By Paul Vigna
Harrisburg, Pa., Patriot-News sports editor
Mid-Atlantic Region chair
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. — It can be difficult sometimes to lure panelists or editors to Penn State, a good distance from many of our region’s bigger papers. Not so this year, as 20 editors and writers and numerous students attended a day-long workshop April 10 at The Penn Stater conference center hotel. /p
This was a program that at one time or another had commitments from two Penn State presidents, but circumstances cost us both of them over a period of several months. Still, what we lost as fallout to the remarkable series of events that took place at Penn State ultimately led to what we gained: a series of high-profile panelists whose lives have been impacted by all that has transpired here since former coach Jerry Sandusky was indicted on Nov. 4.
Thanks to the students of Malcolm Moran, director of the John Curley Center for Sports Journalism at Penn State, and to several of my staffers for their compilations. Live-streaming was set up by Steve Sampsell, director of college relations for the College of Communications and other members of Penn State’s IT staff, and implemented for every workshop except the reverse panel. Finally, thanks to the panelists who all broke away from busy schedules to participate in the sessions and, in some cases, also sit in on our late-afternoon reverse panel with Penn State’s journalism students.
Here’s the wrap-up on the five workshops.
–Bill O'Brien opens new era at Penn State.
— Sally Jenkins and the final interview of Joe Paterno.
— Pulitzer winner Sara Ganim discusses the Sandusky case.
— NCAA reform difficult because 'it pays to cheat.'
— Reverse panel offers students insights into sports journalism career.
