For information about NABJ's Super Workshops, click here.

Thursday, August 17, 2006
1:00 p.m. - 2:30 p.m.

Role of Minority Journalists in Integrating Motorsports
What more appropriate setting than in Indianapolis, the home of the Indianapolis 500, is there to discuss the issue of the lack of minority participation in motorsports? This session discusses the progress, remaining challenges and the role that minority journalists can play in integrating the United States’ fastest-growing spectator sport.

When Disaster Strikes!
sponsored by CNN
Do you know what to do when disaster strikes? Can you deliver fast, effective, informative reporting in the midst of a hurricane, wildfire, flood, snowstorm or tornado? You've watched gut wrenching reporting during Katrina, Rita, California mudslides and the Tsunami. Now learn how you too can hit the ground running when disaster strikes. No matter if you work in a flood plain, tornado land, hurricane region, or a dry fire prone zone, this workshop will prepare you for any catastrophe that Mother Nature throws your way. This workshop will also cover new technologies that are being used in the field to get an edge on the competition. And a closer look at how these new technologies allow information to be transmitted when traditional means (power, phone lines, etc.) are not operating.   

Rising from the Lay-Off Ashes
Laid off?  Ducking downsizing? Recreate yourself to get a new job or find another to hold in the same newsroom. Gayle Pollard-Terry went from the Los Angeles Times Editorial Board to the Southern California Living section. When that section closed, she became a Style writer for Calendar.  When the Style team was disbanded, she joined the Sunday Real Estate section. Her route is not unusual. Panelist Jacqueline Thomas went from Washington Bureau Chief for the Detroit News to Editorial Page Editor of the Baltimore Sun, and after a fellowship she became Assistant Editor for Features at the Indianapolis Sun.  Panelists Joe Davidson has done it all, mainstream press, black press, public relations and now serves as editor of the District Extra for The Washington Post. 

Covering Difficult Assignments: How to Put Personal Opinions, Friendships Aside and Get the Story Done
Sponsored by The E.W. Scripps Company
This session will give guidance to reporters and editors/producers on how to handle difficult assignments involving people or organizations, businesses or churches they know personally or issues they have strong opinions about. Journalists are supposed to be non-biased in their coverage, but reporters are human just like everyone else. Among the questions to be answered: How does a journalist decide whether to remove himself/herself from a story and pass it on to someone else? Are friendships, religious beliefs or family connections a hindrance to covering a story fairly? Can journalists push personal biases aside and focus on issues in a way that is fair and accurate? 

Access to Athletes:  How to Get the Big Interview
Getting access to athletes, especially the big names can at times be hard or even near impossible.  Hear from top executives in the field – including sports producers, reporters and PR reps – how to get access to marquee athletes and grow relationships with the players and those on the front line of managing their interviews.

Plagiarism: Do You Copy?
Sponsored by NABJ Copy Editors Task Force
The high-caliber panel will address: how plagiarism has affected newspapers’ and journalists’ credibility; how readers have responded to reported cases; what are some of the red flags; fact-checking tips; and how can we (as copy editors, reporters and editors) protect features, sports and news stories from plagiarism. 

The Magazine Jobs You Don't Know About
Sponsored by Time, Inc.
It takes more than writers and editors to put together a compelling magazine. The impact of a magazine is an intricate dance between image, text and layout as well as how they ultimately come together at the newsstand. But who does what? And what skills do you need to get these kinds of jobs? This workshop will give you insider knowledge of the positions that give publications their visual point of view, journalistic integrity and also ensure that they get on the newsstand on time each month. And offer insight on how to land one.

Job Interviews: Seal The Deal
Learn what news managers are looking for when you walk in the door for a job interview.

Can Entertainment and News Coexist in the Newsroom?
Sponsored by NABJ Arts & Entertainment Task Force
More and more, newspapers and television stations are devoting more time to entertainment news and giving it more resources. Is it to the detriment of ‘real’ news? Can entertainment be newsworthy? Why are we so enamored with entertainment, and what does it say about American culture?

Picture Editing Today
Sponsored by NABJ Visual Task Force
A look at new photographic technology and how it has caused editing photographs for the media to evolve.

Black Ownership in Radio: Why it Matters Who is in Charge
Black radio has a rich history in communications and social activism in African-American communities across the nation. In Chicago, black radio is credited with getting Mayor Harold Washington elected in the 1980s. Today, local black ownership nationwide is diminishing as mega conglomerates such as Clear Channel dominate the market. One shining star is Cathy Hughes’ Radio One, which has 69 radio stations in 22 major markets across the country. What is the role of black radio today? Does it still have political clout? What are the business issues involved in owning and operating a successful radio station? How can an entrepreneur acquire a radio station? Does it really matter whether a station is black owned? (Yes it does.)

