Schools
Media's role in election spurs 'great questions' at Thomas
* Ohio journalists joined high schoolers last week for the first in a series of panel discussions.
By PAMELA WILLIS
Published: Tuesday, November 25, 2008 9:06 AM EST
The changing face of media and its influence on the news it reports were the topics of "MediaFeed! Media Post-Election: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly" -- the first of a series of public panel discussions held at Thomas Worthington High School.

Hosted by science teacher Jason Cervenec, the panel discussion was held Wednesday, Nov. 19, and featured panelists Bill Balderaz, president of Webbed Marketing; Laura Bischoff, staff correspondent from the Dayton Daily News; Mike Thompson, news director from WOSU Public Media; and Julie Carr Smyth, Ohio Statehouse correspondent for the Associated Press.

The moderator of the event was Jamie Heberling, director of marketing and strategic communications for the Ohio treasurer of state.

Cervenec said the "highly charged election season" made the first panel discussion a timely one.

"Our primary goal was to bring in a panel or speaker on a topic that is of current interest to the public," he said. "This first event was the role of modern media in bringing us information; the election served as a natural and timely backdrop for this discussion.

"Since this was our first panel discussion, we selected a group with whom we had personal contacts and tried to balance the private and public sectors," he said. "We also wanted individuals with experience in print, broadcast and social media."

Cervenec said his advanced placement biology students have been able to earn extra credit by attending panel discussions and lectures in some area of biology.

"Most of these events are held at local universities, and I wanted to host a similar event at the high school," he said. "Fortunately, Jamie Sutton, the president of the (Parent Teacher Student Organization) was able to help plan the event. Jenali Tan, a senior, helped with advertising."

Students made up the bulk of the audience at the panel discussion, he said.

"We were very excited about the student turnout," Cervenec said. "The audience was overwhelmingly students and their feedback was very positive. We had a number of great questions asked and many students spoke with the panelists after the event had ended.

"The one theme that kept emerging was change -- that the media as we know it is going through rapid change," he said.

Cervenec said he hopes to host three panel discussions each school year.

"The next one will be on emerging diseases such as obesity, avian flu and resistant tuberculosis," he said. "We are still looking at options for the spring."

Cervenec said the panel discussions are a good way for students "to learn firsthand from experts in the field.

"They are able to see a role for this information in their everyday lives and future career choices," he said.

The event required a great deal of teamwork, Cervenec said.

"It was a real team effort that made the event possible," he said. "I would like to thank Jamie Sutton, Susan Petrick, Christine Mortine and George Joseph for their work in planning the event," he said.




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