in WC.C. r.AMPTIS voice - DECEMBER 6. 2000 Students travel to learn about newspai Students in JOU 110 pose at the entrance of the Post plant in College Park, MD, prior to their visit to the Newseum in Arlington, VA. ESHUSa By MELISSA LANE On October 29 at 6:00 a.m., 5 Journalism 110 students and 3 adults loaded up a WCC van and headed north for College Park, Maryland and Arlington, Virginia. Students Amber Beard, Drake Frasure, Jennifer Benfield, Kristin Davis, and Melissa Lane were accompanied by Liz Meador, journalism instructor; Tara Humphries, Public Information Officer for WCC; and Matt Shaw, her husband, reporter and editor for the newspaper of the County Commissioners Association. Their destination was The Washington Post Plant and the Newseum. The Washington Post holds a "Reader's Day" 2-4 times a year. The plant opens its doors and allows readers to get a first-hand look of how newspapers are made. The tour of the plant started at approximately 12:00. Public Relations officials for The Post greeted visitors and gave them press passes for identification. . Visitors were led on a tour through the Reel Room, the Press Room, and the Distribution Center, where Public Relations staff explained basic operations and answered questions. The Reel Room allowed visitors to see the enormous rolls of paper needed to produce The Post each day. Each roll is a whopping 2,005 pounds that can produce 28,000 pages of print, equal to 292 papers. Students were also amazed by the 8 presses housed in the Press Room that printed 7,000 papers per hour. The 160-feet presses weigh more than 750 tons each and soar up to 50 feet in some areas. Public Relations staff member Nakeisha Mason explains how plates are made at the Post Press Room. Visitors saw how the Post used conveyors to transport the newly printed-papers to the Distribution Center. There, papers are automatically counted, bundled, and dispatched for distribution to readers all around the world. The tour ended in a reception area where visitors were given lemonade, cookies, and a bag of goodies including a key chain and paper cutter. During refreshments, visitors were able to ask questions and speak with actual Post reporters. Students met Ron Shaffer, aka Dr. Gridlock, who writes a traffic column 4 days a week for The Post. They also chatted with the editor of the Kids Post, a feature page for children much like the News-Argus Mini-Page. After the completion of the tour, the students traveled to Arlington, Virginia to visit the Newseum, the only interactive museum of news. In the Newseum, visitors get a behind-the-scenes look to see and experience how and why news is made. Ilf f n M*. ■ Journalism students discuss with Dr. Gridlock the Post traffic column that appears Monday through Thursday under his byline:, (L to R): Drake Frasure, Dr. Gridlock, Kristin Davis, Melissa Lane, Jennifer Benfield, and Amber Beard. At the Freedom Forum adja^^*i visitors can see a glass sculp^U: journalists who died in the