MSU Journalism: Centennial Celebration Program
CONFERENCE: 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Communication Arts & Sciences Building
RECEPTION: 6-9 p.m., East Lansing Marriott at University Place
The Michigan State University School of Journalism will host a conference and reception as part of its celebration of 100 years of journalism education at MSU on Oct. 23. We invite all past and present Michigan State faculty, students, alumni and all professionals working in journalism or communication fields to attend and celebrate this once-in-a-lifetime event. Learn more about our speakers.
In conjunction with the centennial conference, the Knight Center for Environmental Journalism at MSU also will host an Environmental Journalism Summit on innovations in environmental reporting that is open to all conference attendees. These sessions are denoted with a ^.
Schedule
8 – 9 a.m.
REGISTRATION OPENS, continental breakfast sponsored by The Detroit News
ALL DAY
Career Checkups
Joe Grimm, MSU Journalism Faculty & Poynter’s Ask the Recruiter columnist
Our official resume doctor — a veteran media recruiter and Poynter columnist — can diagnose and treat all your career-related angst.
9 – 10 a.m.
SUPER SESSION: The New News – Finding New Opportunities to do Journalism
Kelley Carter (MSU ’07), Emmy Award-winning Entertainment Journalist
Tara Tesimu (MSU ’04), Chicago Regional Editor, Patch
Tracy Van Slyke, Director, The Media Consortium
Moderator: Joe Grimm, MSU Journalism Faculty & Poynter’s Ask the Recruiter columnist
Exciting changes are happening in the media industry as new opportunities are created for journalists who are passionate about their craft. From new dot-coms to hyperlocal to freelancing, journalists across the country are making the transition to better inform the public. Find out more about these new opportunities and how journalists are taking advantage of them.
10:10 – 11:10 a.m.
Where America and Michigan are Going and How to Cover It
Dante Chinni (MSU ’91), Director of Patchwork Nation, Author of “Our Patchwork Nation: The Surprising Truth About the Real America”
The United States is changing – economically, politically and culturally – and where it’s going is far from clear. J-School Alumnus Dante Chinni explains how his award-winning journalism mapping project and his book, “Our Patchwork Nation,” are chronicling those changes and how other journalists can do the same thing, locally or nationally.
Newspapers in a Multi-Media World
Kathy Kieliszewski (MSU ’92), Deputy Director of Photography & Video, Detroit Free Press
What happens when video collides with a print newspaper online? For The Detroit Free Press, it translates into four National Emmy awards! Spartan alumna Kathy Kieliszewski discusses how newspapers are successfully transitioning to incorporate video on the web to embrace a multi-media world.
Everybody Needs a Journalist: Using Your Skills Outside of Journalism
Ari Adler (MSU ’89), Communications Administrator, Delta Dental of Michigan
Robin Miner-Swartz (MSU ’93), Director of Communications, Capital Region Community Foundation
We all know journalists have special skills. That’s why journalists can adapt so easily into a number of different careers. Learn from these former journalists what it takes to make the jump, and how their previous careers in journalism prepared them for their new jobs.
^ Investigative Environmental Reporting by Nonprofit Organizations
Jim Detjen, J-School Knight Chair in Journalism; Director, Knight Center for Environmental Journalism
Brant Houston, Knight Chair in Investigative & Enterprise Reporting, University of Illinois in Urbana-Champaign
Joaquin Sapien, Reporter, ProPublica
Some of the nation’s best in-depth and investigative reporting about the environment and other public affairs topics are coming from new nonprofit organizations such as ProPublica, which won a Pulitzer Prize in 2010, and the Investigative News Network, a consortium of 40 nonprofit news organizations. Hear how nonprofit organizations can fill the void created by diminished enterprise reporting in commercial news media.
11:20 a.m. – 12:20 p.m.
Social Media Toolbox for Reporters
Tricia Bobeda (anticipated MSU ’10), Multimedia Reporter, Lansing State Journal & Lansing NOISE
A how-to guide for journalists who want to dive into social media, but aren’t sure where to start. This session will include strategies for using Facebook, Twitter, Tumblr and other social media tools in the newsroom.
It’s Your Story, Own It!
