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High School Journalists

By Jim Killam
Communications Coordinator

Any baseball expert will tell you that the key to a big-league team's long-term success is how wisely it invests in its farm system. As the Illinois College Press Association -- the farm system for newspapers in Illinois and beyond -- we agree wholeheartedly. Your company's small investment in the next generation of journalists might pay off big.

To get involved This year's ICPA Job Fair is scheduled for Friday, Feb. 20, at the Holiday Inn City Centre, Chicago. To reserve a spot for an interviewer, contact Dr. John David Reed at Eastern Illinois University: jdreed@eiu.edu, or 217-581-2812.

Did you know that ICPA is the nation's largest and most prestigious college newspaper association, with almost 35 four-year colleges and universities represented? Last year alone, ICPA member newspapers won five national Pacemaker awards -- the collegiate equivalent of a Pulitzer Prize for general excellence -- for print or online editions. No other state won more than three.

Did you know that ICPA's annual job fair -- maybe the best of its kind in the nation -- brings together more than 100 of the state's top student journalists, in a "one-stop shop" for recruiters? One northern Illinois editor calls the job fair "the best recruitment opportunity of the year. If you want to compete for top talent coming out of college, you have to attend this fair."

Did you know that the job fair occurs at an annual convention in Chicago that attracts more than 350 students? We program this convention on a shoestring budget, with our students being forced to shoulder much of the cost.

We are an organization that succeeds or fails based largely on our partnerships with professional news organizations. To keep our convention affordable to student journalists, and to continue to offer you convenient opportunities to recruit Illinois' best young journalists, we need your company's financial support. Would you consider making a donation to the ICPA?

We believe that, even during tight economic times, this is a priority investment in your company's future.

Jim Killam is adviser for the Northern Star, the student newspaper at Northern Illinois University, and is past president of the Illinois College Press Association. Contact him at jkillam@niu.edu, or 815-753-4239.