Patrick Beeson

"When it rains, it pours." At least that's the case with journalism conferences at the University of Tennessee here in Knoxville.

Titled "[A] Public Conversation of Web Journalism," this conference is the second part of a series of events put together by the University's School of Journalism and Electronic Media. It is underwritten by a grant from the Scripps Foundation.

I will take part in a panel Thursday April 3 at 11 .m. -- the conference spans two days, Thursday and Friday -- to discuss with the student audience, what it's like to work in the world of online journalism and how to prepare yourself for that field. I was on a similar panel a few weeks ago with Staci Wolfe, Katie Granju and Peggy Collins.

A slew of journalism professionals and professors will also take part, including a member of my Master's committee Dr. George Daniels and the one-and-only Rob Curley. Folks from knoxnews (Jack Lail and Lauren Spuhler) will also be in present.

Academics attending to the conference will also discuss starting or enhancing student-operated news web sites and the possibility of forming a national network of those sites.

Though I won't able to attend Friday's panels -- I'll be visiting Portland, OR for my vacation -- I am looking forward to meeting others in the embattled media industry, and hearing what they have to share with students.

The staff of the Tennessee Journalist has worked hard to put on this and the previous conference. They do a fantastic job, and I can't thank them enough for the work that they do.