Jason Carr (MSU ’93), Anchor/Reporter, FOX2 Detroit
If you are ready to take your reporting skills to the next level, this seminar will provide inspiration. Ten-time Michigan Emmy winner & Spartan Jason Carr will share examples of creative storytelling, finding main characters with whom the viewers can identify, and all the little ways a broadcast journalist can develop his or her own “voice” to carve a niche in the industry.
Diversity: The full circle
Alicia Nails (MSU ’78), Wayne State University Journalism Institute for Media Diversity, Director; Secretary NABJ-DC
Vickie Thomas, City Beat Reporter, WWJ Newsradio 950; President Detroit Chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists
Diversity in reporting is more than simply making sure that your man-on-the-streets include a face from several race, age and gender categories. A holistic approach to diversity recognizes that there is no normative to be “diverse” from. Instead, true diversity seeks to tell well-rounded stories that in their totality add up to news coverage that is relevant to and inclusive of the entire audience that is served. This includes integrating a diversity mindset into the morning meeting and the assignment desk function even if everyone on duty that day looks the same. This diversity mindset will show itself in story selection and placement, in source and newsmaker interview selections – and in the booking of subject matter experts.
^ New Economic Models to Support Environmental Reporting
Lauren Sommer, Radio Reporter and Multimedia Producer
Rob Davis, Senior Writer and Assistant Editor, Voice of San Diego
Many new economic models are being experimented with to support quality reporting about environmental and science topics. Among these are Quest, an innovative partnership of news organizations and educational institutions in the San Francisco area, and the Voice of San Diego, a nonprofit, online news organization in southern California.
12:30 – 1:30 p.m.
Networking Lunch, sponsored by the Detroit Free Press
Take a break with an informal lunch with other journalists and students. Attendees can join in on one of several networking lunches by topic (environment, broadcasting, print, multimedia) or just have lunch with old acquaintances.
Networking Leaders
Jim Detjen, J-School Knight Chair in Journalism; Director, Knight Center for Environmental Journalism
Nancy Hanus, Detroit Regional Editor, Patch; J-School Faculty
1:40 – 2:40 p.m.
KEYNOTE: M.L. Elrick (MSU ’90), Pulitzer Prize-winning Reporter, Detroit Free Press
In 2009, Elrick and his reporting partner, Jim Schaefer, won the Pulitzer Prize for Local Reporting. The duo uncovered text messages that showed Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick had committed perjury in a wrongful termination lawsuit brought against the city. The Detroit Free Press investigation led to the resignations of Kilpatrick and his chief of staff, with whom he had been having an affair, and opened the door on numerous other wrongdoings by the Kilpatrick administration. Kilpatrick is now in prison and facing federal charges.
2:50 – 3:50 p.m.
Free (and Fabulous) Online Visualization Tools
Karl Gude, Michigan State University Faculty; Former Director of Information Graphics at Newsweek, Associated Press, New York Daily News, The National Sports Daily & United Press International
Feeling poor? There is myriad free software available online for generating visualizations for all sorts of data types: GIS maps, graphs, flow charts, timelines, slideshows, animations, collages and more. Also, there is open-source software that will help you do layout, design, draw, manipulate photos, edit movies and more. In this session Karl will give you a general overview of the capabilities of each (he has at least four GIS sites alone!), and when he’s through, you and the other attendees are welcome to share any free software you like to use.
Backpack Journalism & Visual Storytelling
Steve Patterson (MSU ’08), Multimedia Journalist, WZZM -TV
John Pompeo (MSU ’90), Photojournalist, WDIV-TV
As technology and the economy change, so does the role of modern journalists. They often are asked to juggle the roles as reporter, producer, web writer and photographer. How do they “do it all” as they stare down deadlines? Join us for a real discussion about the demands of this evolving field.
Covering Politics In Michigan
Kathy Barks Hoffman (MSU M.A. ’90), Lansing Correspondent, The Associated Press
Rick Pluta, State Capitol Bureau Chief and Managing Editor, Michigan Public Radio Network
The race for governor is heating up and many congressional seats up for grabs in mid-year elections. Learn how these veteran political reporters cover a campaign – and how they’re dealing with changing technology (in journalism and by campaigns) in their reporting.
