Not to toot our own horn, but ::TOOT TOOT:: Having a robust student media department at Portland State University is a resource that is honestly impossible to overstate. All of the organizations within student media are 100 percent student-run. Because of these organizations students have the opportunity to learn about working with: a newspaper, PSU Vanguard; a literary magazine, Pathos; a radio station, KPSU; and a t.v. station that also produces a feature film every year, PSU.TV. For those in independent, creative pursuits the amount of potential C.V. opportunities down in the sub-basement are incredibly valuable for life after college.
PSU Vanguard keeps students informed weekly about what is happening on campus, in Portland, and around the world. Last year, Vanguard broke the story about how our mandatory caterer is price-gouging student groups for food including average vegetable trays and cardboard gluten-free pizza because of their monopoly as the only service that students are allowed to purchase food for events through without jumping through extensive bureaucratic hoops. And that was only ONE story, they do this weekly.
KPSU not only operates a radio station that hosts music djs, talk shows, and even hosts live bands. KPSU also hosts live events for students, last year these included eclectic mixes of live music, poetry, spoken word, and performance art.
PSU.TV regularly produces high quality video content of band performances at PSU and other things happening in Portland. Their annual feature film project gets submitted to film festivals around the world. Their recent film Karen Doesn’t Dream received awards from film festivals in the U.S. and Canada.
Pathos Literary Magazine is a quarterly lit mag that provides a platform for students to submit their art and potentially have that art published. Their main content tends to lean towards poetry but Pathos also features short stories, art, and essays.
The Pacific Sentinel. Yeah, of course we’re gonna give ourselves a shout out in our own magazine. Every month, October through June, The Pacific Sentinel publishes our monthly journalistic magazine. Think of us as The New Yorker to PSU Vanguard’s New York Times. We take a step back and try and look at some of the major issues, trends, and aspects of contemporary life.
All of these Student Media organizations at PSU provide students real life opportunities to dip their toes into journalism, t.v., radio, and film production, and the vast world of creative writing, illustration, and graphic design. We provide students with the opportunities they need to see how a lot of theoretical applications of their college knowledge can succeed, fail, and learn from those failures and successes through applying those skills to projects outside of the classroom. All of our organizations are looking for students to follow their interests and get involved with us.
Students from these organizations have gone on to work for Willamette Week, Portland Mercury, The Oregonian, and other publications. Students from PSU.TV have gone down to work in the Los Angeles film industry. We train you and make sure you are ready with the confidence necessary to be successful when you leave PSU. We know that we are better with your help and we can’t wait to meet you!
