Instructor Maggie Cogar attends Ohio Scholastic Media Association state conference

Maggie Cogar, professional instructor of journalism and digital media, recently attended the Ohio Scholastic Media Association (OSMA) state conference. OSMA is the state scholastic press association for high school journalism students and their advisers. The OSMA state conference was held on Friday, March 24 and Saturday, March 26 and was attended by over 400 high school students and their advisers.

At the conference, Cogar moderated journalism contests and presented sessions on how to use attribution in journalistic writing and how to create an award-winning publication. As an OSMA Executive Board Member, Cogar was also active in association meetings and as the Journalism Education Association (JEA) state director, Cogar presented the JEA Ohio Journalist of the Year award to senior Emma Steifel from Lakota East High School (pictured) at the state awards banquet Friday night.

Cogar presents the Ohio Journalist of the Year award to
seniors Emma Steifel and Jamie Landers.

Cogar said attending the annual OSMA state conference is one of the most rewarding professional experiences.

“There’s nothing better than being around hundreds of excited high school journalism students. It’s rewarding to be involved in an organization that allows them to celebrate their work and share ideas with other students from all over the state,” she said. “The passion and energy the students bring to the conference is contagious, and you can’t help but feel grateful to be a part of it all.”

Students work on editing news stories and laying out a
newspaper during the OSMA Editor Team Challenge
contest Cogar moderated on Friday afternoon.

Cogar is currently pursuing her Ph.D in Communication and Information with a focus in mass media from Kent State University. She is active in the world of scholastic journalism and serves as an executive board member for the Ohio Scholastic Media Association as well as the state director for the national Journalism Education Association. She recently received a research grant through the JEA and will be using it to fund her dissertation research on censorship in scholastic journalism.