Registration is now open for the 2025 Jewish Scholastic Journalism Conference, three days of workshops, networking and inspiration for high school journalists and with special programming on Shabbat, set for Dec. 4 – 6 at Beth Jacob Congregation in Beverly Hills.
The annual gathering gives students a chance to spend quality time together while enriching their understanding of newsroom ethics, opportunities, skills and techniques. This year there will be a focus on new media platforms and a widening range of career possibilities, from social media and podcasting to newsletters, explanatory video, and leadership and business roles.
“There’s really nothing that can duplicate the experience of traveling, learning and talking news media together over several days,” said Joelle Keene, JSPA’S founder and executive director. “The group energy of Jewish high schoolers who are doing the same thing in different schools and cities inspires everyone, and they go home excited to try new things and do more.”
This year’s featured speaker will be Gaby Grossman, Director of Editorial Operations at Puck, the rapidly growing New York-based independent media company focusing on the intersection of Wall Street, Hollywood, Silicon Valley and Washington, as well as the fashion market and the art market. Ms. Grossman held the same title at New York Magazine, where she worked from 2018 to 2024 in various roles including Managing Editor of its Curbed and Grub Street platforms, earlier working in various roles at BuzzFeed, Netflix and NBC Universal.
An alumna of Boston University, Ms. Grossman attended Shalhevet High School in Los Angeles, where she served as a section editor of The Boiling Point.
At JSPA’s conference, shewill introduce the meeting’s focus on young journalists meeting a moment of change and challenge.
“It isn’t just writing and photography, it’s social media and people management and so many other things,” Ms. Grossman said. “Also ‘design’ can mean so many things now.”
Ms. Keene said other speakers will address related themes, including journalism’s role in relating divergent viewpoints whether nationally or within Jewish communities; medical reporting; and the role of courage in presenting facts that explore complicated subjects.
“In a society that’s divided not only ideologically but even about which facts and information sources to believe, journalists themselves may determine who is trusted and what readers can find, access and rely on,” Ms. Keene said. “JSPA is working to prepare students for all kinds of roles, and to approach those roles with the greatest possible thoroughness and integrity.”
On Saturday afternoon, the conference considers a real-world newsroom dilemma faced by a JSPA member high school within the last year, evaluating it through the lens of Torah verses they can apply to their own student media roles when they get home.
The conference will be held at Beth Jacob Congregation, at the southern edge of Beverly Hills, walking distance from kosher restaurants of all kinds and at least 15 synagogues of various denominations, along with hotels that will offer discounts of 30% to JSPA attendees.
Beth Jacob offers weekday minyanim as well as Shabbat and afternoon services. JSPA will provide a list of neighborhood davening opportunities and times on request.
Convention Weekday Schedule
Beginning at 9 a.m. and continuing throughout the day Thursday and Friday, students and their advisers will be able to choose among various 45-minute workshops, with options for beginning and advanced print, web and multimedia student journalists.
In addition to Ms. Grossman’s topics, workshops will address subjects including how to cover Israel and the larger Jewish world from a high school newsroom; basic and advanced photojournalism; lashon harah (gossip) and other guiding cosiderations found in the Torah; Jewish journalism on college campuses, led by current university students; and many more.
The program will break both days for lunch and a chance to sample LA’s famed Pico-Robertson kosher restaurant scene.
At dinner on Thursday, Ms. Grossman will describe her career journey and some particular experiences and insights of her career.
Convention Shabbat Schedule
Shabbat meals will be held at Beth Jacob, following Kabbalat Shabbat and morning services. Ami Eden will deliver a keynote address Friday after dinner, and on Saturday, after lunch JSPA Executive Director Joelle Keene will lead a moral dilemma discussion on a newsroom challenge experienced by one of JSPA’s member school staffs during the past year.
After the Saturday lunch and discussion, parks and other walking opportunities are available in the area of conference meetings and hotels. A JSPA Havdalah is planned for the end of the day, with Shabbat ending at 5:24 p.m.
Registration and pricing
Registration via PayPal is $150 per person and includes Thursday night dinner, and Friday night Shabbat dinner and Saturday Shabbat lunch. Early bird registration of $130 is offered to those who pay by Nov. 10. Please click here to register for the conference.
Hotel rates at this writing start at approximately $250 per night for two double beds. For a list of discounted hotels and discount information, please email [email protected] before contacting the hotel. Because the program starts early Thursday morning, JSPA recommends arriving Wednesday night and checking out Sunday to have use of your hotel throughout the day on Shabbat.
There is scholarship aid available this year. Please write to [email protected] for information.
Chaperones
All student groups must be accompanied by a chaperone.
CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE CONFERENCE
JSPA is a national journalism education organization that teaches students top-level skills while looking at journalism through a Jewish lens. Its goals are to develop and improve student media at Jewish high schools, enhance journalism education in those schools, teach students and advisers how they can add Jewish content and sensibility to their publications, and also to convey a Jewish outlook on journalism to students in any school.
It promotes these goals in a way that respects Jewish values and the Jewish calendar, in particular using Shabbat to create a journalistic cohort that can consider news gathering in a Jewish way. Its motto, found in Leviticus Chapter 19, verse 16, is, You shall not go up and down as a talebearer among your people, neither shall you stand idly by the blood of your neighbor; I am the Lord. Applying this in journalism means using both courage and restraint, knowing when to use which, and being able to channel curiosity into purpose.
For more information, please contact Joelle Keene at [email protected].
This year’s conference is made possible by the American Jewish Press Association, Beth Jacob Congregation, Jeanne and Dr. Jerry Friedman, the Harvey Motulsky and Lisa Norton Family Fund, and donors like you. JSPA is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization and would be honored to have your donation.
