UW COM students spent a morning learning about The Seattle Times with managing editor Lynn Jacobson this quarter. The visit on January 16 was part of the Society of Professional Journalists University of Washington chapter’s event programming, which helps student SPJ members connect with journalists and media professionals working in the industry in Seattle.
The 14 University of Washington Journalism and Public Interest Communication students who attended the tour attended the Times’ morning budget meeting, along with more than a dozen of the paper’s top editors, to go over the day’s stories and priorities for digital and newsletters. The meeting was followed by a Q&A with Jacobs, columnist Naomi Ishisaka, and assistant managing editor Stefanie Loh, where students learned about the paper’s coverage priorities, how the editors manage distribution of hundreds of stories per week, and the evolving landscape of journalism.
“The Seattle Times visit was incredibly informative and an amazing opportunity to see the inner workings of a real news room. It was such a great opportunity to talk to journalists who are doing the things I dream about doing one day. We got to learn about how the evolution of journalism has changed newsrooms and what that looks like today and what it may look like in the future. I learned so much about the production of journalism and how collaborative the writing really is.”
Tours like this are one of many ways the University of Washington JPIC program provides opportunities for students to connect with the journalism community in Seattle. Along with lecture series, workshops, and classes offered by industry professionals, JPIC students build real-world connections as they complete their degrees. Contact spjuw@uw.edu or follow @spjuw on Instagram to get more information about upcoming SPJ UW events.
Photos below (credit Caley Cook)
