Thursday, August 12, 2010
The Entire Conversation: Using Social Media Tools to Reach Content-hungry Audiences
Find out how to use new tools to listen to the world around you in new ways; connect with readers, sources and colleagues; create better, more timely stories, and save time each and every day. From Facebook to Bing and beyond, these tools are changing daily but Jeff Cutler has his fingers on the pulse of the social media world and can show you how to do the same. Appropriate for anyone who's wondered about the unwritten rules of Twitter or the intricacies of other apps, tools and websites. Please note: Participants MUST bring their own laptop to participate.
Trainer: Jeff Cutler, trainer, SPJ Newsroom Training Program | Click for speaker information
Jeff Cutler, trainer, SPJ Newsroom Training Program
In 1992, Jeff Cutler was delivering words to MacConnection, HomeQuarters Warehouse, the Boston Herald and the Mariner Newspaper chain. From there he expanded into projects for Fidelity Investments, WearGuard, Talbots and a host of other respected businesses.
These days, in addition to his new-media presence, Jeff's a credentialed reporter covering events like major golf tournaments and sporting events, the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas, and film festivals and lifestyle events all over the world.
His current project load includes articles and features for Gatehouse Media, a slew of social-media projects including blogs and podcasts, columns and editorials for a variety of clients, as well as the completion of marketing and branding initiatives for recognized names like Brookstone, TJX and UNO Restaurant Group.
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Show Me the Money: How to Get More Lucrative Freelance Assignments
Writing fees have plummeted over the past few years, as legacy media budgets shrink and digital media outlets increasingly look for content that?s either cheap or free. Many veteran freelancers have watched their paychecks shrink, as articles which once commanded several thousand dollars now earn a fraction of that. Yet, despite the industry trends and global recession, some independent journalists are having their best years ever. How do they do it?
This workshop will answer that question in depth, as we examine how freelance writers can deepen their expertise, diversify their revenue streams, market themselves more effectively and master the business side of freelancing for a living. Attendees will walk away with ample resources for boosting their bottom line, including: the three key marketing documents that every freelancer needs, tips for finding writing assignments in unconventional places, and the only tool anyone needs to organize and monitor pitches. We?ll also discuss the basics of money management, from budgeting and bookkeeping to tax planning and retirement savings.
Trainer: Maya Payne Smart, WritingCoach.com | Click for speaker information
Maya Payne Smart, WritingCoach.com
Maya Payne Smart, editor and publisher of WritingCoach.com, is a freelance writer who has written hundreds of articles and how-to guides for newspapers, magazines and websites, including Black Enterprise, CNNMoney.com, Edutopia and Heart & Soul. Smart represents independent journalists on the board of the Society of American Business Editors and Writers, and she hosts freelance seminars for the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism and other organizations. She earned a bachelor's degree in social studies from Harvard University in 2002 and a master's degree in editorial journalism from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University in 2005. Smart founded WritingCoach.com in 2009.
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Video for the Web
We know the audience wants more video online, and this workshop can help you give it to them. Learn the basics of video storytelling in this hands-on session. Explore the gear, the terminology, how to get the video you need, and the basics of on-camera interviewing. Video for the Web teaches the skills you need to shoot a solid video story.
Trainer: Deb Wenger, trainer, SPJ Newsroom Training Program | Click for speaker information
Deb Wenger, trainer, SPJ Newsroom Training Program
Deb Halpern Wenger worked in newsrooms for nearly two decades before becoming an assistant professor at the University of Mississippi. Prior to her academic appointments, Deb served as assistant news director at WFLA-TV in Tampa, Fla. She started her career as a small town newspaper reporter in western North Dakota. From there, she took a job as a reporter/anchor at KXJB in Fargo, N.D., moved on to producing at WBBH in Ft. Myers, Fla. and WMUR in Manchester, N.H. then became executive producer at WSOC in Charlotte, N.C.
Wenger conducts multimedia training in newsrooms around the country and is coauthor of the broadcast and online journalism curricula for the Society of Professional Journalists? Newsroom Training Program. She has been invited to work as visiting faculty for The Poynter Institute and has been a part of the Committee of Concerned Journalists Traveling Curriculum through the Project for Excellence in Journalism. Wenger is co-author of a journalism textbook, ?Advancing the Story: Broadcast Journalism in a Multimedia World? and her blog can be found at advancingthestory.com.
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The Art of Storytelling: Getting to the Heart of the Story
Two television reporters, one became known for investigations, the other for features. Yet they share a passion for stories that touch viewers ? sometimes their hearts and sometimes a nerve. Together they will share the storytelling techniques that have earned them some of broadcast journalism's highest honors. Come ready for a workshop packed with practical tips to help journalists tell stronger and more memorable stories.
Trainers: Tom Merriman, former investigative reporter, WJW Channel 8, Cleveland Boyd Huppert, features reporter, KARE 11, Minneapolis-St. Paul | Click for speaker information
Boyd Huppert, features reporter, KARE 11, Minneapolis-St. Paul
Boyd Huppert recently marked his 25th year as a reporter, including 14 years at KARE-TV in Minneapolis. During that time Boyd has become widely known for his work as a storyteller and teacher.
