EIJ13 Conference Casts Wide Journalistic Net

Got a hankering for your own drone, or ready to claim power in the newsroom? Or wondering if anyone has finally figured out what Facebook really means to a news organization, whether Google + Hangouts have any value or (now this is pretty niche) making “important” economics reporting engaging — and fun.

Well, someone does. Because those are some of the topics that will be addressed at RTDNA’s  upcoming Excellence in Journalism convention, which attendees have had a big role in creating.

“Almost all the topics came from members or people who wanted to present,” says Chris Carl, who will officially become head of the RTDNA board at EIJ13, being held Aug. 24-26 in Anaheim, Calif.

More than 100 topics were submitted, all of which were evaluated by radio, TV, online and print professionals to insure EIJ13 sessions would meet the needs of journalists who work in the range of mediums. The Society of Professional Journalists is a co-sponsor of the event.

“It’s a good checks and balances to get different perspectives in,” says Carl, who like both his predecessor, Vince Duffy, and the woman who will eventually succeed him, Amy Tardiff, works in radio. Carl is WDEL-AM Wilmington, Del.’s director of news and programming.

“The feeling is this is shaping up to be our best convention in years,” he says.

Carl says he believes strong member interest in this year’s convention — more than 1,100 individuals have already registered to attend, and the expo floor has been expanded to make room for participants – reflects RTDNA’s renewed commitment to its members, while broadening its reach through expanding partnerships.

The National Association of Hispanic Journalists will be co-sponsoring the conference for the first time, joining the Society of Professional Journalists, which first partnered with RTDNA three years ago.

Previously, NAHJ participated in the Unity Journalists convention, a conference held every four years by the coalition of diverse journalism groups.

But, as NAHJ President Hugo Balta, ESPN coordinating producer, says, folding his organization’s gathering into EIJ13 gives members the chance to expand their reach at a time many media executives also need to.

“This provides our members with access to people who are looking for different voices, particularly Latino voices,” he says.

The partnerships, organizers say, enable EIJ13 to address topics of interest to particular journalists — be they broadcast, digital, print or Latino.

One workshop, for instance, focuses on what it takes for a local broadcast reporter to become a national correspondent. Another, The Fundamentals of Fiction, will likely draw primarily print journalists. And sessions in Spanish — including one on expanding opportunities for bilingual journalists and another on ethical standards for Spanish-language media — naturally will draw Latino attendees. Sessions on digital strategy and storytelling with Instagram address new media.

But the joint sponsorship is more notably reflected in the wide range of sessions and workshops that are of interest to journalists across-the-board, increasingly so as newspeople are required to work on multiple platforms.

“We are all journalists,” Balta says. EIJ13 “is inclusive and reflective of that.”

One area of focus, Carl says, is exploring ways newsrooms can take the use of social media to the next level, so that it really has impact. The results of an RTDNA/Digital Strategies’ survey into how consumers are using Facebook and Twitter for news consumption will be unveiled at a special session on Sunday, Aug. 25. The goal is to help news organizers better understand how they can better use the social media platforms to meet consumer expectations.

Another session will explore an often-ignored aspect of being a journalist: stress. Carl says he was a big proponent of having such a program — which will address the “emotional impact” of covering difficult stories, and meeting the demands of a 24/7 news cycle — particularly after a year in which “there have been so many major stories that I am sure have taken a toll on journalists.”

There’s also a particular buzz around a session on the ethical and legal implications of using drones as newsgathering tools, which could become legal when the FAA releases new guidelines on their use in 2015, he says.

NAHJ’s influence will also be seen in sessions of interest to all journalists, given the rise in Latino population and influence. One session, for instance, will focus on the emerging identity of Latinos in the U.S. and ways to reach them. Another will feature Hispanic politicians discussing coverage of the Latino vote.

“We want to be diverse and provide as much content to as many people as possible,” Carl says.

Which is something that won’t end when the conference wraps up, Carl says.

Rather, he says he would like to use RTDNA’s new, stronger position as reason to focus on new initiatives that could have real impact on its members, as well as the larger industries they represent.

Reviewing, and possibly updating the organization’s Code of Ethics is one priority, he says. Those guidelines were last updated 13 years ago, well before the Internet, let alone social media, had such importance and prominence in newsrooms, he says.

Also in the year ahead, RTDNA will start participating in a journalists exchange program that will include sending American journalists to Pakistan. The organization already co-sponsors a program that sends American journalists to Germany. A partnership with the American Meteorological Society to provide journalists with training in weather reporting also is in the works, and will hopefully be launched within the year, he says.

“We are really coming back strong,” Carl says. “We’re really excited about the potential and the possibilities.”

Read other Air Check columns here. You can send suggestions for future Air Checks to Diana Marszalek at [email protected].