^ Tapping the Public to Support Environmental Reporting
Steve Lacy, J-School Professor and Associate Dean for Graduate Studies, MSU College of Communication Arts and Sciences
Dave Poulson, Associate Director, Knight Center for Environmental Journalism
Rick Wash, Assistant Professor, MSU J-School and the Department of Telecommunications, Information Studies, and Media
Michigan State University is teaching environmental journalism by producing Great Lakes Echo, a nonprofit, multimedia news service. Other organizations are experimenting with crowd funding to support investigative and enterprise reporting.
4 – 5 p.m.
Creating a New Online News Enterprise
Bonnie Bucqueroux, J-School faculty; Publisher, LansingOnlineNews
This session will look at opportunities in the online environment for creating new news products, from hyper local and citizen journalism enterprises to national “newspapers” and “magazines.” (We will also discuss what those terms mean in an online environment.) The session will explore how multimedia and interactivity have changed the gathering and delivery of news, citing examples of excellence. Strategies to engage the audience, from commenting to crowd sourcing to “pay-as-you-go” news, will be examined, as will the role of social media in both reporting and promotion. We will also survey the current track record of various economic models and new income streams. The goal is to help everyone from new media entrepreneurs to news consumers to students understand the opportunities, challenges and pitfalls in this new media environment.
Making a Documentary: From Flint to Malawi
The Greening of Flint:
Geri Zeldes (MSU Ph.D. ’00) & Troy Hale, Michigan State University Faculty
MSU, Malawi, and Malaria:
Sue Carter and Bob Gould (MSU ’90), Michigan State University Faculty
School of Journalism faculty not only teach, but also practice their professional passion. We are excited to present a preview of The Greening of Flint, a documentary that looks at a city abandoned by the automobile industry as citizens look for solutions in rebuilding. Additionally, we will preview MSU, Malawi, and Malaria, a project currently in editing. Filmmaker & TISM Faculty, Bob Albers, will moderate this discussion about documentary filmmaking.
Ethics in Modern Journalism
Ken Winter (MSU ’72), J-School Instructor; Former Editor & Publisher, Petoskey News-Review
Alysia Sofios (MSU ’00), Reporter, KMPH Fresno
This session is designed as a forum to discuss emerging ethics issues including; social media, sourcing and a reporter’s personal blog opinion. J-School alumna Alysia Sofios joins the discussion to talk about her own decision to help a family she met while covering a story, which is the topic of her recent book, “Where Hope Begins.”
^ Covering the Gulf Oil Spill in a New Media World
Kate Sheppard, Energy and Environmental Politics Reporter, Mother Jones
Jim Detjen, J-School Knight Chair in Journalism; Director, Knight Center for Environmental Journalism
Some of the best, in-depth reporting about the Gulf Oil Spill was done by Kate Sheppard, an environmental reporter for Mother Jones Magazine. Kate will talk about how she and other Mother Jones reporters covered this complicated issue. Jim Detjen will lead a group discussion about how new economic models and new media technologies are changing environmental journalism.
6 – 9 p.m.
RECEPTION: East Lansing Marriott at University Place
Our celebration ends Saturday evening with a reception (a.k.a. party) for all alumni, students and professionals at the East Lansing Marriott at University Place. The reception will feature a keynote speech by Jennifer Carroll, vice president at Gannett. A silent auction will benefit our Second Century J-School Fund to support innovative journalism programs for students and faculty.
6 p.m.
Silent Auction, Strolling Hors d’oeuvres, Cash Bar
7 p.m.
Keynote: Jennifer Carroll (MSU ’80), Gannett Vice President and Senior Editor of ContentOne
Jennifer Carroll leads a team focusing on strategy, readership and content initiatives in new media, from building digital communities through social networking to reaching niche audiences and innovative dimensions in public service journalism. She helped conceive and launch Gannett’s Information Center, a model transforming the way newsrooms gather and disseminate news and information to engage communities across all media platforms. She helps coordinate content convergence across Gannett’s Broadcast, Community Publishing and Digital divisions.
Lucinda Davenport, director of the J-School, will also introduce Steve Lacy, a J-School professor, Associate Dean of the College of Communication Arts & Sciences and international expert on media economics and management.
The Centennial Planning Committee is grateful to our distinguished speakers and sponsors. With their help, we are able to bring you this Journalism Centennial Celebration at an exceptionally low cost! See the registration page for information on the pricing.
