important dates to keep in mind as we head into the new year:
FALL WORKSHOP DATES:
Tuscaloosa (University of Alabama): Tuesday, September 17, 2024
Florence (University of North Alabama): Tuesday, October 1, 2024
Birmingham (University of Alabama at Birmingham): Tuesday, October 15, 2024
Auburn (Auburn University): DATE COMING SOON (likely Nov. 5 or Nov. 7)
Registration for Fall Workshops will be available in early August. To participate in workshops, your program must be a member of ASPA.
STATE CONVENTION:
Annual state convention will be held Friday, February 21, 2025 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at The University of Alabama Student Center.
Registration for State Convention, along with new categories, contests and rules, will be available in early October. To participate in convention, your program must be a member of ASPA.
MARCH 2024
AI is everywhere nowadays: on the news, in the news, in your students’ homework (not that they would EVER do that, of course). And with the rise of AI is the rise of fake news and misinformation.
But how do we teach younger generations about AI and how to fact-check the 24/7 news-cycle when we’re still learning about it ourselves?
PBS LearningMedia and Scholastic Kid Press have some ideas!
P.S. That cute robot learning about journalism to your left? He was created by our director with Adobe Firefly!
REMINDERS:
The Multicultural Journalism Workshop is still accepting applications for our 2024 summer program!
Applications are available on mjw.ua.edu until April 1, 2024.
The Alabama Scholastic Press Association is still searching for our 2024–25 Board of Directors!
If you’re a teacher at an Alabama school that is up-to-date on membership dues, send your resume or CV to aspa@ua.edu with the position you’re interested in.
We’re looking for a president, vice president and secretary/treasurer.
The University of Alabama will be closed March 11–15 for Spring Break.
We will answer any emails received during this time the following week.
FEBRUARY 2024
CONVENTION WRAP-UP!
On Feb. 2, the Alabama Scholastic Press Association entered its Media Era to celebrate the annual state convention. We had over 230 students register from 13 schools and handed out 220 awards! Check out our major award recipients below, as well as our full list of winners. Congratulations to everyone and thank you all for making convention a huge success!
ASPA BOARD OF DIRECTORS:
We’re rebuilding our ASPA Board of Directors! The Board of Directors will serve one-year terms (appointment for 2024-2025, then elected afterwards) and work alongside our director to bring the best programs and workshops to schools around the state. Here are some important items that will be decided during the 2024-2025 year:
- Draft and ratify new bylaws
- Create a network of teacher/advisor support across the state of Alabama
- Help advance workshop sessions so our students get the best and most-up-to-date access to technologies and industry practices
- Help restructure state convention categories to reflect modern media fields
- Have an annual BOD retreat in the summer to plan for the upcoming school year
Interested? Send your resume or CV to aspa@ua.edu with the position you’re interested in. Open positions include president, vice president and secretary-treasurer.
To apply, you must be a current paying member of the Alabama Scholastic Press Association and have attended state convention or a regional workshop between 2022-2024.
MULTICULTURAL JOURNALISM WORKSHOP 2024
Applications for the summer 2024 Multicultural Journalism Workshop are now available on mjw.ua.edu. Students who take part in the 10-day MJW program stay on-campus in UA dorms and develop their skills in reporting, writing, editing, design and photography through field trips to historical sites across Tuscaloosa and other areas of the Black Belt region; lectures and demonstrations from practitioners currently working in the fields of journalism and media; and production of multimedia content on real deadlines.
Deadline is April 1, 2024.
Accepted students will be notified on April 15, 2024.
QUICK READ
It’s Time to Start Prepping Those Portfolios!
If you’re a junior interested in a media career, now’s a great time to start building your portfolios for college applications in the fall. Check out some tips from JEA on how to stand out among your peers (and competition, let’s be real):
DECEMBER 2023
IMPORTANT DATES:
State convention is coming up Friday, Feb. 2!
Some good news: We’ve removed additional registration fees to make convention more accessible and financially feasible for schools across the state! All you need to pay is your individual and/or award entry fees and make sure you’re a member of ASPA to join us!
More good news: The Adviser of the Year and Administrator of the Year now come with $500 prize awards. Even more reason to make sure you’re with us on Feb. 2!
Individual & Team Award submission deadline: Friday, Jan. 12, 2024
Adviser, Administrative & Senior award submission deadline: Friday, Jan. 19, 2024
Hard News Reporting deadline: Friday, Jan. 26, 2024 (NO LATE ENTRIES ACCEPTED)
Register your school for convention. Please view awards and categories pages for specific instructions on submitting to state convention.
REMINDERS:
If you have not already, please remember to PAY YOUR DUES! Dues allow you to compete and participate in state convention, workshops and other ASPA events.
We currently do not accept digital payments.
The University of Alabama will be CLOSED for winter holidays from Dec. 22–Jan. 2. Our director will be checking email during this time, so if you have questions or need assistance, please contact aspa@ua.edu.
NOVEMBER 2023
IMPORTANT DATES:
Registration for state convention is now open! Convention will be held Friday, Feb. 2, 2024 at The University of Alabama Student Center.
Click here to register your program for convention and to submit your students’ work and portfolios. Please be sure to visit our state convention page for official contest guidelines, awards and rules. Your school, program and/or organization MUST be a member of ASPA to participate in state convention. If you are not, you can become a member through our website or you can include your membership with your state convention registration form.
QUICK READ:
Newsrooms and journalism programs in high schools are shrinking. But, it’s more important than ever to keep them going. PBS’s Student Reporting Labs are empowering the next generation of media creators to tell their stories and impact their communities.
