Inside the New York Times
Last semester, UMBC Retriever Weekly editors were invited to go “Inside the New York Times” to learn about day-to-day operations and to develop their journalistic skills. Joe Howley and Doug Miller, who recently became Retriever editor-in-chief and news editor, respectively, attended the Times’ annual symposium along with editors from over two dozen student newspapers across the country.
Students met with Times’ managing editors and correspondents to discuss how they cover the news and make decisions about editorial content, participated in a workshop on the editing process and exchanged ideas with other student editors.
“To be invited to attend the symposium was an honor,” said Howley. “And to be able to get insight into how such a major organization operates was invaluable.”
Miller added that he and Howley will apply some of that insight to the Retriever. “Visiting the Times was an informative and inspirational opportunity that will help us in our goal to continue improving our product and address the needs of the campus with increasing accuracy and efficiency,” said Miller.
“Joe and Doug have both worked very hard to improve the Retriever,” said Christopher Corbett, Retriever Weekly faculty advisor and English faculty member. “Going to the New York Times conference gave them exposure to serious journalism. They also got to meet and hear from their contemporaries at college and university newspapers—large and small—all over the U.S. We hope to do this again next year.”
Both Howley and Miller credit Corbett for helping Retriever editors and writers get real-world exposure at events like “Inside the Times” and at local and regional papers.
“Christopher Corbett is an invaluable asset to our paper because of his many years of experience working for the Associated Press and other large news organizations,” said Miller. “Thanks in large part to his guidance, members of our staff have been offered exciting internships at the Washington Post, the Baltimore Sun and Patuxent Publishing, among other news organizations. A good percentage of the Retriever’s staff gain employment with local papers immediately after graduation.”
(7/5/05)
