New Experience in the Big Apple
The Wilson Billboard team traveled to New York City in early March for the College Media Convention. A swift train ride saw us arrive into the big city, right near Madison Square Garden. Honestly, the lure of seeing New York and the sites was quite enticing, given it was my first time there. Staying at the Marriott Marquis Hotel right near Times Square was an excellent location, where the conference was being held on Thursday and Friday. Over the course of those two days, Billboard members attended lectures from experts to network and learn new ideas to broaden our knowledge and to be able to apply it to our beloved paper.
Lectures that I attended focused primarily on sports journalism, layout, and graphic designs as well as being able to reinvigorate staff members in creating something new and exciting for our readers and staff to get excited about. A session that I enjoyed was titled “Your Sport Page Sucks,” where graphic designers from the New York Times along with a professor of Journalism critiqued college’s sports pages. Photo distribution is key in directing reader’s attention, also directing readers to the text and making the article more centralized are all important design tips that I learned. Furthermore, another lecture that was enlightening was “Covering Sports on the Fly,” which discussed following sports live. Constant updates and breaking news regarding teams and plays was important to keep fans in the know.
Our evenings consisted of some sightseeing, at least to the places we could walk to easily. Seeing the Rockefeller Center, the Plaza Hotel, and Central Park were definitely highlights. Moreover, the food was great to experience. The reputation of New York Pizza and Sandwiches were definitely worth trying. Having my friend Lucas there, acting as our tour guide provided a big help as we attempted to negotiate the hustle and bustle of the city. It was nice to experience a city, rather than the rural surroundings of Chambersburg. The noise and movement of the city is certainly something to experience. I highly recommend New York to everyone. The only downside was the cold and the bitter wind that went straight through you, so make sure you go during the summer.