The Real Face of Islam:Media Perceptions and Misperceptions
In the United States, nearly a third of Muslims are believed to be African-Americans.

So to understand the full range of American-Americans, we should have a clear understanding about Islam.

In America, have we seen the "true face" of Islam? Is there a monolithic representation of Islam? What is the history of Islam in the United States and its impact upon the African-American community?

This panel will have a strong focus, not just on explaining the Islamic faith or offering a primer on the so-called Islamic culture, but connecting the dots to journalism, media and media coverage.

Thursday, August 17
2:45 p.m. - 4:15 p.m.

So you want to be a News Director?...
Sponsored by NBC Universal
Do you think you've got the chops to run a newsroom? Are you ready to put your gifted management skills and innate news sense to work? Perhaps you're just looking for a little guidance to make that change. This is your opportunity to network with current executives and learn about their experiences. Attend the NBC sponsored "So you want to be a News Director” panel to get advice on advancing your career. Discover what made others succeed and hear suggestions for customizing your future in management. Please bring business cards and stay to informally meet with our panelists and other attendees.

Closing the Head-Coaching Gap in College Football and Womens Basketball
Sponsored by the NABJ Sports Task Force
This solution-oriented session will focus on innovative approaches to increasing the numbers of black head coaches in college football and womens basketball.

Play it Forward: Making the Perfect Escape Tape
The resume tape is the calling card for every broadcast journalist trying to land that coveted reporter or anchor job. It’s also the first look a news director will have at you ... so it has to be perfect. Learn the techniques that have helped journalists around the country land their dream jobs within days of sending resume tapes.

Growing Our Own
The newspaper and broadcast industries have been justifiably accused of dragging their feet when it comes to recruiting and hiring journalists of color. NABJ chapters throughout the country have responded to those concerns by training high school and college students with an interest in careers in journalism. This session looks at how working journalists devote tons of time to make it happen. They recruit students through schools, churches and the media. They involve newspapers, radio stations, TV stations so the students’ stories can be published and they can produce broadcast tapes. NABJ chapters also provide students with scholarships and lifelong contacts for references and career advice. Journalists benefit, too. The academies help their passion for the profession to be re-ignited. They gain a renewal in the core principles of journalism through explaining and teaching them to others. The students’ stories also serve as editing and learning tools. 

Crossing Over: Leaving the General Store
This session is designed to offer transition strategies to those attempting to multitask in a competitive news environment. The goal is to help take the guesswork out of ‘time management’ challenges when trying to juggle an abundance of work, duties and deadlines.

Finding your Niche Online
Sponsored by WashingtonPost.com/Newsweek Interactive
The changing face of journalism online. How the print journalist can expand skills, audience and influence through the unique tools offered by online news, including vodcasting, podcasting, blogs and other new media technology.

From Newsroom to Classroom ... Full-time
Are you ready to move your full-time work routine from the newsroom to the classroom? Are you ready to do much more than lecture and grade papers? Get ready to serve on university committees, advise dozens of students and co-manage your department or school. Cultural differences between newsrooms and classrooms are dramatic, yet not foreboding if you come prepared. This session will help.

Staying Alive: Survival Skills for Senior Journalists
This session will examine issues facing older black journalists, including age discrimination on top of racism and sexism, during a time of layoffs and cutbacks. The session also will provide an opportunity for senior journalists to speak with their younger colleagues about the promises and pitfalls of the craft.

How To Write About Them
Sponsored by the NABJ Gay and Lesbian Taskforce and NLGJA
No one knows better than black folks how easily reporters from outside the community can get it wrong when covering us. The situation can be just as tricky when writing about gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender issues. How do you get your pronouns straight (as it were) when talking about a transgender person? And, by the way, is it ‘transgender’ or ‘transgendered’? What words and phrases do LGBT readers and listeners object to and why? Copy editors explain it - once and for all. If you’re a copy editor or a reporter, you'll need this knowledge.

Out of the Gate: Surviving the First Five Years of Journalism
You've landed your first job. If you’re in broadcast, print, magazine or online, you need survival skills. This workshop uncovers ways in which young journalists can develop lasting careers within their news organizations. Learn how to hone your craft and stay motivated so you are ready for the challenges that come along with a career in journalism. Survival skills for the young journalist in their first five professional years will be explored.

Building a Stronger Black Press
Sponsored by the NABJ Black Press Committee
“The Black Press” is a viable entity providing a perspective that is more and more necessary in today's society. The viability of the Black Press is a question that continues to be a topic of discussion as more newspapers stop publishing. But there is a place for the Black Press and today’s publishers are concerned about bettering the quality of their publications and providing more extensive coverage of black issues. This session is designed to silence critics of the Black Press by exhibiting the growth of publications and the extensive coverage that is only seen in black publications.

