Excellence in Journalism 2014 — a joint effort between the Society of Professional Journalists and the Radio Television Digital News Association — was an incredible success. If you attended, spoke, exhibited, performed, volunteered or followed along online, thank you for being part of the big event.
If you couldn't join us, this collection of recaps, photos, session replays (free to all SPJ members) and student news teams coverage is the next best thing to being there.
Session Replays: Kara Swisher • Paul White/John F. Hogan Awards • Breakout Sessions
Coverage and More: EIJ News • RTDNA Newsroom • Storify Recaps
Connect: EIJ on Facebook • #EIJ14 • @spj_tweets • @eij_news
Session Replays
Super Session Audio
Super Session with Kara Swisher
Description: Hear what it takes to start and maintain a successful tech and media company in the 21st century — and the personal ethics statements that make it possible.
Kara Swisher is co-CEO of Revere Digital and co-founder of technology news and analysis site Re/Code. She previously oversaw the wildly popular “AllThingsD” conferences and website, in partnership with the Wall Street Journal.
At EIJ14, she took the stage to share her story of a female journalist and business owner navigating a segment of the industry that has much less gender (and other) diversity than it should. Along with her business and journalism partner Walt Mossberg, Swisher has interviewed some of the biggest names in tech and media — including a famous exchange on stage that left Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg sweating and the historic joint interview of Apple’s Steve Jobs and Microsoft’s Bill Gates.
— Additional coverage [eijnews.org]
— Additional coverage [rtdna.org]
Super Session Replay
Honoring a Lifetime of Excellence in Journalism
Description: Join us for a very special super session as former NBC Sports Chairman, Dick Ebersol receives the prestigious Paul White Award. Hear directly from Ebersol as he remarks on his illustrious career behind the cameras. Ebersol has a renowned legacy of success on distinguished programs such as Saturday Night Live, the World Series, and the Summer and Winter Olympics.
In addition, you won’t want to miss the presentation of the John F. Hogan Award to longtime CBS Radio News Vice President Harvey Nagler. Nagler spearheads CBS News radio operations worldwide and under his watch the network has won dozens of national and international awards, including RTDNA’s Edward R. Murrow “Overall Excellence Award” for an unprecedented seven years in a row.
— Additional coverage [eijnews.org]
— Paul White Award coverage [rtdna.org]
— John F. Hogan Award coverage [rtdna.org]
Breakout Session Audio
A Digital Approach to Enterprise Stories
Description: Journalists traditionally think of enterprise as a long Sunday story in the newspaper or a special report for TV. Increasingly, we need to think digital-first in our planning of enterprise stories: What are the right tools and the right time for telling your big stories? All journalists and managers will benefit from hearing how to shape thinking toward a digital-first approach, but this session is particularly intended for newsroom managers and leaders.
Trainer: Steve Buttry, long-time editor and digital journalism trainer
Breakout Session Audio
The Anatomy of an Ethics Code Revision
Description: In this town hall-style session, members of the SPJ Ethics Committee will walk the audience members through the revision process and showcase the committee's work in the form of the new proposed Code of Ethics. The interactive session will allow participants to ask questions, comment and make suggestions. This will be the showcase of the code revisions at the national convention.
Moderator: David Cuillier, president, Society of Professional Journalists
Additional coverage [eijnews.org]
Breakout Session Audio
Freelance Foul-Ups: 10 Tips for Pissing off a Hiring Editor (and 10 Ways to Always Get Assignments)
Description: What can you learn from an itinerant editor who's worked for media outlets you've never heard of? If you're a freelancer now or want to be one later, you can learn what NOT to do. Michael Koretzky has spent nearly $1 million hiring freelancers for a Top 100 daily, the nation's largest jazz magazine, two alternative weeklies and three national websites. Discover the best techniques for never getting hired — or getting quickly fired. Students: Learn how to freelance while still in school, and how this trumps those stupid unpaid internships.
