Civic Journalism 2001: Building Better Stories

An interactive workshop for radio, television and newspaper journalists sponsored by the Pew Center for Civic Journalism and the Radio and Television News Directors Foundation.

Civic Journalism 2001: Building Better Stories

March 2-4, 2001
The Westin Atlanta North at Perimeter, Atlanta, GA

Journalists around the country are increasingly turning to civic journalism to find better stories and report them in ways that re-establish a bond with readers, viewers and listeners. Come hear how to:

• Cover tough subjects in new ways.

• Make everyday news more interesting.

• Use the Web to improve reporting and involve new audiences.

• Find new stories and report them in different ways.

• Approach journalism with new perspectives.

The Pew Center and RTNDF will cover the cost of a hotel room for the nights of March 2 and 3, as well as most meals and all workshop supplies.

Participants are responsible for covering transportation costs.

Registration Fee: $50 ($40 for RTNDA members)

TO REGISTER: Fax back registration form to 202-347-6440.

For more information, contact:

Pew Center for Civic Journalism
Phone: 202-331-3200
Fax: 202-347-6440
E-mail: news@pccj.org

Avni Patel, RTNDF
Phone: 202-467-5215
Fax: 202-223-4007
E-mail: avnip@rtndf.org

Tentative Agenda

Friday, March 2, 2001

6:00 p.m. Cocktails

7:00 p.m. Dinner and Introductions

Jan Schaffer, Executive Director, Pew Center
Paul Irvin, Community Journalism Project Director, RTNDF

KEYNOTER: Gil Thelen, Vice President and Executive Editor, The Tampa Tribune
"Converged News: How it works, what it means"

Saturday, March 3, 2001

8:00 - 8:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast

8:30 - 9:00 a.m. Overview of Best New Ideas

Jan Schaffer, Executive Director, Pew Center

9:00 - 10:30 a.m. Civic Coverage: Building Newsroom Reflexes

Savannah Morning News, Dan Suwyn, Managing Editor
KGUN-TV, Tucson, Forrest Carr, News Director
KUT-FM, Austin, Don Heider, Consultant and Asst. Professor of Journalism, University of Texas- Austin

10:30 - 10:45 a.m. Break

10:30 - 12:15 p.m. The New Rules of Engagement

WTHR-TV & The Indianapolis Star, Paul Stauder, WTHR Producer, and Jon Schwantes, Star Associate Editor and Director of News Partnerships, on the The Star and 13 Listens project.
Portland (ME) Press Herald, Jessica Tomlinson, online community organizer, "20 Below" teen web site, community publishing.
Kansas City, Mark Von Schlemmer, Producer, Speakers Corner video boxes.
W-USA, (Washington, DC) Dave Roberts, News Director.

12:45 - 1:30 p.m. Lunch

KEYNOTER: Carl Gottlieb, Deputy Director, Project for Excellence in Journalism
"Quality Sells" - PEJ study finds that enterprise reporting on local topics, innovation and sourcing builds it own audience.

12:30 - 1:30 p.m. Lunch

1:30 - 3:00 p.m. Covering Complex Issues

The Sun News, Myrtle Beach, Trisha O'Connor, Editor, Boom town growth, Sim City mapping.
KTVU-TV (Oakland, CA), Roland De Wolk, Producer, Fallout of high-tech growth.
Savannah Morning News, Dan Suwyn, Managing Editor, education, aging.
The Child Wire, Inc. (Washington, DC) Rachel Jones, Director.

3:00 - 3:15 p.m. Break

3:15 - 5:00 p.m. Telling Your Community's Stories

A Civic Mapping Primer: Mapping Concepts and Tools
Jan Schaffer, A quick overview

Finding Better Stories
WFLA-TV (Tampa), - Deb Halpern, Acting News Director, mapping Tampa Heights.
Monroe (LA) News Star, Kathy Spurlock, Executive Editor, Mapping.
WSB-TV (Atlanta) Warren Savage, Reporter

Telling Better Stories
Dave Iverson, Executive Director, Best Practices 2000 (invited)

Sunday, March 4, 2001

8:00 - 8:30 a.m. Continental Breakfast

8:30 - 10:00 a.m. The Census: Finding News in the Numbers

IRE/NICAR primer on the newest census data.
Brant Houston, Executive Director, IRE

10:00 - 11:30 a.m. Census Roundtable: Putting Faces on the Data

Idea brainstorming session, involving all participants
Facilitated by Paul Irvin, Jan Schaffer, Dan Suwyn, Roland DeWolk

NOON Adjourn