Data Visualization on the Cheap

Do you work in a small shop where you’re wearing many hats, including web producer? Are you looking for ways to add some web-only components like interactive charts to stories? There’s no need to go back to school or hire a specialist to create a basic interactive graphic. This session will show you how to knock them out using simple and mostly free tools.

Identifying New Sources and Stories Through Social Media Search Engines

Many journalists use social media to promote their work, engage with listeners/readers/viewers and track news. Fewer journalists use social media to systematically identify new sources and stories. This session will introduce participants to a range of specialized social media search engines that will dramatically enhance information gathering for beat reporters, breaking news coverage and long-term investigative journalism projects. The session will focus on how to use these search engines to identify a broader range of both experts and "real people”. Special attention will be given to using LinkedIn as a news-gathering rather than a networking tool.

Learning the Legalities and Liabilities in the Social Media Landscape

This panel discussion will deal with the delicate balance of not only reporting a story and getting an exclusive, but also maneuvering the online landscape and avoiding potential legal landmines. The conversation is particularly important as consumers receive their news in many different ways, and social media is becoming more and more visible, and in turn, more valuable. Therefore, how do you assess the legal risks when engaging in social media, and do you have effective strategies in place to protect your station’s digital reputation – and more importantly, your own as a journalist?

The Intersection of PR and Technology

As journalists embrace new media tools and shouting their praises from rooftops, are PR pros listening? This workshop will show attendees how to apply tools, including Tumblr, Storify and Brand Pages on Google+, in PR communications projects and campaign.

The Mobile Revolution: How Smart Phones & Tablets are Changing the Way We do Business

Mobile phones and other portable devices are increasingly becoming the platforms of choice for a growing number of targeted news media consumers. How can journalists best leverage resources and offer quality journalism to take full advantage of today’s smart technology – and even smarter newsroom talent – to grow audience and revenue?

The Gamification of News

Gamification is the act of applying the technology, look and feel of video games to a task or tool. It serves to make education or the communication of information more fun. Gamifying the news seems new, but has been used for some time. It just has not gone mainstream — yet. A panel of game experts will share their experiences with news gamification and ways to make storytelling more enjoyable for journalists and their audiences.

One-Man Banding and Your Career: How to Do It and Why You Should

For many reporters, working as a one-man band is almost synonymous with "serving time” – putting in the grunt work in a small market with the thought that, one day, they’ll finally be working with a photographer in a top 50 market.But what about those of us who are crazy enough to actually choose to report, shoot and edit for a career? As stations push toward higher efficiency and try to figure out how to do more with less, reporters need to expand their skill set beyond great writing and storytelling. Suddenly "proficiency in shooting and editing” are requirements for almost any job posting. And while traditional reporting jobs still exist, they are increasingly difficult to come by. The fact is clear: digital journalist/multimedia journalists/one-man bands are quickly becoming the norm at many stations across the country. And if you’re prepared, you can use that to your advantage. So how do you move into a successful career as a "one-man band?” How do you find time to creatively shoot a story, but make sure your reporting doesn’t suffer? How do you compete with two-person crews from other stations? And how will a career in multimedia journalism get you to a bigger market faster? In this workshop, we will discuss multimedia journalism as a career, how to do it and why you should.