Trainer: Michael Koretzky, content director
Additional coverage [eijnews.org]
Breakout Session Audio
Go Global: International Opportunities to Practice or Teach Journalism
Description: Whether you’re a college journalist, a newsroom veteran or a journalism educator, there are opportunities for you to practice or teach the craft abroad. The U.S. government’s Fulbright grants, the Knight International Journalism Fellowships and other programs send journalists and journalism teachers around the world for a range of projects. Opportunities also exist for student and professional journalists to pitch their stories and receive financial support to undertake reporting anywhere in the world. This session will highlight various programs and how to apply. We also will discuss the benefits, challenges and logistics of teaching or practicing journalism in other countries.
Moderator: Jeff South, associate professor, Virginia Commonwealth University
Breakout Session Audio
Google Glass and Wearables: What All Journalists and Newsrooms Should Know (And Test)
Description: Smart devices are moving from your purse or back pocket onto your body. Whether it’s on your wrist, face or elsewhere, wearables are coming and with it will come another disruption to journalism. In this session we’ll see what is out there and explore how these new devices are changing journalism now and in the future.
Trainers: Robert Hernandez, assistant Professor of professional practice, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism; Victor Hernandez, news futurist, CNN Worldwide; Will Sullivan, director of mobile, Broadcasting Board of Governors
Additional coverage [eijnews.org]
Breakout Session Audio
Lessons From Ferguson
Description: Despite calls from the President of the United States, the U.S. Attorney General and the Governor of Missouri to allow journalists to do their jobs, despite a signed agreement with the American Civil Liberties Union of Missouri not to interfere with legitimate newsgathering, and despite repeated promises to allow reporters and their cameras access, law enforcement agencies in Missouri still harassed, threatened and arrested journalists in Ferguson, Missouri. The Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press sent a letter on behalf of 48 journalism organizations on August 15 emphasizing that gathering news and recording police activities, whether by members of the press or the general public, are not crimes. The groups call for training of law enforcement officers on the protections of the First Amendment and respect for the role of newsgatherers. However, there are also complaints the media went overboard in Ferguson. Editorials, including one in the Kansas City Star on August 22, said there has been “some productive, analytical coverage” but “much has been superficial, sensational and lacking context while feeding well-worn stereotypes and narratives.” And a freelancer working for Al Jazeera America wrote a blog describing a spectacle of bad media behavior. This session covers advice for newsrooms covering such a situation, including journalists’ rights, responsibilities and the needs law enforcement has to keep order.
Moderator: Bob Priddy, News Director, MissouriNet
Speakers: Gregg Leslie, Legal Defense Director, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press; Elise Hu, NPR reporter covering Ferguson; Robert Brooks, online editor, Radio-One
Additional coverage [eijnews.org]:
— Reporters Reflect on Lessons Learned in Ferguson
— Covering Ferguson: NPR’s Elise Hu
— In Case You Missed The Ferguson Panel: Storify of the Discussion
Breakout Session Audio
Pushing for Parity: How Women Are Faring in Today's Newsrooms
Description: In the wake of the New York Times firing executive editor Jill Abramson, women are asking what it takes to succeed in media organizations. Forty years after women first began to enter newsrooms in significant numbers, what obstacles prevent more women from rising to the top? Why do women face unequal pay in newsrooms? Is there a double standard for what is expected of women news managers? What professional and personal qualities do women need to succeed? This session will have meaning for everyone from the most seasoned manager to the beginner just starting to climb the ladder — and for the men who work alongside women in newsrooms.
Moderators: Barbara Cochran, Missouri School of Journalism; Jill Geisler, senior faculty, Leadership & Management, The Poynter Institute
Speakers: Amanda Bennett, investigative journalist and author; Marci Burdick, senior vice president broadcasting, Schurz Communications; Margaret Low Smith, President of AtlanticLIVE; Kimberly Voss, associate professor, University of Central Florida; Caryl Rivers, professor, Boston University; Kara Swisher, co-chief executive officer of Revere Digital; Bryan Monroe, Washington editor, opinion & commentary, CNN
— Additional coverage [eijnews.org]
— Additional coverage [rtdna.org]
Breakout Session Audio
Race Coverage: 50 Years of Change
Description: Fifty years after some of the most pivotal moments in the civil rights movement and civil rights legislation, journalism continues to struggle with how to cover race issues in America. In 1964, news organizations were often charged with supporting segregation and downplaying racial conflict. Today, journalists are still figuring out how to cover stories of racial tension — including those most recently related to federal voting laws and state “castle” laws — in fair, representative and truthful ways. In this panel, experts explore how far journalism has come in reporting on race, and how far it still has to go.
