JSPA 2020 Conference and Shabbaton to be Specialty Program at CSPA Convention in New York City

The Jewish Scholastic Press Association will hold its annual convention and Shabbaton in New York City this year, as a specialty program of the 2020 convention of the Columbia Scholastic Press Association (CSPA) set for March 18-20 at Columbia University in New York.

JSPA is honored to be partnering with CSPA, a 95-year-old organization that gathers more than 2,500 students and their advisers to learn from leading journalism educators as well as reporters, designers, multimedia producers, free speech attorneys and ethicists from top publications in print, radio, television and online.

As part of the annual CSPA convention, which takes place on campus during the university’s spring break, JSPA will host a set of workshops scheduled throughout the day on Thursday, March 19.  All of JSPA’s topics — including Torah insights into journalism, how to cover Israel and Jewish issues in college media, how to localize world and national news, and how and why to cover religion in high school — will be included in the regular CSPA conference registration of $149 (early registration by Feb. 24) or  $159 or per person (late registration – Feb. 25 up until onsite at the convention).

More information and registration can be found on CSPA’s website.  CSPA offers many workshop choices per hour in areas ranging from reporting, interviewing, advising and legal issues to video, online, photo and yearbook production.

CSPA’s convention ends with an awards assembly on Friday afternoon, but JSPA will extend its activities to include a Shabbat luncheon on Saturday, during which we will explore a real-life journalism dilemma through the lens of Jewish thought. This Saturday discussion has been a highlight of our annual conference in Los Angeles and a tradition we are proud to continue in New York this year. Attendees will pay a separate $50 registration for Shabbat lunch through the JSPA website.

Also being presented in New York this year will be JSPA’s annual Jewish Scholastic Journalism Awards for articles published on Jewish topics in high school media over the last year.  Contest details and a link to the entry form can be found here. Winners will be announced at the post-CSPA Shabbat luncheon in New York on March 21.

We are thrilled to open this new chapter in our work with Jewish high schools and students and all who are interested in what Judaism has to say about this critical democracy-defining endeavor. Our partnership with CSPA will offer students a broad range of educational opportunities, while still providing them with both a rich exploration of Judaism’s perspective and tools to cover critical issues pertaining to the Jewish world.

JSPA aims to help students become educated, top-flight journalists who can become leaders of college and professional publications while employing Jewish values as stated in its motto, from Vayikra 19:16: “Do not go about as a talebearer among your people; do not stand idly by the blood of your neighbor. I am the Lord.”  Those words can create a framework for making decisions that arise in newsrooms every day, teaching students to use both courage and restraint, when to use which, and how to channel curiosity into purpose.

Click here for more information about JSPA. For questions about our 2020 conference or any other aspect of our work, please e-mail JSPA Founding Executive Director Joelle Keene at [email protected].