Home » Thursday Media Experiences

Thursday Media Experiences

Media tour check-in

If you pre-registered for a Thursday media experience, arrive at the media-tours desk one hour before your tour’s start.

You do not need to check in for the convention before going on your tour, but you do need to check in at the media tour desk.

Participants should meet at the media tour desk table near the hotel’s 24th Street entrance, lobby level, at the time listed. End times are the approximate time participants will return to the convention center. Transportation to media tours, provided by JEA and NSPA, is included in the price.

The tour coordinators provided the following information on each of the tours —

Law of the Student Press: Supreme Court and Newseum
CHECK-IN AT MEDIA TOURS TABLE at 7:15 a.m.
TOUR DURATION: 8:15 a.m.-1 p.m. Limit 50.

Please check-in at the Media Tours table near the 34th Street entrance on the Lobby Level by 7:15 a.m. 

Students will return to the hotel (via Metro) no later than 1:45 p.m.

Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting
CHECK-IN AT MEDIA TOURS TABLE at 8 a.m.
TOUR DURATION: 9-10 a.m. Limit 30.

Please check-in at the Media Tours table near the 34th Street entrance on the Lobby Level by 8 a.m. 

Students will return to the hotel (via Metro) no later than 10:30 a.m.

National Museum of African American History and Culture
CHECK-IN AT MEDIA TOURS TABLE at 8 a.m.
TOUR DURATION: 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Limit 50.

Please check-in at the Media Tours table near the 34th Street entrance on the Lobby Level by 8 a.m. 

Students will return to the hotel (via Metro) no later than 4:45 p.m.

University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism
CHECK-IN AT MEDIA TOURS TABLE at 8 a.m.
TOUR DURATION: 9 a.m.-1 p.m. Limit 55.

Please check-in at the Media Tours table near the 34th Street entrance on the Lobby Level by 8 a.m. A special Terps bus will take students to and from UMD.

Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications
Northwestern University

CHECK-IN AT MEDIA TOURS TABLE at 8 a.m.
9a.m.-11a.m. Limit 25.

Please check-in at the Media Tours table near the 34th Street entrance on the Lobby Level by 8 a.m. 

Students will return to the hotel (via Metro) no later than 11:45 a.m.

Voice of America
CHECK-IN AT MEDIA TOURS TABLE at 8:30 a.m.
TOUR DURATION: 9:30-10:15 a.m. Limit 20.

Please check-in at the Media Tours table near the 34th Street entrance on the Lobby Level by 8:30 a.m. 

Students will return to the hotel (via Metro) no later than 11 a.m.

National Geographic
CHECK-IN AT MEDIA TOURS TABLE at 9 a.m.
TOUR DURATION: 10-10:45 a.m. Limit 25.

Please check-in at the Media Tours table near the 34th Street entrance on the Lobby Level by 9 a.m. 

Students will return to the hotel (via Metro) no later than 11:30 a.m.

NPR
CHECK-IN AT MEDIA TOURS TABLE at 9 a.m.
TOUR DURATION: 10-11 a.m. Limit 25.

Please check-in at the Media Tours table near the 34th Street entrance on the Lobby Level by 9 a.m. 

Students will return to the hotel (via Metro) no later than 11:45 a.m.

The National Press Club
CHECK-IN AT MEDIA TOURS TABLE at 9 a.m.
TOUR DURATION: 10-11 a.m. Limit 20.

Please check-in at the Media Tours table near the 34th Street entrance on the Lobby Level by 9 a.m. 

Students will return to the hotel (via Metro) no later than 11:45am.

Politico
CHECK-IN AT MEDIA TOURS TABLE at 10 a.m.
TOUR DURATION: 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Limit 25.

Please check-in at the Media Tours table near the 34th Street entrance on the Lobby Level by 10 a.m. 

Students will return to the hotel (via Metro) no later than 1:45 p.m.

Washington Post Printing Plant
CHECK-IN AT MEDIA TOURS TABLE at 11 a.m.

Bus departs at noon. Limit 44.

TOUR DURATION: 1-3 p.m.

Please check-in at the Media Tours table near the 34th Street entrance on the Lobby Level by 8 a.m. 

Students will return to the hotel no later than 4 p.m.

Library of Congress
CHECK-IN AT MEDIA TOURS TABLE at noon
TOUR DURATION: 1-3 p.m. Limit 44.

Please check-in at the Media Tours table near the 34th Street entrance on the Lobby Level by noon.

Students will return to the hotel (via Metro) no later than 4 p.m.

Mount Vernon

THURSDAY: CHECK-IN AT MEDIA TOURS TABLE at 8 a.m.
Bus departs at 9 a.m. Limit 44.
TOUR DURATION: 10 a.m.- 12 p.m. Limit 44.

Please check-in at the Media Tours table near the 34th Street entrance on the Lobby Level by noon.

Students will return to the hotel via charter bus at approximately 1 p.m.

FRIDAY: CHECK-IN AT MEDIA TOURS TABLE at 1 p.m.
Bus departs at 2 p.m. Limit 44.
TOUR DURATION: 3 p.m.- 5 p.m. Limit 44.

Please check-in at the Media Tours table near the 34th Street entrance on the Lobby Level by 1 p.m. 

