The Cosumnes River College Journalism Department’s Springfest two-day event featured a panel of speakers on April 30 and May 1.
The Journalism Department is designed to train students in writing, reporting and critical thinking skills required for jobs in the news media or for transfer to a journalism program at a four-year institution, according to the Cosumnes River College Journalism Department site.
The first day panel featured The Sacramento Bee’s sports reporter Joe Davidson and ABC10’s sportscaster Kevin John Peters. They shared how they became sports reporters, along with what it is like to cover professional sports.
The second day of the event featured Gabe Ross, chief strategy and communications officer of the Los Rios Community College District, Lanaya Lewis, public information officer and senior writer for Sacramento State, Jaime Coffee, director of communication for California Highway Patrol Officer of Media Relations, and Matt Gutierrez, lieutenant of California Highway Patrol Officer of Media Relations. They shared their experiences along with giving advice on how to report breaking news.
“The things I learned in school I still use today, I learn something new every day, you never stop learning,” Coffee said.
Coffee shared how her experience as a student has helped her in her career, and advised students to be prepared for the worst, because there will be a time when the worst happens.
“Don’t wait for the disaster to hit, if you don’t say something, someone else will,” Gutierrez advised.
These two panels were open to all Los Rios students, along with any future students interested in journalism.
