By Ben Riggleman

On Saturday, Oct. 7, SMCC’s picturesque McKernan Hospitality Center hosted a journalism conference. The conference was organized by Beacon faculty advisors Rachel Guthrie (Communications & New Media) and Chuck Ott (Studio Art, English), and Lucille Siegler, business manager of the USM Free Press.

The lineup of speakers included Dieter Bradbury, deputy managing editor of news at the Portland Press Herald; Jake Bleiberg, Portland-beat reporter for the Bangor Daily News; multimedia artist and graphic designer Ed Materson; and several professors from SMCC and USM.

Mr. Bradbury spoke on the process of creating “Lost,” the Press Herald’s multi-part expose of opioid addiction in Maine. Mr. Bleiberg gave an educational presentation on story construction for newspaper writing. Editorial staff members of the USM Free Press and The Beacon were in attendance.