The Fall Journalism Conference focuses on the fundamentals of journalism for students of all levels background. Below is an overview of past programming.

  • Seminars
  • Discussion Groups
  • Newspaper Consulting
  • Faculty Opportunities
Reporting 101 This seminar will teach students the basics of reporting, including how to organize and conduct interviews, how to develop good source relationships, and how to use interviews and other research to write a daily news story. We will give an overview of different types of reporting from breaking news to investigative, in-depth storytelling.
Forming the Feature: A Look at Longform Journalism Some news can be covered in 500 words or less, but other topics warrant extensive in­-depth investigation and a longer story. This seminar will cover several aspects of writing a news feature from how to find a topic, to the research and reporting process, and finally, to structuring and editing the final product.
Using Journalism Experience in Your College Application If journalism has been a passion of yours in high school, it may be a useful aspect to emphasize in your college applications. Crimson writers and editors will share their experience with including their passion for and experience in journalism in their college essays and in-person interviews. Students will also hear advice on the difference between journalism writing and essay writing.
Techniques for Editors Members of The Crimson’s current guard of editors will lead a seminar on how to use your experience as a reporter and writer to be a successful editor. Along with the basics of how to edit and proofread an article, this seminar will teach students how to be effective leaders at their school newspaper.
Journalism in the 21st Century: Harnessing the Power of Social The work of journalists is being rapidly transformed by presence of social media. What exactly does it mean to be a journalist in the 21st century? This seminar will discuss ways in which newspapers use social media sites such as Facebook and Twitter as a tool for research and reporting, and a platform from which journalists can reach a broader audience. Crimson reporters will discuss their own experience with creating a Twitter presence.
Column Writing: Making Your Point Knowing how to form a solid argument is an important and versatile skill. In this seminar, students will learn how to craft an opinion on a controversial issue. Crimson opinion editors will also teach the basics of column­ writing, including how to find a topic and how to establish a unique tone and perspective for a column.
Designing a Paper Efficiently and Effectively: InDesign 101 Ever find yourself getting bogged down with technical difficulties in the production process? Want to spend less time trying to put stories into the page and more time on the content itself? Our editors have put together an InDesign tutorial to teach you the tricks of the trade to make the process of laying out your paper easier and more fun.
The Making of a Magazine: Alternative Ways to Tell a Story In this seminar, editors of The Crimson’s weekly magazine, Fifteen Minutes, will discuss ways to present campus issues using non-­traditional narrative forms. Students will analyze and critique the effectiveness of various pieces from recent issues of the magazine and brainstorm ways of framing stories for their own papers.
Hitting Home with Readers: Sports Writing 101 There’s a certain thrill to covering sports events, but there’s more to a story than just who wins and who loses. This seminar will cover the basics of sports coverage and beyond, teaching students the fundamentals of sports analysis, the basics of column­writing, and how to take on investigative pieces.
Taking the Right Shot: Capturing a Thousand Words in a Photo How do you bring an article to life with a single photo? This seminar will engage students with the question of what makes a photograph visually striking, while challenging them to think about photos as journalistic creations. In the process, students will be introduced to some of the technical skills and terminology to help them broaden their photography skills.
What the Critics are Saying Students will practice how to formulate arguments about an artistic creation and provide support for their claims with concrete points by sampling various clips from plays, movies, and albums as a group. Students will learn how to synthesize their own opinion into a coherent, well­-written review.
Digging Through the Data It can be easy for a reporter or reader to get bogged down in the numbers for a data ­heavy story, but a chart or other type of graphic can be a clean way to cut through the noise and isolate a particularly important trend or pattern. Members of our design and news teams will teach students how to construct graphics, such as graphs and informational boxes, by showing examples from The Crimson’s archives.
Field Reporting Exercise Students will have an opportunity to practice their reporting skills by interviewing students, tourists, and locals on campus and in the surrounding area. Students will engage with real­ issues that students and Cambridge citizens face while gaining valuable hands­-on training by reporting in the field.
Photography Excursion In this activity, students will venture out into campus as a group with one of The Crimson’s photographers to capture their own shots of historic Harvard buildings in the square, scenic views on the Charles River, and colorful city life in the Square.
Mock Editorial Meeting The staff editorial is a key part of The Crimson’s Ed Board, and our Editorial Chairs will lead students through a mock editorial meeting. Students will be presented with a set of common controversial school issues up for discussion, and through the course of the meeting, students will debate both sides of each topic and formulate nuanced arguments for potential staff editorials.
Editor-­in-­Chief Roundtable Managing editor Hannah Natanson will lead a roundtable for editor­in­chiefs to discuss the responsibilities, challenges, and opportunities that come with managing a team of writers and running a paper.
Faculty Advisor Roundtable President Derek Xiao will lead a group discussion for faculty advisors to share common issues faced by their respective school newspapers. At the end of the discussion, advisors will have the opportunity to take a tour of The Crimson building and learn more about the day­to­day operations of the newspaper.
Ethics of Journalism Discussion In this discussion, students will engage in a number of key questions relating to journalistic ethics, including what constitutes libel, anonymous sourcing, and how to cover sensitive issues such as sexual assault and mental health.
Newspaper Review This new opportunity will allow advisors and editors to have a one-on-one session with a Crimson editor on your own newspaper. Participants have the opportunity to submit a complete issue of their newspaper to be reviewed by Crimson editors and provide advice during the individual session.
Faculty Roundtable President Kristine E. Guillaume will lead a group discussion for faculty advisors to share common issues faced by their respective school newspapers. At the end of the discussion, advisors will have the opportunity to take a tour of The Crimson building and learn more about the day­to­day operations of the newspaper.