The Newseum is full of priceless history from broadcast journalism to print journalism to student activism and everything in between. Its coverage is extensive to say the least, and as an aspiring journalist I could spend hours trying to take in all of the information provided.

Some of the Newseum’s exhibits include a large portion of the Berlin Wall as well as a guard tower. The sheer magnitude, both literally and symbolically, are staggering.

The 9/11 exhibit, as you can guess, is extremely powerful. On a wall that towers over the visitors are the front pages of newspapers from around the world the day after 9/11. In the center is a piece of unrecognizable mangled metal that stood on top of the World Trade Center. The simplistic and clean exhibit combined with the 15 minute video in a small theater are somber and, at times, difficult to take in.

Other powerful exhibits include the Hurricane Katrina exhibit and the Pulitizer Prize winning photograph room. I have visited this room every time I visit the museum, and every time it is my favorite exhibit. It never gets old, and the powerful images never cease to leave me speechless and in awe, both due to quality of the picture and the stories they tell.

In addition to our visit to the Newseum, we ended the day with lectures from multiple journalists and professors in specific fields that we chose. I chose to hear from Stephen Farnsworth, a professor who has researched Presidential coverage in the media. The lecture was personable and got us involved in a group discussion about politics in today’s world, and the civility that seems to be lacking.

The second speaker was Michael Shear, a reporter for the New York Times. During his time at the Washington Post, Shear made the front page the day after President Obama was elected; a front page that will forever be a part of history. He detailed his experiences in the journalism world, and opened up to a question and answer session that was extremely informative.

Both speakers lectures were extremely eye-opening and entertaining, giving us a look into the professional world of journalism.

I put star studded in quotations because although I am thrilled to get the chance to hear and meet some of this incredibly influential people, very few high schoolers know who they are. Then again, very few high schoolers are as into politics (or as nerdy) as I am.

Chris Cillizza is dynamic on every television program he appears on, and tonight’s performance was no different. He detailed his experiences in the journalism field, as well as how he got there, in an extremely personal and down to earth way. His speech was full of anecdotes of his trials and failures, and very rarely would he stress his successes (which are extensive). His whole speech came off as incredibly humble and anxious to give us advice on how to brand ourselves. He stressed the importance of waiting for success; to not feel the pressure and let success just happen.

This particular part of his speech really resonated with me. As high schoolers we are constantly asked where we want to go and what we want to do. To hear from someone who has made it in the journalism world that you can still be successful without having everything figured out was reassuring.

In our group meeting, we talked about networking ourselves. This conference seems to be geared towards using journalism and the leadership skills we learn here as a way to further our career in the future; it is extremely forward looking in its goals, which I find really helpful.

Tomorrow I leave for the conference, and I could not be more excited. I find the whole journalism world fascinating, and to witness it go through such drastic changes as it is right now is something I find very exciting. This conference serves so many different purposes for me; it is a chance to meet and work with students who are as interested in public policy and journalism as I am, as well as a chance to listen to and meet some extremely successful and influential journalists.

In preparation for the conference, we were directed to read a book from the list provided to us by the conference director. I chose to read “Page One: Inside the New York Times and the Future of Journalism.” I chose this book because it was about the pace at which the news world is changing and the direction it is going in. This is something that I am extremely invested in, being the editor of my high school newspaper. I believe it is important that our high school experiences prepare us for real life, and the newspaper is no exception. If the real world of journalism is beginning to go in a new direction, then I believe high school newspapers should also go down that same path. If print newspaper is not long for this world, and online is becoming the new outlet for news, then high school newspapers need to adopt this new attitude as well. After all, it won’t be long before high school journalists are the journalists responsible for successfully making the final transition from print to online outlets, while still maintaining journalistic integrity.

That is what I hope to take away from this conference. I want to be able to take what I learn about media, politics, public policy, and the world of journalism as a whole and translate it into something that I can use on a smaller scale in running my own high school newspaper.