NAHJ Region 5 Conference This Weekend

Region 5 Members,

The Region 5 Conference will begin tonight with a Town Hall Meeting followed by an all-day on Saturday. You can still register online at http://www.nahj.org/2010/02/nahj-region-5-conference/  and or register onsite at Rice University. You can pay with a check or a credit card. So it's not too late.

What a better way to spend the end of your Spring Break, but learning about multimedia and the new age of journalism.  College students will get a chance to learn about the latest skills in the digital industry, while gaining mentors and networking with some of the nation's best journalists from the National Association of Hispanic Journalists. For professionals, you can learn skills that will keep you in the business and enjoy a weekend in Houston.

The cost is$20 for NAHJ Students $35 for non-NAHJ Students $50 for NAHJ Professionals and $75 for non NAHJ Professionals. Register now and pass info onto another journalist or student. I will guarantee you will come to conference and walk away with learning something new that will help you in your daily job as a journalist.

Here is link to map of Rice University and we will be holding the conference at Rice Memorial Center or University Center and buildings near it. There is a parking lot near the swimming pool and soccer fields. There will be signs up on day of conference to direct you. http://www.rice.edu/maps/maps.html

Here is the latest schedule of events for the NAHJ Region 5 Conference:
March 19-20 @ Rice University in Houston, Tx

Friday Schedule

Registration Herring Hall 100 6:30- 8 pm

Townhall Meeting 7 - 8:30 pm

"Census 2010"

Sponsor: Houston Area of Hispanic Media Professionals
The buzz is about Census 2010 and getting counted happens once every 10 years. Census officials are going to communities all over nation emphasizing the importance of being counted, but some organizers are advocating to not be counted. So why should you make sure you are counted and how can journalists better cover this issue. We have a panel to address the importance issue of Census 2010.

Moderator: Vicente Arenas/KHOU-TV

Panelists: Dianne Solis, Dallas Morning News Reporter
Steve Murdock, Rice University sociologist
Eduardo Guity, U.S. Census

Reception 8:30 pm - 9:30 pm
Herring Hall

Saturday Schedule

8:30 a.m. Registration - Rice Student Center


9:00 a.m. Plenary: - "The Future of Journalism"

Rice Student Center
Unity reports more than 800,000 journalists have lost their jobs over the last couple of years. While many people are looking for jobs, the question is what is the future of journalism? Is it blogging or is it being a multimedia journalist? Can journalists rely on the old skills of hitting the streets and reporting like in the old days? We have panel to discuss the latest trends and what do journalist need to do to survive in this competitive age of journalism.

Moderator: Elissa Rivas/KTRK-TV Anchor

Panelists: Rick McFarland/KPRC News Director
David Ellison, Public Information Officer
Patricio Espinoza, Multimedia Journalist, Alamo Times

Morning Seminars
10:30 - 12:00 p.m.

Workshop I - Border Reporting: Human/Drug Trafficking (Sewall Hall 305)
Houston is the hub of the human and drug trafficking. Smugglers are bringing human beings and narcotics to the Houston to be shipped out to the rest of the nation. So how do they get the humans and drugs to Houston and why is this location the hub? We have journalists who report in Mexico and Texas to report how cartels get the cargo here and how dangerous is it for journalists to cover this issue. Come and you’ll learn about why Houston is the hub of the area for Human and Drug Trafficking.

Moderator; Pedro Rojas/KXLN-TV

Panelists:
Alfredo Corchado/Dallas Morning News
Angela Kocherga/Belo TV Station Mexico Correspondent
Sergio Chapa/KGBT-TV

Workshop II - Getting Your Foot in the Door-Staying in the Business (Sewall Hall 309)
Young journalists are dealing with a difficult economy in trying to find their job in the business. So what skills do they need, what should you have on your resume and what should be on your demo reel or multimedia clips to prove you should get hired for that first job? Once in that door, how do you stay in the business and stay one step ahead of the rest of your competition? We have a panel of young journalists to give some tips on getting your foot in the door.


Moderator: Sandra Gonzalez/Freelance Journalist

Panelists: Mayra Moreno, Multimedia Journalist, KIAH-TV
Erica Rodriguez, Victoria Advocate

Digital Training Workshops 10:45 am - Noon

Basics of Social Media Networking Sites

(Sewall Hall 101)

Trainer: Sandy Ibanez, SRC Group-Social Media Consultant
This is a beginner course on how to use social media networking sites. How do you set up a Facebook/Twitter/Link In etc and how do you navigate around these sites? More importantly, how do you get people to follow you and what type of info should you be posting as journalists?

