This past Saturday, September 6, was the first ever Orange County Excellence in Journalism Day, held right here at Chapman University. The event, coordinated in part by Professor Peter Weitzner, was meant to help excite the journalistic world.

“We really wanted to show that journalism, in all formats and genres, is still thriving across the entire country,” said Weitzner.

The event, held from 9 AM until 4PM, was open to the public, and drew about 125 attendees, with more than half being from Dodge College. Some guests even came from as far away as Washington, D.C.!

They had over 20 guest speakers, including 12 Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists, 2 Emmy Award-winning broadcasters, and 2 New York Times best-selling authors. They gave talks on topics from “Embracing Multimedia Journalism,” “Why Investigative Journalism Still Matters,” and “How to Never Get Beat On A Story.”

Joe Little, from ABC 10 in San Diego, presents to the students.

Joe Little, from ABC 10 in San Diego, presents to the students.

The event itself is a perfect example of how Dodge helps to connect students with working professionals in the industry they plan to pursue. After many of the presentations, the guest speakers were all too happy to speak with the students one-on-one, and give them some insight into their field.

“After hearing the speakers detail their experiences, I walked away from this event with some great insight on a day in the life of journalism professional,” said Wes Rapaport (BFA/ Television & Broadcast Journalism ’15).

“We hope to make this an annual event, to continue to give students more opportunities to explore their interests through the channels of folks who currently live them,” Weitzner continued.

Here are some tweets from the event: