Journalism School centennial celebration begins Wednesday

COLUMBIA — The Missouri School of Journalism's 100th anniversary celebration and the unveiling of a state-of-the-art journalism center kicks off Wednesday with more than 1,900 alumni and others expected.

Thirty-five interactive journalism sessions, 27 technology discussions and 11 museum exhibits and displays offer a range of ideas about journalism and its future. Many of the events take place in the Reynolds Journalism Institute, which will be dedicated Friday afternoon.

The forums focus on how journalists can use technology to advance their work and reconnect with citizens.

More than 125 professionals and academics are presenting, speaking on panels and leading discussions for the alumni, professionals, faculty, staff and students registered for the event.

Registration for the these sessions is $125 and open to the public in the Neff Hall student lounge. The price covers a futures forum on Thursday and a technology summit on Friday.

Columbia residents have always been valuable resources for students at the Journalism School, said Dean Mills, dean of the journalism school. Now the school invites Columbians to join as it celebrates the past and seeks how to best cooperatively approach the future of journalism, he said.

Here is a sampling of scheduled events for Thursday and Friday:

•  Pulitzer Prize and the Quality of American Journalism; 10:45 a.m. Thursday; 200 Reynolds Journalism Institute. Pulitzer Prize-winning journalists and editors speaking include Steve Fainaru, James V. Grimaldi and Jeff Leen of The Washington Post and James B. Steele of Vanity Fair. Registration required.
•  Technology and New Media: Reshaping the Future of Sports, Journalism and Advocacy; 2 p.m. and 3:45 p.m. Thursday; 204 Neff Hall. Speakers include John Anderson, T.J. Quinn and Wright Thompson of ESPN, Bill Geist of CBS Morning News, and Myles Brand of the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Registration required.
•  Entertainment Journalism: Its Rise and Future; 3:45 p.m. Thursday; 100-A Reynolds Journalism Institute. Speakers are Jann Carl of Entertainment Tonight, Kimberly Nordyke of The Hollywood Reporter, Lindsay Powers of Usmagazine.com, Leah Sanders of E! Entertainment and Kitty Bean Yancey of USA TODAY. Registration required.
•  The Party of the Century; 8:30 p.m. Thursday; The Blue Note. Son Venezuela, a nine-piece salsa band from Kansas City, headlines the dance party in honor of the Columbia Missourian's 100th anniversary. The event is co-sponsored by the We Always Swing Jazz Series, wealwaysswing.org. $10 to $30 with limited table seating.
•  Embracing Change: Ensuring the Future of Magazine Journalism; 10:45 a.m. Thursday; 85 Gannett Hall. Magazine journalists speaking include John A. Byrne of BusinessWeek.com, Lamar Graham of Parade Magazine and Geraldine Sealey of Glamour Magazine. Registration required.
•  President's Roundtable: Communication for a Digital Globe; 1 p.m. Friday; Jesse Auditorium. Roundtable guests are David W, Dorman of Motorola, Gary D. Forsee of the University of Missouri System, Mark Hoffman of CNBC, Carol J. Loomis of Fortune Magazine, Amy McCombs of the Women's Foundation of California, Russ Mitchell of CBS News, Dave Senay of Fleishman-Hillard and Ralph de la Vega of AT&T Mobility. Registration required.
•  Dedication of the Reynolds Journalism Institute; 4 p.m. Friday; Ninth Street entrance. Free.
•  Taste of Missouri; 6 p.m. Friday; Mizzou Arena. Menu of local and regional products, including artisanal cheeses, Missouri wines, farm-raised meats and seasonal produce. $100 at the door.
•  "Telling the Story, Fair and True"; 8 p.m. Friday; Mizzou Arena. Premiere performance of the Pictures of the Year showcase of 200 photographs with narration and music. Also, Russian poet Yevgeny Yevtushenko will perform "The Lead Honorarium," a commissioned poem he wrote in honor of the centennial. Free.

Those registered for the event can ask the staff at the check-in desk for a parking tag for the Hitt Street garage, one block east of the J-School at the corner of Hitt and Elm streets.

Student parking in the Hitt Street lot will be restricted Thursday and Friday. Events held at the Mizzou Arena will have open parking.