Photo courtesy of mediathon.org

By Justin Criado

Are you one of those people that can’t go a day without picking up the newspaper (The Northside Chronicle perhaps) or tuning in every hour on the hour for the latest news broadcast?

If so, the fourth annual Mediathon is sure to be the place for you this Saturday at PNC Park. No journalism or media experience is required, just show up.

This year, the day-long event theme is “Inspire the News.” The objective is to use multiple platforms (video, blogs, Twitter, etc.) to put together a pitch that promotes the current news business and its future direction in two minutes or less.

The doors open and 9:30 a.m. and the event runs until 6:30 p.m. Teams will be assembled and the rest of the time will be for collaborating, creating and constructing the news pitch. Lunch is available.

The top team prize will be $1,000. Other prizes include gift cards, media and tech materials, and drink tickets.

The Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association (PNA) is one of this year’s sponsors and president Teri Henning will serves as one of the competition’s judges.

“We’re very excited about this event and all that it has to offer,” Henning said in a news release. “We’re looking for creative, inspired thinking that motivates not only our news members, but the entire community, to experience and promote the value of the news media industry today, and into the future.”

For more information on how to sign-up visit the official website.