Primer Impacto host Satcha Pretto will speak to ASU journalism students--and whoever else wants to hear--about TV news and commentary during ASU's "Journalism Day" Thursday.  Other ASU Communications grads will talk about television and entertainment, and photojournalism.  (photo from Univision Web site)

The U.S. Department of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics gives aspiring journalists a less-than-emphatic pat on the back. Actually, it’s more like a yield sign: Employment for news analysts, reporters, and correspondents is only expected to grow 2 percent between 2006 and 2016.

Still, future Ted Koppels and Katie Courics can dream. They just better earn another degree besides their journalism diplomas. And they need brush up on their new media skills, so they can bring news to the web in fresh and interactive ways, according to the agency.

For more insider industry info—this time from Angelo State University graduates who are at the top of their field—attend ASU’s “Journalism Day” Thursday, when four Angelo State University journalism and communication graduates will return to campus as the keynote speakers in the Houston Harte University Center.

Journalism Day events will run from 9:30 a.m.-3:15 p.m. Thursday in the University Center’s C.J. Davidson Conference Center and are open free to the public.

“They’re going to do a brief synopsis of how they wound their way in their careers to the point they’re at now,” says Dr. June Smith, chair of the Department of Communication, Drama and Journalism. “And then they’ll talk about best practices in terms of preparing for such a career, and about the state of the particular segment they’re in.

“Our main purpose is to let our students and the community meet these folks, but particularly for our students to explore the wide variety of [career paths] they can experience with journalism, even drama degrees, and talk to folks who have done very well in these areas.”

Speakers will include Daniel Devereaux, a 1994 ASU graduate and manager of NBC’s Broadcast Operations Northeast; Bhavesh Patel, a 1994 graduate and veteran of hundreds of on-air marketing campaigns for CBS, NBC, Fox, and HBO in Los Angeles; Satcha Pretto, a 2001 graduate and co-host of “Primer Impacto Fin de Semana” on the Univision TV network; and Luis Rios, a 1983 graduate and director of photography for the Miami Herald newspaper in Florida, according to an ASU press release.

Devereaux and Patel will kick off the program at 9:30 a.m. with a session on television and entertainment. At 11 a.m., Rios will address photography journalism, followed by Pretto’s presentation on TV news and commentary at 12:30 p.m. All four speakers will then gather at 2 p.m. for a panel discussion moderated by Smith. Each session will include question-and-answer time for the audience.

In his current position, Devereaux manages five NBC affiliates from his office at 30 Rockefeller Plaza, New York City. Pavel now works for an independent post-production company in Los Angeles. Pretto, prior to joining Univision in Miami, had worked as a reporter and anchor for the nightly edition of KTLE-Telemundo, and as a CNN correspondent. Each studied radio/TV with communication instructor Pat Turner and helped her implement ASU’s current radio/TV programs.

Rios is also photo editor for the “Iris Photo Collective” Web site. His daughter, Jennifer, is immediate past editor of ASU’s Ram Page, and is currently serving a Scripps Howard internship in Washington, D.C.

Funding for the Journalism Day activities comes from a Scripps Howard Journalism Fund Grant distributed for the purpose of encouraging students to consider journalism as a major and career.

--An ASU press release contributed to this report.