Students will join media professionals to discuss diversity today at the TCOM conference, "Tuning in to Diversity."
The conference will begin at 9 a.m. and will end at 3 p.m.
"It's not only a media conference," conference director Tricia Braun said. "It's not just about TCOM. We want every student to come, because we have something for everyone."
Throughout the day, speakers will present their ideas on diversity. Students will be given the opportunity to respond with their opinions and ask questions. The discussions will take place in a range of rooms. Signs will be posted to help students locate specific discussions.
All events will take place in the Ball Communication Building. Most will be on the first floor, but some will be held on the second floor. There will also be practice interviews for anyone interested in honing their interviewing skills.
TCOM student Joshua Price said the conference works to spread the message about diversity in the media field, the stereotypes that people have with the media and how subjects are portrayed either incorrectly or offensively.
The first session will be a discussion about religion and diversity as well as police and the media. News reporting and a production workshop will be at 10 a.m. Students can make videos during this workshop and can keep it for a small fee. The next session will focus on economic status, diversity in the corporate world and news management. Lunch will be available for $5.
During the luncheon, Joy Dumandan of WISH-TV will speak on diversity in the media. Dumandan is a co-anchor for the 5:30 p.m. news and a field anchor for the 11 p.m. news. She was previously an anchor and reporter at FOX News Channel and is a member of the Asian American Journalists Association. When all of the seats are filled, students can stand at the back of the room and listen to her speech at no charge.
After lunch, the conference will resume with press photographers, sexual preference panel, human resources and graphic design/multimedia. The conference will end at 2 p.m. with the final panel about human resources, national origins and sales.
There will be approximately 19 speakers throughout the day, all with varying backgrounds and topics, Braun said.
"The speakers are also diverse and will speak about how this impacts them," Price said.
This is the seventh year for this conference, which takes place twice a year. Each time, it deals with different aspects of media and diversity.
Maria Williams-Hawkins' TCOM 241 students were responsible for choosing the speakers and organizing the event. The topics chosen for the conference were based largely on papers students did for the class. Before inviting anyone to come and speak, the class watched different news channels to see which anchors they liked the best. Once they decided upon whom they would ask, they mailed letters requesting the recipient's attendance. Though there are a limited number of possibilities in Indiana, there are only one or two repeat speakers at this year's conference.
"When you get out into the world, you need to learn about diversity," Braun said. "What we see is how we formulate our opinions."
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