The Daily Pennsylvanian Alumni Association

The October 10, 2018 issue of 34th Street Magazine is a nostalgic, fun look back at the 50 years the magazine has been in existence on its golden anniversary.

The issue features articles by 13 former 34th Street Editors-in-Chief, starting with founding editor Bill Mandel ’69 explaining how and why the magazine got launched. Many, many more DP and 34th Street alumni are mentioned in those reminiscences.

You can selectively read articles online by clicking here, view the entire issue on Issuu by clicking here, or download the issue as a PDF by clicking here.

But we know that some DP and Street alumni might like to get a physical copy of the anniversary edition, so you can also order one for a simple $5 shipping charge by clicking here (“for a limited time,” as they say).

Eighteen Daily Pennsylvanian alumni came together at Penn on a rainy late-September Sunday afternoon to lead the 33rd annual Steve A. Marquez Journalism Conference. This annual conference organized by the Daily Pennsylvanian Alumni Association brings DP alumni currently working in journalism to campus to speak with current Penn students in a low-key, interactive environment. The alumni offer hands-on tips and advice, to provide ideas, suggestions and inspiration.

Washington Post investigative reporter Beth Reinhard ’90 delivered this year’s keynote speech, entitled “Winning the Pulitzer Prize: Judge Roy Moore and the story that changed America’s political landscape.” Reinhard was part of the Post team which received the Pulitzer for their reporting on six women from Alabama who accused the U.S. Senate candidate and former state Supreme Court chief justice of sexual misconduct against them, and the failed effort to then discredit the Post by attempting to dupe the paper into reporting made-up information.

For the third consecutive year, Joel Siegel ’79 (Managing Editor, NY1) served as the coordinator for the DP, assembling speakers and panels touching on many of the editorial areas of the DP’s print and digital publishing operations.

The conference is named in memory of Steven A. Marquez ’79, a former DP Managing Editor who was a reporter for the Philadelphia Daily News when he died in 1987 at the age of only 29. Marquez, a native Philadelphian, was a strong supporter of the city’s local communities and was widely praised for his neighborhoods coverage while at the Daily News. He had maintained close contact with the DP, and had been elected to the DPAA Board of Directors just before his death.

Seven breakout sessions focused on various areas of editorial activity:

• “Reporting 101: Beat Reporting” was led by Rachel Baye ’11 (Politics Reporter, WYPR) and Lara Seligman ’11 (Pentagon Correspondent, Foreign Policy).

• “Enterprise Reporting: Going Beyond the Day-to-Day to Find and Report Stories that Make a Difference” was led by Amy Gardner ’90 (National Political Reporter, Washington Post), Caren Lissner ’93 (Novelist and Editor-in-Chief, Hudson Reporter
) and Beth Reinhard ’90 (Investigative Reporter, Washington Post).

• “Sportswriting: Covering the Game and the Team” was led by John Dellapina ’83 (Vice President/Communications,
 National Hockey League), Dan McQuade ’04 (Staff Editor, Deadspin) and Adam Rubin ’95 (Assistant Athletic Director,
 New York Institute of Technology).

• “Writing for 34th Street” was led by Steve Fried ’79 (author, former magazine editor, journalism professor), Frida Garza ’14 (Senior Writer, Jezebel) and David Murrell ’17 (Research Editor, Philadelphia Magazine)
.

• “Getting the Story Online: Covering, Writing and Delivering Breaking News as It Unfolds” was led by Amy Gardner ’90 (National political reporter, Washington Post) and Chris George ’05 (Home Page Editor, Washington Post)
.

• “Visual Journalism & Photography” was led by Amanda Suarez ’16 (freelance writer & photographer).

• “From Social Media to Podcasting, Engaging an Audience in New Ways” was led by Rebecca Greenfield ’10 (Reporter & Host, The Pay Check podcast, Bloomberg News), Deepa Lakshmin ’14 (Social Media Editor, The Daily Beast), Hillary Reinsberg ’11 (Editor-in-Chief, The Infatuation and Zagat) and Caroline Waxler ’93 (writer and conference and festival programmer).

At the end of the afternoon, many of the alumni and students gathered together for a panel discussion on careers in journalism and how to use the DP as a stepping-stone.

The DPAA Board of Directors in December published its Annual Report on the activities of the Alumni Association in 2016. The report was sent via postal mail to all DP alumni who have mailing addresses on file with the DP; a PDF version of the report is available by clicking here.

The DPAA regularly posts news about our alumni on the DPAA Facebook page DPAA Facebook page and emails news about the DP and DPAA several times each year/ But in an effort to not lose touch with alumni who may not regularly follow the DPAA online, as well as to have a place each year to recognize and thank the alumni who have contributed to the DP and DPAA, the Board created this annual report.

If you are a DP alum who did not receive the mailing, please  email the DPAA with your current address (or log into this website, following the directions on the home page, to update your own information). Feedback on the annual report, including suggestions for future annual reports, is welcome — just email dpaa@theDP.com.