Durham College (DC) had the pleasure of hosting the annual Ontario Journalism Educators Association (OJEA) conference at the Sheraton Centre Hotel on May 21, in Toronto, Ont.

The conference gives journalism instructors and professors across Ontario a chance to get together to share their successes and challenges over the past year, as well as brainstorm ways to boost enrolment and discuss the latest software and industry trends.

This year, more than 15 representatives from Algonquin, Conestoga, Niagara, Centennial and Humber colleges attended the event, which was held in conjunction with the Newspapers Canada – Ontario Community Newspapers Association conference.

As the host college, this was a great opportunity to showcase enhancements in the Journalism – Web and Print and Journalism – Broadcast and Electronic Media programs offered at DC. Journalism program co-ordinator and OJEA president, Brian Legree, and journalism instructor and OJEA secretary, Danielle Harder, were happy to share the great changes made to The Chronicle’s website – the DC student-run newspaper, along with community projects and partnerships involving our students.

Each year the host college invites a guest speaker to discuss trends in the industry. This year DC brought in award-winning reporter and host of the CBC’s World Report, David Common.

Common spoke about the changes in the industry and what that could mean for today’s journalism graduates, discussing the marketable skills young journalists need in today’s market, including the ability to think critically, write quickly, understand and manipulate video/audio quickly and the ability to work independently.

 “It’s a great opportunity to host a conference like this,” Legree said. “It allows us to share the accomplishments of our journalism students, changes we’ve made to our program and publications, and to stay current with industry trends so we can continue to offer our students the best learning experience.”

For more information about DC’s Journalism programs please visit our School of Media Art & Design.