‘10 Spring Conf.

April 10, 2010 Spring SPJ Conference
Registration is closed.

[Note:  This is a day of skills-based training and workshops for journalists, journalism students and media professionals. Only paid registrants may participate. No walk-ups or same day registrations will be permitted. This is not a public forum.]

Attention:  Registrants - additional details are available here. We E-mailed these instructions to those who registered on Brown Paper Tickets with an E-mail address. Unfortunately, that included only 20% of registrants.

Basics:

Plans are underway for SPJ’s spring regional conference. This year’s event will be held April 10, 2010 at the Bell Harbor Conference Center in downtown Seattle. It is open to SPJ members and nonmembers in Alaska, Oregon, Washington, Idaho and Montana.

Friday, April 9 (6-9 p.m.): Informal SPJ Press Club at Wann Izakaya, 2020 2nd Ave., Seattle, WA 98121. SPJ will provide appetizers. Bar is “no host.” RSVP to Dana Neuts via email.

Saturday, April 10 (8-5 p.m.): The conference itself will include skills-based sessions (social media, freelancing, audio & video for the web, etc.), keynote speakers, workshops, sessions and a journalism expo for our sponsors.

The day’s program (or download it here):

8 - 10 am:  Registration (no walk-ups)

8:30 - 9 am:  Welcome, Hagit Limor and Hilary Reeves

9 - 10 am:   Concurrent sessions - choose one

Keynote speaker Crai S. Bower, Mining Gold from the Olympics - Leveraging Scores of Stories, Radio and TV Exposure (Bay Auditorium)  Read Crai S. Bower’s Bio Here

Social Media: A Necessity in Today’s World, Christine Umayam, Q13 (Cove Room)

Creating Audio for the Web, Pete Gammell, KIRO Radio (Sound Room)

10 - 11 am:  Concurrent sessions - choose one

Super Session:  Twitter as a Reporting Tool, Monica Guzman, SeattlePI.com (will also be taught at 2 pm) (Bay Auditorium)

Google and Beyond: Investigating and Backgrounding Online, Cheryl Phillips, The Seattle Times, (will also be taught at 1 pm) (Cove Room)

Freelance as a Business, Dana Neuts, Virtually Yourz and iLoveKent.net (Sound Room)

11 am - Noon:  Mark of Excellence Awards with remarks from Hagit Limor

12 - 1 pm:  Lunch (Harbor Dining Room, included in the cost of registration)

1 - 2 pm:  Concurrent sessions

Super Session:  Practical Tips on Washington’s Public Records and Open Public Meeting Acts, moderated by Toby Nixon with Frank Garred, Bill Will, David Seago and Scott Wilson (Bay Auditorium)  Panelist Bios Here

Finding Freelance Work Online, Dana Neuts and David Volk, freelance journalists (repeated at 3 pm) (Cove Room)

Google and Beyond:  Investigating and Background Online, Cheryl Phillips, The Seattle Times (repeated session) (Sound Room)

2 - 3 pm: Concurrent sessions - choose one

Twitter as a Reporting Tool, Monica Guzman, SeattlePI.com (repeated session) (Bay Auditorium)

Econ 101: What You Need to Know, Clay Holtzman, Puget Sound Business Journal (Cove Room)

Creating Video for the Web, Christine Umayan, Q13 (Sound Room)

3 - 4 pm:  Concurrent sessions - choose one

Super Session: Investigative Reporting, Christy Diemond, Uninformed Consent (Bay Auditorium)

Finding Freelance Work Online, Dana Neuts and David Volk, freelance journalists (repeated session) (Sound Room)

Journalism Ethics in a Social Media World, Tracy Record, West Seattle Blog (Cove Room)

4 - 5 pm:  Region 10 Business Meeting (open to all attendees) (Sound Room)

Along with the program, we are happy to present Hagit Limor, national SPJ president-elect and award-winning investigative journalist with Cincinnati’s WCPO TV. Limor will welcome attendees Saturday morning and be on hand to meet area journalists.

Lodging:

We have reserved a block of 30 rooms at Hotel Monaco a luxury boutique hotel in downtown Seattle, for Friday, April 9 and Saturday, April 10. The room rate for this block is $119 per night plus tax. Also, for those who are driving, a daily parking fee will be charged (approx. $18).

To reserve a room at Hotel Monaco, call 206-516-5341 and ask for Matt Cobb or send him an email. [Matt's hours are M-F from 9 am to 4 pm.] Be sure to tell Matt you want the SPJ rate of $119 per night.

The Hotel Monaco is located at 1101 4th Ave., Seattle, WA 98101 and is within walking distance (eight blocks) of the conference center and press club venue. Taxi service through the Hotel Monaco concierge is available from the hotel to Bell Harbor Conference Center for those who prefer to take a taxi to the waterfront.

Parking:

Bell Harbor Conference Center does not have a parking lot or garage. However, there is public parking available along the waterfront. It is first come, first served. Because it is Saturday, parking may be free but we have not been able to confirm that. Those staying at Hotel Monaco can park their vehicle overnight for $18 and walk or take ground transportation from the hotel to Bell Harbor Conference Center. For additional questions regarding parking or conference center accommodations, please contact Bell Harbor Conference Center directly at 206.441.6666 or 888.772.4422.

Our Sponsors:

We are grateful that so many media and media-related organizations have stepped up to sponsor this important journalism event. Our sponsors include:

Platinum Sponsor

Gold Sponsor

Silver Sponsors

Bronze sponsors

NOTE:  We realize that it will be financially and/or geographically impossible for some journalists far from Seattle to participate in the conference. It is our plan, however, to make some portions of the program available via UStream, Podcast and perhaps webinar format. We’ll post details as we get them worked out.