Black Women in the Newsroom: Stomping Out the Stereotype
Ever been accused of whining when stressing the importance of bringing diversity to your organization’s news and features coverage, as well as to its staffing? Do you often feel your opinions aren’t given the same weight as those of your male counterparts? This panel enlists print and broadcast journalists for a discussion of how we encourage our organizations to make inclusivity a part of the mission statement and how our unique range of experiences can enrich the newsroom.  We'll offer strategies to budding movers and shakers for bringing about positive newsroom change without sounding like complainers and thus becoming marginalized.

Things the Boss Won't Tell You
Special Time: 2:45 to 4:30 p.m.
Ever wonder why certain decisions are made in the newsroom?  This session takes you inside the sometimes secret world of decision-making regarding hiring, firing, promotions and demotions.  It also gives you valuable tips on navigating through turbulent waters to keep you from taking on water in the tough world of office politics.   

Workshop Session IV
Friday, August 18, 2006
4 - 5:30 p.m.

Building Black Wealth
Sponsored by State Farm Insurance
Whether you’re becoming wealthier than you ever expected or experiencing downsizing and layoffs, we all need financial guidance. In this session, corporate financial experts who specialize in investments, banking, and life insurance annuities along with noted personal finance columnists from around the country will offer financial guidance and strategies to build, invest, manage and maintain black wealth.

The Future of Television News
When news breaks millions, of young people ages 19 to 34 don’t wait to watch the television network evening news. They use their iPods, Internet-capable cellular phones and instant messaging as their primary means of news and information. Does this mean the days of the traditional broadcast networks are numbered? Leaders of CBS, NBC and ABC will answer this question and discuss whether there will be jobs for the thousands of broadcasters who aspire to work for “the network.”

Taking Care of Business
The thrill is gone. You’re  not learning, not growing, not happy,not being mentored, groomed or any of the other things you expected to have happen by this point in your career. Learn from professional coaches how to take charge of your growth, invest in yourself and stop waiting for the boss to do it.

Putting Your Best Face Forward:  How to Achieve a Polished Look On Air
As journalists, appearance is supposed to take a back seat to the facts and information.  Truth be told, appearance is important. Having spent the last several years critiquing tapes at the job fair I have noticed that young journalists have a myriad of questions regarding how to present a polished appearance. I see the same make-up mistakes over and over again. My make-up artist, Patrece Williams will show everyone how to properly apply makeup for television.   

Vocal Longevity: Helping The Voice Survive As Long As You Do
Constant ‘use’ of the voice may become 'abuse' that can have devastating results for a broadcaster. This workshop will focus on the latest techniques for maintaining vocal health and stamina. To avoid ‘vocal burnout’ everyone in the newsroom including news directors and technicians need to understand vocal production and ways to keep the voice healthy. Learn to recognize the 20 symptoms of vocal stress, understand how environmental and lifestyle choices can promote or limit vocal health. Finally, learn breathing techniques that can make the voice healthier and happier. This workshop offers these voice-saving techniques that will last a lifetime.

How To Land Your Dream Job Before 30
Sponsored by the NABJ Young Journalists Task Force
This session will be for young journalists – a lesson on steps they can take now to put them on the right path for the future.

Should We Print/Broadcast That Story?
Interactive seminar will offer tips and guidelines on handling sensitive stories. From questioning the essence of the information through verification and respecting of sources, the seminar will help both journalists in staying within ethical boundaries and yet continue to churn out great projects. This is part of NABJ’s goal to encourage the best of ethical practices already in place among its membership and throughout the industry. On matters large and small, individuals with professional commitments to credibility, integrity and truthfulness will make the biggest difference.

Moving to the Business Side
Recent events have shown that much of the power in the news industry has shifted to the business side. Considering that once the road to the publisher’s office was through editorial, today it is through the business side. Hear from three people who have made the move.

Workshop Session III
Friday, August 18, 2006
2:00 p.m. - 3:30 p.m.

Adopting a Child - A Timely Decision
African Americans have a strong tradition of taking in the children of non-relatives in need of a home. The notion dates back to the African proverb, ‘it takes a village to raise a child.’ The village of the 21st Century has an even stronger calling to free the thousands of children of color languishing in foster care, waiting for an adoptive home. This workshop explores what is involved in the process of adoption, both domestically and internationally, and why black professionals must take the lead on this issue.

