Last week from Feb. 27 to Mar. 3, 19 Bloomsburg University mass communications majors traveled to the Washington D.C. area to partake in the 76’th annual National Broadcasting Society (NBS) AERho Convention. The convention took place from the Hyatt Regency in Bethesda, Maryland, about a half-hour commute from Washington, D.C.

    Attending convention gave mass comm majors a chance to network with professionals working as broadcasters, journalists, producers, authors, and editors. Students got to attend panels and learn from established names in the broadcasting industry. The panel topics ranged from Sports on the Local and National Scene, The F.C.C. in 2018, Climbing the Ladder to the Top of the News Industry, and Working on Location for T.V. and Film. Here at Bloomsburg, the mass comm major is broken down into four tracks – Telecomm, Journalism, Public Relations, and Emergent Media. No matter which track a mass comm major aligns themselves with, the NBS Panel schedule had something for everyone.

      The students representing Bloomsburg dedicated two full days to attending panels and networking with professionals, but they also spent time sightseeing. Attending convention in the capitol of the United States allowed students to see famous landmarks including The White House, the Lincoln Memorial, and the Washington Monument. Groups of students also made trips out to a few different museums and the Capitol One Arena for Washington Capitals and Washington Wizards games. Simply put, NBS Convention was a perfect blend of networking, touring, and having fun.
“Attending Convention in Washington, D.C. was a great experience not only because we were in our nation’s capitol, but we also made great business connections,” said Drew Fox, future chapter president and junior at Bloomsburg

    “My favorite site in D.C. would have to be the World War II Memorial. It left me in awe and made me think back to all of those men who gave their lives to stop evil for future generations. We live in a world without tyranny because of them. That makes me proud to live in America.”
The last formal event of Convention, like always, was the Awards Ceremony on Saturday night. One of the last awards given out, NBS Chapter Member of the Year, was received by the current Bloomsburg NBS chapter president, senior Matt Loch.

   “It wasn’t until [Gina Johnson] got specific with things that we do at Bloomsburg that I got the hint in my head that it was going to be me. A couple of people in our chapter started looking at me and smiled. I was shocked. The whole moment went by so fast.”

    As chapter president, Loch oversees production of “Roughcut,” a bi-weekly TV show that airs on BUTV. Along with Roughcut, Loch and the rest of the NBS Executive Board run all other aspects of the club, including meetings, fundraisers, socials, and smaller projects produced by the chapter. Although the official award has “Matt Loch” on it, Loch gives all of the credit to his executive team, and every member of Bloomsburg’s chapter of NBS.

    “My name gets put on stuff, but this would not be possible without the help of my exec team and each chapter member,” Loch said. “We have a larger chapter in NBS and a large participation at convention. With the support around me, my job has gotten a lot easier. We have people in each section – news, entertainment, sports, and so on – stepping up and keeping everything organized. Without the help of everyone, I’m not on that stage Saturday night.”

   Although convention is in the books, there is still a lot of work to tackle this semester for NBS. If you are interested in becoming a member, please attend a meeting, held weekly, on Tuesdays at 5:30 pm from Studio A in McCormick.