10:30 a.m. – 11:30 a.m.
Newsroom Productivity: Feeding Your Passion While Feeding the Beast
Erin Jordan, Investigative Reporter, The Iowa Gazette, Iowa Watch
Your days as a reporter are jammed with meetings, hearings and interviews on stories that are worthwhile but assigned by someone else. How do you identify and find time for stories that inspire you? We’ll talk about extracting enterprise stories from your beat, chipping away at passion projects and convincing your editor these stories are worth it.
1:15 p.m. – 2:00 p.m.
Rapp News + Foothills Forum: A new model for doing in-depth journalism at small-town newspapers
Dennis Brack, Publisher, Rapp News, Andy Alexander, Foothills Forum and Randy Rieland, Foothills Forum
Like many small newspapers, the Rappahannock News lacked the staff to produce in-depth projects that required dedicated reporting resources. But the newspaper appreciated the need for deep dives into critical community issues. To meet this challenge, a non-profit group called Foothills Forum coalesced and has partnered with the paper to produce impactful, award winning journalism supported by the community. We’ll look at some of the work, and we’ll explain our partnership and how it can work in other places.
2:15 p.m. – 3:00 p.m.
Murder, mystery and podcasts: Pilot journalists show you how they made a podcast and how you can do the same
Gary Harki, Investigative Reporter, The Virginian-Pilot; Joanne Kimberlin, Enterprise Writer, The Virginian-Pilot; and Randy Greenwell Photo Team Leader, The Virginian-Pilot.
Come talk with the team behind The Shot, The Virginian-Pilot’s podcast about the only unsolved cop killing in Hampton Roads. If it wasn’t the perfect crime, it was close enough. The team will talk about how to decide if a story is worth breaking out into a big project, and how to apply a narrative approach to similar cold cases big and small.
3:00 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Flash Sessions for Editors!
‘Flash sessions’ are quick and practical, and give audience members clear take-aways.
“Let’s Talk About Interviewing…” with RTD managing editor, Mike Szvetitz
Learn how to perfect the art of interviewing with seasoned reporter and editor Mike Szevitz. It won’t last long, but you will walk away with a lot of tips on how to navigate that next difficult interview subject.
“15×15: Story Ideas to Take Home,” with longtime reporter, editor and professor Tom Kapsidelis.
A group brainstorming session moderated by longtime Virginia newspaper man Tom Kapsidelis. You will spitball story ideas and leave with a handful you can take back to your newsroom.
2018 News & Advertising Conference 