Press Photographers advanced storytelling workshop returns

Posted by Jayme Blaschke
University News Service
March 25, 2010

The Texas State University-San Marcos School of Journalism and Mass Communication will host the National Press Photographers Association Advanced Storytelling Workshop for the second year in a row April 11-16 at the LBJ Student Center.

Held last year for the first time at Texas State, the week-long program brings 30 to 40 of the top professionals in the television and newspaper industry from throughout the world for this important professional development program. Last year students came from as far away as Denmark and Germany. Among the reasons for holding the workshop at Texas State, organizers for the event considered its location between the two major media markets of Austin and San Antonio as well as being in close proximity to 50 television markets and easy access to airports, hotels, restaurants, shopping and recreation.

“The Advanced Storytelling Workshop is excited to be returning to our new home at Texas State University,” said Steve Sweitzer, the NPPA lead for the workshop. “This is our second year at Texas State and we have found it the perfect site to host experienced journalists from around the world. We can’t wait to get back to Texas.”

Texas State students in Senior Lecturer David Nolan’s visual storytelling class will also attend the workshop sessions. "Our students will work side by side with some of America’s best journalists. This is a unique opportunity that few institutions can offer their students.” The class teaches advanced visual storytelling and the workshop is the course capstone for those students. Nolan is also the faculty coordinator for this on-campus event.

Student time at the workshop will be divided between classroom sessions and producing stories. Students will develop story ideas, research, report, shoot, edit and produce complete packages. Critiques and one-on-one sessions are also a major part of the workshop. Shooting, writing and editing will be conducted under real world deadlines.

The National Press Photographers Association is a 10,000 plus member organization dedicated to the advancement of photojournalism, its creation, editing and distribution in all news media. Their members include still and television photographers, editors, students and representatives of businesses that serve the photojournalism industry.

The workshop is being supported in part by Time Warner’s News 8 Austin through a donation of $5,000 to the School of Journalism and Mass Communication.

For more information about this workshop, please contact David Nolan at the School of Journalism and Mass Communication at (512) 245-9653 or email dn15@txstate.edu.