Students interested in working in journalism, public relations and other media industries are invited to register for the 69th Annual Southern Regional Press Institute (SRPI) at Savannah State University. The event, which takes place Feb. 20-21, 2020, is focusing on “Going Solo: Prepare to Do It All.”
 
The theme is based on a growing need in media industries for people who can proficiently do all tasks in the planning, production and dissemination of media- journalists who need to write stories and shoot and edit video to go with it; public relations practitioners who must produce social media content while also writing press releases; and those in film who play multiple roles on set.
 
Lisa Osborne Ross will be this year’s opening speaker for the event. Ms. Ross was named president of the Edelman Washington, D.C., office in November 2017. Prior to her career in public relations, Ms. Ross served during the first and second terms of the Clinton administration, specializing in policy development and issues management—during this time, she was communications director for the U.S. Labor Department. She also co-founded the Washington Area Women’s Foundation to address the critical needs of women and young girls through essential services and training throughout the Washington metropolitan area.
 
Wanda Smalls Lloyd, who was chair of the Department of Journalism and Mass Communications at Savannah State University from 2013-2016, will join the conference on Feb. 20 for a conversation about her new book, “Coming Full Circle: From Jim Crow to Journalism,” which will be released to the public on Feb. 4. Her discussion and book signing will take place at 6 p.m. in the Asa Gordon Library Art Gallery. The talk is free and open to the public.
 
WSAV-TV Anchor Tina Tyus-Shaw will keynote the Awards Luncheon. Tyus-Shaw is a Georgia native who has been at WSAV since 1992. Tyus-Shaw earned her bachelor’s degree from Tennessee State University. Before joining WSAV, she worked for television and radio stations in Macon, Ga., The Outer Banks of North Carolina and Columbus, Ga. In 1996, she was chosen as a Savannah torchbearer for the 1996 Olympic Torch Run across Georgia.
 
Workshops, panels and discussions will take on this important change in the media landscape through the two-day conference, culminating in the annual Owens-Milledge Awards Luncheon.
 
At the luncheon, students are awarded for their hard work practicing their crafts in the Southern Regional Press Institute’s annual publications conference. Entries for the contest will be accepted through January 20, 2020.