Moderator: Patricia Gallagher Newberry, senior lecturer, Miami University Ohio
Speakers: Jerry Mitchell, investigative reporter, Clarion-Ledger; Kathleen Woodruff Wickham, associate professor, University of Mississippi; Michele Norris, host and special correspondent, NPR; Bob Butler, president, National Association of Black Journalists
Additional coverage [eijnews.org]:
— Minority Reporters: How Race And The Media Should Interact
— Exceptional Service: It’s Not Just Journalism
Breakout Session Audio
Real Time #WJCHAT
Description: #wjchat's weekly web journalism Twitter chat will happen IRL. This session, like the Wednesday chat, will harness the wisdom of the crowd to share our collective knowledge and experiences. No slides, no agenda ... join the #wjchat moderators in an engaging conversation about web journalism. (Twitter not required, only awesomeness.)
Trainers: Robert Hernandez (@webjournalist), assistant Professor of professional practice, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism; Kim Bui (@kimbui), digital journalist; André Natta, digital journalist, The Terminal; Robin J. Phillips (@RobinJP), digital director, Reynolds Center for Business Journalism
Breakout Session Audio
Tales of Terror: Fact-Checking Gone Wrong (and How to Do It Right)
Description: How do you know what you think you know? Join NPR Southern Bureau Chief Russell Lewis for an eye-opening look at fact-checking in today's age of hyper-journalism, when the speed of news clashes with the journalist's need for absolute accuracy. Journalism depends on the trust of our readers, listeners, and viewers. If we endanger that trust, we lose our audience, our credibility, and sometimes our jobs. Come hear some terrifying tales of goof-ups that almost made it to air (and some that did), and hear strategies for what you can do as an editor or reporter to make sure they never happen to you. You'll walk away with a good sense of the pitfalls and best practices in getting the story right.
Trainer: Russell Lewis (@NPRrussell), southern bureau chief, NPR
Breakout Session Audio
The New Media Entrepreneur
Description: New York Times ombudsman Margaret Sullivan earlier this year outlined several trends reshaping the news industry. Among them: individuals with deep pockets (some without media experience) buying well-known media properties and individuals with deep knowledge (typically derived in the news business) launching more single-topic sites to dig deep into hot topics. In this panel, CNN “Reliable Sources” host Brian Stelter talks with some of these new media entrepreneurs about the development of these trends and their impact on journalism.
Moderator: Brian Stelter, host, Reliable Sources
Speakers: Etienne Uzac, co-founder and chief executive officer, IBT Media; Kara Swisher, co-chief executive officer of Revere Digital; co-executive editor of Re/code; and co-executive producer of The Code Conference
Additional coverage [eijnews.org]:
— Panel Discussion on Media Entrepreneurship with Industry Heavyweights
— The Experts Break Down New Media Entrepreneurship
Breakout Session Audio
What's the Story? The Art of Writing & Communication
Description: What's the Story? The Art of Writing & Communication Here is what every journalist (new or old) needs to know today about identifying the story (hey, what's the story?!) and writing across all media. Bye bye one-track journalists, hello multimedia journalists. In one session you'll see how it's done - a little print, some broadcast, add in online and toss in some social media then mix it all up for a fun and edgy session called What's the Story: The Art of Writing & Communication. Here is what journalists must do and learn today to survive in the changing world. If you only attend one session, this is the one to keep you current and help you keep the focus on ''what's the story'' no matter what medium you are using.
Trainer: Beth Jannery, director, journalism program, George Mason University
Coverage and more
EIJ News video channel
EIJ News stories
RTDNA Newsroom
– See all stories [RTDNA.org]
More conference recaps: 2013 • 2012 • 2011 • 2010 • 2009 • 2008 • 2007 • 2006
