A "Communications Day" for High Schools.

A "Communications Day" event aimed at area high school juniors and seniors was developed at John Carroll University, near Cleveland, Ohio. Flourishing since its beginning in 1978, the day-long seminar is intended to give students the opportunity to hear from and question experts in all phases of radio, television, and newspaper work. A typical Communications Day (with attendance of up to 1,400 students) is broken into three sessions or blocks plus lunch, usually with six simultaneous sessions offered in each block. It involves careful planning and sincere cooperation between the university's Communications Department and local commercial media companies (consisting of Cleveland's major daily newspaper, and a major local television station and radio Station),. who recognize its potential and who benefit from the association. The university, in turn, is able to acquaint a large number of area students with the campus and its programs. (SR) *********************************************************************** Reproductions supplied by EDRS are the best that can be made from the original document. *********************************************************************** A "Communications Day" for High Schools Alan R. Stephenson, Ph.D. John Carroll University PERMISSION TO REPRODUCE THIS MATERIAL HAS BEEN G ANTED BY TO THE EDUCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION CENTER (ERIC) #114.00, BEST COPY LVAILITLE U DEPARTMENT OF EDUCAIICN Omce of Educaliona. Reselect ano imdtovement EDuCATIONAL RESOURCES INFORMATION 4104,,s documeCnEINhTaEaR DetERi n iCtecooduced as tece.ved I on, the OetsOn ot otganuahon ohg.nahng M.nor changes have been made Id .mteove ,ep,oduct.on Quabiy PO.^15 01 v.ey o 00.^.0^S staled .rt thJS dOC ment do not neCessat4 teotesent ott.C.a. OE Ri pos.t.o oi mho A "Communications Day" for High Schools Alan R. Stephenson, Ph.D. John Carroll University Background John Carroll University is a Jesuit institution of about 3,'4C0 full time undergraduates located in a suburban area near Cleveland, Ohio. Its Communication Department was founded in the late '60's and today is one of the larger departments with approximately 190 majors. The department encompasses theatre, journalism and public relations, speech, debate, speech pathology, and mass communications. The University maintains a student operated standard FM station, which, because of location, has a potential audience approaching 2,000,000. Beginning in the late '70's the institution began putting more emphasis on the television side of mass communication. In 1985 the senior position was upgraded, a commitment made to better facilities and a faculty person with professional experience sought. Today a rising number of graduates are finding places in broadcastrelated positions. Concurrent with this increase in emphasis on mass communication, the University, with massive cooperation from three local communication companies, developed the concept of a "Communications Day" aimed at the high school juniors and seniors of the area. The program, begun in 1978, has flourished and been very successful from everyone's point of view. Overview The general concept of a day-long seminar to give students the opportunity to hear from and question experts in all phases of radio, television and newspapers emerged from a series of conversations among the communications chair and representatives of the Cleveland Plain Dealer, the city's major daily, WKYCTV/Ch. 3, at that time owned by NBC network and WMMS/FM, for many years at or near the top in ratings locally and highly rated nationally. Its primary focus was album-oriented rock. An attendance limit of 1250 was set, but this became more a goal than a reality. Registration generally approached 1400 as delayed letters and sad stories take hold. A typical Communications Day is broken into three sessions or blocks plus lunch. Normally 6 simultaneous seminars are scheduled in each block with some of the more popular topics offered in two different blocks. The common format is brief presentations by each of the participants, usually 4, occasionally 3, followed by questions until the hour expires. Generally, each company is represented on each panel with a uo communications department member as moderatol. Typical seminar topics include careers in production, performance, programming, news gathering, advertising, public Cj relations, engineering and graphic design. A continuing theme throughou ,-. is the competition for existing jobs and the need for