By: Lynn Walsh

Beginning a career is never easy and beginning a career in the news industry is no exception. Luckily, the Society of Professional Journalists is here to help.

SPJ’s Reporters Institute brings journalists who are 1-3 years in their career together for three days of training, networking and bonding. Training is given by experts in the news business, ranging from online, print, television and multimedia and is held at the Poytner Institute in St. Petersburg, Florida.

There are two separate sessions this summer — one for broadcast reporters (June 12-15) and one for print (July 10-13). Only 36 journalists will be chosen for each session. Applications and more details can be found here.

Since 2007, SPJ has been able to offer the programs that are funded by the Delta Sigma Chi Foundation.

Journalism is a unique profession. It’s constantly evolving, forever changing, perpetually growing and conforming to the society it serves. If you want to be a good journalist you have to stay on top of the thing, keep your finger on the proverbial pulse.

There are several ways you can do that.

You could go back to school and get a master’s degree or a doctorate, but that’s pretty expensive and we journalists aren’t known for our vast wealth.

You can take advantage of training programs put on by your local chapter or your region or your state’s press association. I took part in a fantastic open records/open meetings webinar that the Alabama Press Association hosted. The association’s lawyer taught the class.

There’s a vast wealth of information online and in books published about the craft. Poynter’s NewsU is a great online source for top-notch classes and webinars, free or cheap or otherwise. (www.newsu.org)

And speaking of Poynter, you can sign up for one of their on-site workshops or seminars. They aren’t exactly cheap, but they’re well worth the investment. Plus, hey, the institute is in south Florida…on the beach…you see where I’m going here, right? And nothing comes close to a Poynter experience (all right…media bias, anyone?). (www.poynter.org)

These are just a few suggestions. There are many more options for the continuing journalistic education. Whatever path you choose, you can never go wrong in furthering your knowledge base, your education, and your skill set. A guy I wrote a profile about once told me, “If you’re going to quit learning, you might as well just die.”

A map, Post-its and more than 20 journalists in a room … it seems that is all it takes to have a good laugh on a Sunday night!

And I have a feeling more laughs are to be had as the SPJ Reporter Institute at Poynter this week continues. I and other video/broadcast journalists from around the country are coming together for a week of training, discussion and networking, all surrounded by our love and passion for journalism.

I am looking forward to being here for many reasons: advice, new tricks of the trade, ethical debates, friendship, and of course a place to vent about the hardships young journalists sometimes face in newsrooms across the country.

While I don’t need to tell you this, news is changing, and as members of Generation J we have an opportunity to shape and mold the future of journalism in a way many other journalists will never have. We can lead the way in ethical reporting online; we can lead the way in accurate use of social media in the news; we can make a promise to cover the stories that matter!

I always get excited about an opportunity to learn new things; but, when the possibility of learning is combined with working with fellow journalists, there is a certain sense of hope, excitement and determination I feel.

I am excited to learn from others who have a strong passion for media in all of its current forms and I encourage you to join us in the conversation.

We have created a Twitter hashtag and will be uploading videos on the Generation J YouTube page as well. On Twitter just search #SPJRI to join in on the conversation, ask questions or just to see what all the fuss is about! We’re here until Wednesday, June 16.

Lynn Walsh ( Twitter: @lwalsh)  is an investigative video journalist for Texas Watchdog, a non-profit online journalism organization in Houston, Texas.  She is a graduate of Ohio University’s E.W. Scripps School of Journalism who has experience in television, online and print journalism.  Lynn began her career as a reporter for The Government Channel in Athens, Ohio, were she covered city and county issues for the citizens and students living in Athens County. Lynn also served thepalestra.net as a general assignment reporter focusing on anything from sporting events to the 2008 general election.