Boyd has presented more than 100 storytelling sessions at venues including Poynter Institute, National Writers Workshop, Danish Broadcasting and TV New Zealand. Boyd is also a longtime faculty member at the NPPA's Advanced Storytelling Workshop, held each spring at Texas State University - San Marcos.
Boyd has earned national recognition for his work as a reporter, including the 2006 National Emmy for feature reporting, the Sigma Delta Chi Award, the National Headliner Grand Award and five National Edward R. Murrow Awards.
Boyd grew up on a dairy farm in Wisconsin. Prior to his arrival at KARE, he spent time at WSAW-TV in Wausau, KETV in Omaha and WITI-TV in Milwaukee. Boyd and his wife Sheri have two sons, Sam and Matt.
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From Officials? Grubbies to the Web: How to Acquire Government Data and Post it Online for the Public
This workshop will provide the nuts-and-bolts tips for acquiring government data, producing great stories, and posting the information on the Web for the public to search and browse. The first hour will provide examples of dozens of practical databases that you can acquire and provide for the public, bolstering stories and driving readers to your Web site. The second hour will focus on tips for getting the data from government officials, including psychological strategies and ways of reducing or eliminating exorbitant copy fees. The third hour will demonstrate techniques using free open-source software for posting that data to the Web for anyone to search and peruse. Get great story ideas, hone your access smarts, and develop marketable new-media skills all in one session!
Trainer: Dave Cuillier, trainer, SPJ Newsroom Training Program | Click for speaker information
Dave Cuillier, trainer, SPJ Newsroom Training Program
David Cuillier is an assistant professor of journalism at the University of Arizona, where he teaches public affairs reporting, computer-assisted reporting, and access to information. He has a master?s degree and doctorate in communication from Washington State University and was a public affairs reporter and city editor for 12 years at daily newspapers in the Pacific Northwest.
He helped coordinate an access audit for Washington state in 2001, assists coalitions for open government and has conducted access training for newspapers and regional SPJ conferences. His research focuses on the psychology of access ? factors that affect public attitudes toward access to government records and strategies that journalists and citizens can use to increase their success at accessing public records.
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Creating Multi-platform Stories
Learn to take advantage of the strengths of each platform to create your own multi-platform stories. Become your own "team coverage" Find out how to get viewers, readers and surfers to watch, read and surf your content. Whether you're a Jack (or Jill) of all media, or work with a team of journalists from other platforms, bring your story ideas and let's explore how you can turn them into multi-platform stories when you head back to your newsroom.
Trainer: Victoria Lim, trainer, SPJ Newsroom Training Program | Click for speaker information
Victoria Lim, trainer, SPJ Newsroom Training Program
Nicknamed the "Queen of Convergence," Victoria Lim became an award-winning multi-platform, multimedia reporter before anyone even knew what that was... or would become. For more than a decade, Victoria has been reporting for broadcast, print and online.
You can read, watch and surf Victoria's sports stories for Bright House Sports Network, a 24-hour regional sports cable channel serving central Florida. Prior to joining BHSN, Victoria served as the senior consumer reporter for WFLA-TV, the Tampa Tribune and tbo.com, earning more than two dozen honors including an Emmy, an Associated Press Individual Achievement award and being named Florida "Journalist of the Year" by the Society of Professional Journalists.
She's taught communications, news writing, and multimedia reporting at the University of Tampa, University of South Florida, and the highly regarded University of Missouri Journalism School. Victoria also provides newsroom training to journalism professionals nationally and internationally.
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Reporting on the Big National Count
Get ready to report on the 2010 Census with leaders from Investigative Reporters and Editors. The workshop will get you up to speed on everything you need to know to make sense of the data and find stories that provide insight and unexpected results for your audience. Topics will include:
? The Form: Gain a better understanding including what is asked ? and what isn?t. Get a basic overview of the form, schedule and overall process, and learn how it shapes stories.
? The Rise of the American Community Survey: Explore the crucial and still-changing role of the ACS now that the long census form is gone. How it's better (and worse) than the long form. Learn how to use census and ACS data for what it does best ? and learn not to confuse readers. Learn how to use new tools, from IPUMS to ESRI's Business Analyst Online, to drill deeper into local demographics.
? Story Ideas: What stories can and should be explored, including reapportionment and redistricting, segregation and diversity, growth and sprawl?
Trainers: Doug Haddix, training director, IRE; Paul Overberg, database editor, USA Today | Click for speaker information
Doug Haddix, training director, Investigative Reporters and Editors
Doug Haddix joined IRE as training director in September 2008. He worked as projects editor at the Columbus Dispatch for 10 years, overseeing an investigation of Ohio?s flawed DNA-testing system for inmates that has freed three wrongly convicted men from prison and a project that uncovered gaping holes in the safety net for disciplining teachers statewide. Previously, he worked as an editor in Scranton, Pa., and Danville, Ill. He has a master?s degree in journalism from Indiana University.
Paul Overberg, database editor, USA Today
Paul Overberg is a database editor at USA Today. He helps to coordinate its demographic coverage and analyzes data on a variety of subjects. Since 1997, he has led training in using census data for hundreds of journalists, including a series of special IRE workshops before Census 2000. He had earlier been a science and environmental reporter and editor at Gannett News Service in Washington. He started his professional career at The Courier-News in Bridgewater, N.J.