Journalism alumnus and former Penn Editor-in-Chief talks to workshop students

By Laura Stahr The IUP Beat Staff Writer

Former Penn editor-in-chief Jason Levan returned to his roots when he visited with journalism students participating in the IUP Summer Honors Program.     Levan, now a staff writer at the Indiana Gazette, discussed the differences between high school, college, and daily publications with students and the type of work involved.     He is the Business Editor at the Gazette and is responsible for the production and layout of the Sunday business section. He discussed the elements that attract potential journalists to newspaper writing and layout.     When asked what he likes best about his job, Levan replied "My favorite part of the job is designing pages, especially ones without ads like the front page. It allows you to be creative".     As a reporter for the local paper, Levan covers a wide variety of topics, from the Indiana school board to the business page. His involvement, however, extends beyond those topics. "     "The entire staff must meet each morning to make important editorial decisions. We discuss what we're going to use in the paper each day and what we're going to put on the front page in the morning," he said.     With a visit from former Penn editor-in-chief Jason Levan, participants in the Journalism workshop were allowed a glimpse into the world of professional journalism.