Blogging and Using Wordpress/Blogger

(Sewall Hall 133)

Trainer: Patricio Espinoza/Multimedia Journalist Alamo Times.
This is also a beginners course on how to use Blogger and Wordpress and what is the difference between the two? We’ll show you how to set up an account and the different tools available. What can you write about it and how to get people to follow you? How do you get sponsors to pay for your blog?



Final Cut Pro Training 10:45 am - Noon & 1:30 pm - 4:30 pm
You get a chance to be get hands on training with Final Cut Pro. We’ll teach you how to use the system and let you play with the program. We’ll also have a media trainer there to show you the best way to use this program and how to make you a better multimedia journalist.

Noon Luncheon - Dino Chiecchi/San Antonio Express News
Master of Ceremonies: Pedro Rojas/Univision
Sponsored by State Farm Insurance



Digital Training Workshops 1:45 - 4:30 pm

Backpack Reporting
Trainers: Patricio Espinoza/Multimedia Journalist for Alamo Times
Sandy Ibanez, SRC Group-Social Media Consultant

(Sewall Hall 133)

Backpack Blogging/Reporting is demo/class of sorts. It’s an intermediate class for Wordpress and Blogging. It also will teach and show how to use digital tools out on the field to cover LIVE and breaking news, etc and put it on your own Blog. The class will show how you, as a small-time blogger, will do battle against the big companies, be resourceful and come out the winner.

Making the Transition from Print to a Digital Lab

(Sewall Hall 101)

Trainers: Dr, Manuel Flores, Texas A & M Kingsville Professor, Amanda Marcum, Plan 21, Angela Palacios, Plan 21 Editor and Pub Lab Director (Angela Palacios) and Don Fisher, Texas A & M Kingsville Professor.

Plan 21 and Preparing for the 21st century of digital newsrooms. It’s a session on how a newspaper/publication makes the transition from traditional print media to online, social media and digital storytelling on line. That includes radio news and video updates on the newspaper website.

Afternoon Seminars
1:45 pm - 3 pm

Workshop 1 - Reporting on Disasters (Sewall Hall 305)

Hurricane Ike was one of the nation’s worst hurricanes to hit a big city. It caused damage and several other problems in Houston. We have a panel to discuss covering a hurricane, like Ike, and other major disasters. What happens prior to the storm hitting and the recovery period? How do journalists covering a disaster, like this, survive? They will share their experiences of covering a disaster and come up with tips for those attending the panel.

Moderator: Vicente Arenas/KHOU-TV
Panelists Ernesto Torres/Photographer KHOU-TV
Ted Oberg/Reporter/KTRK-TV
Chris Hanson/Managing Editor, KTRK-TV

Workshop 2 - Marketing Your Blog and Getting Followers (Sewall Hall 309)
Everybody in the journalism world is talking blogging. What is blogging? We put together a panel of journalists to address this latest trend. We’ll discuss the topics bloggers discuss and what subjects they pick to write about? How do you get people to follow and market your blog. Most importantly, can you leave your job working as a journalist for a media company and go on your own to blog? Can you make money? We’ll answer those questions and more in this panel session.

Moderator: Sergio Chapa/KGBT-TV

Panelists: Victor Escalante, Immigrante TV, Digital Media Director
April Brandon/Victoria Advocate Pop Culture Writer
Alex Sanz/KHOU Reporter



3:15 pm - 4:30 pm

Workshop 1 - Moving on After Journalism (Sewall Hall 305)

We all wish we could stay in journalism all our lives, but it’s just not possible. You either run against a company downsizing or your contract isn’t renewed or you aren’t making enough money as a journalist. So what happens after it’s all over? Journalists have great communications skills, but when the party is over, what is next? We put together a panel of former journalists to discuss what they are doing now in their careers after journalism.

Moderator: Minerva Perez
Panelists: Jo Ann Zuniga JAZuniga@shrinenet.org Shriners Hospital, Communications
Claudia Deschamps, Deschamps Communications
Lori Reingold, former producer Marvin Zindler

Workshop 2 - Managing a Newsroom and Staying There. (Sewall Hall 309)
Reporting is fun, but the next step is management for a tv, newspaper or multimedia project. It’s not easy managing yourself let alone a team of reporters or a publication or a website. So what do you need to do to get into management and what skills do you need to possess? Once you are there, what do you need to do to motivate people to work for you, get them to get a page one story and keep them excited about their jobs. We have a panel of managers who can prepare for your next step in the industry and tell why it’s important to become a leader in the newsroom.


Moderator: Liz Zavala/Fort Worth Star Telegram

Panelists: Dino Chiechi/San Antonio Express News
Alfredo Carbajal/Al Dia
Jerry Vazquez/Executive Producer KTRK-TV













Closing Reception