Students see the ‘Real World’ at Mediafest

Macon Telegraph photojournalist Nick Oza was just one of the featured speakers who shed a little light on the world of journalism for area high school students at Georgia College & State University’s annual Mediafest.
Oza spoke to the crowd of students about being a journalist, which means conveying a clear message to the audience.
“We try to convey the message that we are here for the community,” Oza said.
He said one of his favorite parts of photojournalism is being able to go places with the camera that the human eye can’t reach alone.
“It’s an incredible tool,” he said. “It’s so incredible when you’re working and you’re out in the community.”
Oza did stress to the students the importance of making connections and finding good internships and practicum opportunities. Now that there is a push toward digital photography, he said it is important for young photographers to stay in tune with the latest developments.
“It’s easy, but you have to keep up,” he said.
Oza also spoke about a recent trip overseas during which he lived side by side with American troops and documented their experiences through photographs.
“Photojournalism is documenting history,” he said. “It was very fascinating.”
However, Oza said good stories can be found anywhere.
“You don’t have to go across the globe to find stories,” he said. “There are stories right here in your school, too. You just have to find them.”
He said photography and music are kind of like being able to speak completely different languages.
“If you know music, you can dance with the rhythm,” he said. “It’s the same thing with photos. It speaks for itself.”
Oza stressed the importance of getting out and finding news, not waiting for it to come to you.
“News never happens in the newsroom,” he said.
Other speakers who attended Mediafest were Joy Eady, GC&SU alumna and manager of Milledgeville MainStreet, Rikki Allen, GC&SU alumna and PR Manager for Hull-Storey Malls, Matt Courtoy, GC&SU alumnus and Remote Technician for 99X radio, Jim Wooten, associate editorial page editor for the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Elliott Brack, publisher of Georgia Clips Inc., and April Bragg, marketing and Public Relations manager for the Milledgeville Union-Recorder.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 14 2003. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry