Savannah State University’s Southern Regional Press Institute (SRPI) celebrated 73 years at the end of February. The two day media conference was packed with 13 workshops, and a theme titled “Artificial Intelligence in the Media and Pop Culture.” Over the years, a wide range of topics have been covered in various aspects of journalism, media, and film related fields.

“It is a worthwhile endeavor. Students have the opportunity to be trained by elite media professionals,” said Novella Cross-Holmes, a retired associate professor and former special projects coordinator for journalism and mass communications at Savannah State University. She served as the director of SRPI for 22 years.

SRPI has been a training ground and a place for students to network since it was founded in 1950 by Wilton C. Scott. It was created to help students gain skills in communications, especially at a time when minorities were not being hired in the industry.

It is the third-oldest scholastic journalism institute founded at a historically black college and university (HBCU) after the establishment of press associations at Florida A&M University (1950) and Lincoln University, Missouri (1949). All of them having a significant role in training media professionals prior to integration.

“I love the press institute. I attended SRPI when I was a student at Jenkins High School, where I was the editor of the newspaper,” said Cross-Holmes.

Scott, who was dedicated to promoting minority involvement in the media, held the position of public relations director at Savannah State from 1947 to 1972. The institute was coordinated by the director of public relations for the university from 1950 to 1986, and in June of 1986, the coordination of the institute was moved to the College of Liberal Arts and Social Sciences under the direction of the department of journalism and mass communications.

“We’ve had thousands of students come through the press institute since then to get education in journalism from professionals. From many different media outlets, it has been a wonderful experience for our students who have gone on to become professional journalists,” said Reginald Franklin, associate professor of journalism and mass communications at SSU. Franklin served as director for ten years.

Many professionals from various media outlets have come to SRPI over the years, including most of the local Savannah print, radio, public relations, and news outlets, as well as international outlets like The New York Times, CNN, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, the Washington Post, and more.

“SRPI in general gives a lot of people a perspective on the mass communications world. It is a really good source for a lot of us as students and gives us a way to network within realms that we’re comfortable in as scholars,” said Chloe Gallivan, graduating senior and editor in chief of SSU’s student newspaper, Tiger’s Roar.

The industry professionals bring a wealth of knowledge to the workshops conducted during SRPI. Over the years, workshops have focused on a range of things in photography, writing for multiple platforms, news, magazine and feature writing, new media, copyediting, headline writing, broadcasting, public relations, advertising, and newspaper layout and design.

Many of the professionals are Savannah State University alumni who have gone on to work in the media field. Year after year, they come back and pour into the students, as well as connect them to jobs and other opportunities.

“SRPI is important, and it allows students to network with industry professionals as well as students from other schools. In this industry, having a network can help your career progress. SRPI also gives students the opportunity to hear how different topics are influencing the industry,” said Jeffery M. Glover, graduating senior, journalism, and mass communications major at SSU.

Over the years, many schools in the southeast region have attended. This year, students attended from Savannah State University, North Carolina Central University (NCCU), and Bethune Cookman University. With the University of the Virgin Islands, Augusta University, and Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College participating virtually. The event once again brought together a community of student journalists.

“It’s the community part of it for me. I think it’s the single biggest reason why we need conferences like this, especially with other students, because, as journalists, we only understand the levels of stress that we have in the industry. Having a community of journalists throughout the country and being able to grow alongside them is very powerful,” said Chris Frazier, coeditor in chief at Campus Echo, NCCU.

The workshops conducted this year covered some of these topics as they related to artificial intelligence. The theme was selected to focus on the rapidly changing world and how AI has become a part of education and media.

“The panelists went in depth about the possible dangers and issues of AI, but they also gave information about how we can work with AI and use it as a tool in media. Learning how to maintain that balance of having agency over this newfound machine and not letting it have agency over us as people and creatives,” said Ellen Hunter, a junior at SSU and coeditor of Tiger’s Roar.

In recent years, additions have come to the press institute to enhance the quality of the program. Breakout panels such as the HBCU Alumni Panel, HBCU Heroes Secure the Bag, job fairs and requirement initiatives, and the professional headshot workshop have engaged students in new ways with professional development.

Though over the years the theme changes and some topics come and go, one thing has been a mainstay, and that is the student media competition portion of SRPI. Students submit their work to be judged by media professionals from our area and abroad.

Keleigh Arrington, a junior at SSU, president of the Mass Communications Student Association, and student reporter for WTR-TV, was shocked when her named was called for first place in the ‘Best News Package’ category.

“I underestimated myself, but I was elated because it was my first time receiving an award for my academic work so far, and I felt honored to be recognized by media professionals. I just hope that this is motivation for peers who did not submit their work to submit in the future, and do not underestimate yourself. This lets me know my work is going in the right direction,” said Arrington.

There were multiple categories that covered public relations and strategic communications, radio news and podcasting, videography, photography, and numerous ones covering print and digital media.

Imara Harrell, a graduating senior majoring in public relations and mass communications at NCCU, didn’t know what work was being submitted by her professors for competition and was pleasantly surprised when the project she worked on was called as the winner.

“All that hard work paid off. It felt good to be rewarded for the work that I was doing—not only getting a grade for it, but having professionals tell me that you’re on the right path, you’re doing a good job,” said Harrell, who won first in ‘Best Communications Campaign’ with classmates Nya McCray and Tiffany Holmes.

Gallivan, the editor-in-chief of Tiger’s Roar at SSU, submitted several stories but was not expecting to win.

“It is great that before I graduate, I can say I am an award-winning journalist. It doesn’t feel like I’m trying to beat anybody out, which is nice as well because you never want to do that to your colleagues or your peers, but it feels good to be recognized and that my work is on the right track,” said Gallivan.

Gallivan and Hunter also won second place for ‘Best Overall News Website’ for tigersroar.com.

SRPI will return in February 2025.

This article appears in Connect Savannah I March 2024.