How to Win a Journalism Fellowship
Turbocharge your career! A journalism fellowship may be just what you need to take your career to the next level. Hear a panel of journalists who have won prestigious and invigorating journalism fellowships -- the Nieman at Harvard, the Knight Fellowships at Stanford and the the Knight-Wallace Fellowships at the University of Michigan -- give tips on how to win a fellowship, and tell how their fellowships enhanced their lives and careers. Many fellows have gone on to win promotions, Pulitzer Prizes, Emmys, DuPont Columbia batons and more. How about you?

What Happened to the Love Affair with Baseball
This year, the Hall of Fame, in a historic move, is considering for induction 38 men and one woman who were either players or team officials from ‘black baseball’. The Hall of Fame brought together some of the best historians and asked them to research the Negro Leagues and the leagues that pre-dated it to see if some people were slighted in the early efforts to honor black ballplayers and pioneers with a shrine in Cooperstown.

Now for  Some Really Young Journalists
Summer workshops sponsored by the Dow Jones Newspaper Fund and weekend journalism workshops offered by NABJ chapters have helped student journalists learn to practice the craft. In-classroom school-year programs with professional mentors like the Prime Movers program at George Washington University and San Francisco State University have made a difference. Pros and the students who work with them talk about what each has gained and learned as we try to keep the pipeline filled with bright, aspiring journalists.

Our Town, Their Story
Six native New Orleanians -- all journalists -- remark on the coverage of their city, the well reported stories and the stories that weren’t covered during Hurricane Katrina, and what it felt like not to be in the throes of it all in New Orleans.  

Me, Inc. How to Run Yourself as Your Own Media Business
As more and more journalists find that their primary work is shifting from being an employee to becoming an independent contractor/freelancer, journalists may be ill-equipped to navigate the business needs and responsibilities that come with the territory. This will be a nuts and bolts discussion on what you need to know to run yourself as a business. The objective is to identify viable, measurable and accurate subject matter/topic discussions that teach, empower and enlighten our members on public relations, journalism and ethics. This panel will focus on a journalist’s  role in media relations, community impact, ethics, popular events and technology. 

The Blogger Buzz
Part online diary and part digital soapbox, Web logs have invaded newsrooms grabbing the media industry's attention. This session examines the online phenomenon in relation to popularity and creative expression. Panelists also discuss legal issues surrounding blogs, and their role in daily journalism. By the end of this session, attendees will know how to start and maintain their own Web logs.

Saturday, August 19, 2006
9:00 a.m. -10:30 a.m.

Are We Running From Behind
Sponsored by the NABJ Sports Task Force
Are black sports journalists lagging in the ever-changing, fast paced world of blogging, web journalism, vlogs and sports talk radio. While we are still concerned about hiring black journalists in newsrooms, we are falling behind in the new direction of sports journalism.

New Media:  Digital Storytelling Goes Beneath the Surface
Sponsored by E.W. Scripps
The industry is looking for journalists who are knowledgeable in multi-media storytelling.  In this session, participants will learn how cutting edge technology is becoming a critical factor in creating more engaging and in-depth news stories and how to position themselves for new media opportunities.
   

How to Find Anybody Anywhere
Sponsored by the NABJ Investigative Journalists Committee
Leave this session with tips on how to take your stories to the next level.  Even if you aren't currently working in an investigative unit “all” reporting should be investigative. Using the techniques you learn from this panel, you’ll beat the competition every time! It’s not hard to do but it is a way of thinking, a way of looking at every story even day to day deadline reporting.

The Power of Public Relations in a Journalism World
This panel discussion will provide information, bring exposure and highlight this panel will discuss the thin line between reporting newsworthy stories and promoting PR issues as news. Also, this panel will look at past moments in the media that can highlight and spark a open dialogue on ethics and fairness.

Pump Up the Volume
Sponsored by BET-Black Entertainment Television
With the “in your face” style of delivery, news is being presented with a more provocative edge.  This panel is a discussion of the injection of personality and perspective into the presentation of news.

By the Numbers: Women and Minorities in Local Television and Radio
Presenter: Bob Papper, Professor of Telecommunications, Ball State University
Produced by Radio Television News Directors Foundation
Sponsored by The Scripps Howard Foundation and The Gannett Foundation
The percentage of minorities working in local television news last year rose to the second-highest level ever but minorities working in local radio news was down. What do these numbers mean?  Has the diversity of local newsrooms really changed? In this session, Ball State University Professor Bob Papper will examine the latest RTNDA/Ball State University’s Annual Survey of women and minorities to look at trends in local media. 

Women on the Front Lines
This panel will look at the experiences female journalists have had reporting in conflict zones, through the eyes of several women correspondents who have reported during wartime or on civil disturbances.. Is it more difficult or is it easier for a woman to report on live conflicts? What kind of training is required, and what are some of the stresses involved? What impact does it have on a journalists personal life? Panelists will share their experiences and provide guidance.