Students will return to the hotel via 

Media tour descriptions

Our original descriptions for the media tours —

Law of the Student Press: Supreme Court and Newseum
8:15 a.m.-1 p.m. Limit 50.

Tour the US Supreme Court with SPLC Senior Legal Counsel Mike Hiestand, who is a member of the Bar of the Supreme Court. 

After viewing exhibits and receiving a 30-minute briefing from Court staff between 9:15 -11 a.m., the group will walk to the nearby Newseum. From 11:30 a.m.-1 p.m., Hiestand will brief you on your rights as student journalists and take on your most vexing questions. 

Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting
9-10 a.m. Limit 30.

Located in the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace building in Dupont Circle, the Pulitzer Center has become a leading source for quality international reporting in major U.S. and European media outlets. Visit their offices, view samples of their projects and hear about their innovative media model from staff.

National Museum of African American History and Culture
9 a.m.-4 p.m. Limit 50.

The museum bills itself as a place where all Americans can learn about the richness and diversity of the African American experience, what it means to their lives, and how it helped shape this nation. The tour includes admission to the museum as well as a luncheon featuring a panel of Washington journalists discussing the importance of diversity and inclusion in news coverage. Students will participate in a newswriting competition of the event, with prizes provided by Elon University (N.C.).

University of Maryland Philip Merrill College of Journalism
9 a.m.-1 p.m. Limit 55.

Visit one of the nation’s premier journalism schools and tour the state-of-the-art facilities, including a broadcast studio and bureau. 

A special Terps bus will pick you up and take you to the campus. 

UMD’s Merrill College offers unmatched access to internships in one of the nation’s top media markets. Students learn from the pros working in today’s multimedia newsrooms.

Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, Northwestern University
9-11 a.m. Limit 25.

Enjoy one of the best views of the nation’s capitol and learn how reporters find news through interviewing, unearthing secrets and using data. 

This presentation will show you how to use the extensive datasets available to reporters to break news through text and visuals. 

We’ll go over some of the easy-to-use apps and tools that allow reporters to produce interactive stories using data without lots of coding. Medill School adjunct lecturer and NPR data editor Sean McMinn and Medill professor Ellen Shearer will walk you through key tools and answer your questions. 

The session will be in the building that houses Medill’s D.C. campus and the Washington Post newsroom.

Mount Vernon
9 a.m. Thursday, 4 hours
2 p.m. Friday, 4 hours

Located 17 miles south of the White House, Mount Vernon is the historic home and resting place of George and Martha Washington.

On this media experience, you will have two hours to tour the mansion, tombs, outbuildings, gardens and museum, view the 4D Revolutionary War film, and more. Buses will take you from the Marriott to Mount Vernon and back.

Times include 90 minutes, round-trip travel time and two hours on site. Here are the sample itineraries.

Voice of America
9:30-10:15 a.m. Limit 20.

The Voice of America Studio Tour is a behind-the-scenes look at live broadcasting on radio, television and Internet in several of our 46 languages. 

Tours are guided with audio and video features. VOA’s headquarters is home to a series of historic murals commissioned by the U.S. government to depict the Social Security Act and other New Deal programs enacted in response to the Great Depression.

National Geographic
10-10:45 a.m. Limit 25.

Exhibitions at the National Geographic Museum showcase bold people and transformative ideas in the fields of exploration, scientific research, storytelling, and education. 

With a wide range of changing exhibitions, the National Geographic Museum is a perfect destination for all ages. Visitors get to know the work of National Geographic conservationists, photographers and scientists through engaging, dynamic exhibitions featuring everything from iconic photography and world-famous artifacts to interactive learning stations and behind-the-scenes stories.

National Public Radio
10-11 a.m. Limit 25.

NPR is host to a wide-range of news, cultural, political and scientific programs. Visit the national headquarters of the nation’s premier radio network and recording studios. 

A one-hour, guided tour will take you through NPR’s headquarters to get a glimpse of daily life inside NPR. You’ll learn about NPR’s history, operations and your role in the public-radio community. You will also see NPR’s newsroom, Tiny Desk, live production studios and more.

The National Press Club
10-11 a.m. Limit 20.

For more than 100 years, celebrities, heads of state, presidents and prime ministers have spoken to the world from the great ballroom. You will visit the world’s premier forum for newsmakers and its state-of-the-art broadcast studios that capture the famous Press Club luncheons that are televised on CSPAN.

Politico
11 a.m.-noon. Limit 25.

With headquarters in Rosslyn, Va., Politico is a leading source for fact-based journalism. Tour the office and hear from editors and reporters as they discuss the different beats they cover and what it is like to report the news at Politico.


Washington Post Printing Plant
1-3 p.m. Limit 44.

Be there when the four-story presses rumble and roar to life in one of the world’s largest printing plants. You’ll wear earplugs and safety glasses as you see 90,000 newspapers print in less than an hour. 

The Washington Post is the nation’s seventh largest newspaper measured by circulation. See how they respond to the news by printing special editions.


Library of Congress
1-3 p.m. Limit 44.

During your hour-long tour you will learn about the building’s symbolic art and architecture and view the grandeur of the Main Reading Room. 

Professionally trained docents tell the story of the library — America’s oldest cultural institution — by talking about its history, its collections (including the Gutenberg Bible), and the services provided to Congress and the nation.