Multimedia journalism academy gives teachers time to learn

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On a Saturday morning in early June, a UTEP classroom buzzed with anticipation as students sat in front of computers and watched demonstrations on the brave new world of multimedia journalism. Their teachers were seasoned pros in the arts of sound recording, social media, videography, web programming, and much more. The students themselves were professionals in a different regard; they were university professors who had traveled from all over the country to participate in the fourth annual Dow Jones Multimedia Training Academy hosted by UTEP. By the end of their five-day intensive program, the group of journalism teachers had learned to beat the El Paso summer heat as well as how to use the technology available to them to educate upcoming generations of reporters. The group included representatives from the University of Arizona, San Diego City College, Arizona State University, North Texas University, California State University at Long Beach, Texas State University, Texas Christian University, Illinois State University,Central Michigan University, Universidad Autónoma de Ciudad Juárez, Florida International University and the University of Oklahoma.

Students participating in Journalism in July produced the e-magazine That's What They Said. (Borderzine.com)

Journalism in July Camp to focus on Multimedia Journalism

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EL PASO – Twenty high school journalism students from the El Paso and Juárez area are expected to participate in The University of Texas at El Paso’s annual Journalism in July camp. This year’s camp runs from July 14-22 and will focus primarily on the multimedia aspect of journalism. “Journalism is an increasingly competitive field,” said Zita Arocha, director of borderzine.flywheelsites.com, senior lecturer of communication at UTEP and coordinator of Journalism in July. “Multimedia experience is essential for students’ future success.”

During the nine-day camp, presented in workshop format, students will attend lectures and seminars about brainstorming, reporting, photography, videography and editing. UTEP faculty and local media professionals will teach classes and seminars.

Coroto Magazine's website showing its second issue focused on Japanese Literature. (©Coroto)

UTEP Resources Help Launch Magazine

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By Sandy Hicks

EL PASO – Webster’s dictionary describes serendipity as “an aptitude for making desirable discoveries by accident.” UTEP Master of Fine Arts in creative writing students Daniel Ríos Lopera and Daniel Centeno, and 2011 graduate Diego Bustos, could have written the book on serendipity – or rather the magazine – and it seems they have. Revista COROTO is a slick literary magazine brimming with poetry, prose and photographs contributed by more than 20 writers, some of them Nobel Laureates and Cervantes Prize winners from five Latin American countries as well as France, Japan and England, all translated into Spanish. The first issue, printed in December 2011, is a compact, full-color edition with the theme El Fin de la Inocencia (the end of innocence). The weight of its 150 pages makes it feel more like a softcover coffee table book than a magazine, and the cover has a velvety feel. The circuitous swirl of serendipity began when Columbian international students Ríos from Medellín, Columbia; Bustos from Bogota, Colombia; and Centeno, from Puerto de la Cruz, Venezuela, met in UTEP’s Department of Creative Writing while pursuing their MFAs.