Senior Jesse Wright’s excellent work as a West Virginia University journalist earned him a place in the Feb. 3_5”Class of 2000 Seminar”at the Poynter Institute for Media Studies in St. Petersburg, Fla.

Wright, a news editorial major from Weston, was joined by 32 other graduating seniors from around the country for a three-day discussion about the demands, structure and opportunities of 21st century newsrooms.

Each day the students heard a keynote speaker and participated in discussions on topics such as: reporting and writing, ethics and diversity and visual and on-line journalism. The group also got tips on the challenges of getting and keeping good jobs and about growing in their chosen professions.

The presenters included several members of Poynter’s full-time faculty, as well as visiting faculty from the New York Times and Miami Herald newspapers and WGNX (CBS Atlanta) and FOX2 (Fox Detroit) television stations.

In addition to receiving career-related information and an all expense paid trip, the students had a little free time to enjoy the beautiful beaches and museums of the Tampa Bay area.

The students who attended the seminar were among 155 students nominated by the heads of the journalism, mass communications and communications programs at 50 colleges and universities throughout the United States.

Poynter also offers two summer fellowship programs for college students and provides about 50 seminars annually for professional print, broadcast and online journalists. Poynter also co-sponsors the National Writers Workshops which are held in eight cities during April and May

In other news, Chris Martin, interim dean of the Perley Isaac Reed School of Journalism, will return as co-director of the Summer News Reporting and Writing Fellowship for College Graduates at Poynter this summer. The program runs from June 9-July 21.