Feb. 17-18, 2012
ASPA State Convention
Schedule of events
Welcome to the annual ASPA State Convention at The University of Alabama. #ASPA75 on Twitter
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Friday, Feb. 17, at Ferguson Center
8 a.m. Registration at Ferguson Theater 9 a.m.. Kickoff and Keynote, Mark Mayfield 10 a.m. to 12 p.m. On-site competitions 10 a.m. Session 1 11 a.m. Session 2 Noon Lunch and keynote, Alan Blinder 1:30 p.m. Session 3 2:30 p.m. Session 4 3:30 p.m. Session 5 4:30 p.m. Session 6 5:30 p.m. Dinner and closing awards ceremony M-Rave event immediately following awards ceremony! Saturday, Feb. 18, at Reese Phifer Hall (Session times vary depending on the duration of the class. See Saturday’s schedule for details.)
Don’t forget to drop in pennies to represent your school at our Penny Drop to benefit the Student Press Law Center! (We take other kinds of money too!)
9 a.m. Session 1 10 a.m. Session 2 11 a.m. Session 3 noon Lunch on your own 1 p.m. Tours: UA campus tour, The Crimson White newsroom tour and WVUA station tour
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ASPA State Convention
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The goal of Scholastic Journalism Week, Feb. 19-25, is to do something, whether big or small, to raise awareness and promote your program to your community, school, and staff. Your involvement and that of your students will serve to raise community consciousness regarding the benefits of scholastic journalism. Need some ideas? Check out JEA's Scholastic Journalism Week page, and then become part of the community on Facebook, or Tweet (#sjw2012) your own ideas. We hope for every staff to do something to celebrate, and represent Alabama well!
Mark your calendar for ASPA’s summer camps!
June 15-17: The Long Weekend summer camp June 15-24: Multicultural Journalism Workshop (Deadline to apply is April 1)
and other events ...
September 17-21: Fall Regional Workshops Sept. 17: Mobile Sept. 18: Montgomery Sept. 19: Tuscaloosa Sept. 21: Huntsville December 14: Deadline for all media for competition and critiques. For information check the ASPA Web site at aspa.ua.edu.
Feb. 17-18, 2012
ASPA State Convention
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Advisers: Adviser sessions begin at 11 a.m. The 10-11 a.m. period will allow you to help your students locate their sessions. Coffee, drinks and snacks are available in the Advisers Hospitality Room in TBA.
Friday, Feb. 17 sessions, Ferguson Student Center 9 a.m. Welcome! Dr. Loy Singleton, Dean, College of Communication and Information Sciences Jennifer Supri, Chair, 75th Anniversary Committee Meredith Cummings, Director, ASPA Keynote, Mark Mayfield Onsite competitions begin at 10 a.m. and will be held in the following rooms: Yearbook copy and caption writing TBA News writing TBA Feature writing TBA Editorial writing TBA Stand up/camcorder TBA Newscast TBA Sportscast TBA Yearbook layout TBA Newspaper layout TBA
10 a.m. Sessions
Session 1
ASPA Board meeting and officer elections (Advisers) The annual State Convention meeting for the ASPA board. All advisers are welcome to attend. Melissa Dixon Room TBA Worry, worry, worry. If you do not hook your readers, they will not read your work. In this session, we will identify ways to get readers into your work and keep them so worried about your people/characters your readers will turn page after page. Laura Hunter Room TBA
Photography for beginners Learn the basics of working with a camera, and how make every shot better with the equipment you have. Dan Meissner Room TBA The Art of Interviewing Human contact. Don’t hide behind a tape recorder. Do’s and Dont’s. Tips for getting good quotes. Listening and speaking techniques. Michele Gerlach Room TBA Ya gotta get a gimmick! Get a mascot, a logo or do things that set you apart and create a niche for your program. Jody Evans Room TBA Broadcast interviewing Take your broadcast to the next level! On-camera interviewing, composition, framing, microphones, techniques, what to ask, how to ask it, and quality sound bites. Lesley Bruinton Room TBA Beating the yearbook drum Learn how to run a successful marketing campaign that will increase awareness and bring value in the eyes of students, faculty, parents and the community. Kane Belew Room TBA
11 a.m.
Session 2
Beginning broadcast writing This session will teach you how to make your scripts zing with clear, concise, and conversational writing. Dr. Jennifer Greer Room TBA
Feb. 17-18, 2012 ASPA State Convention Page 6 Multimedia storytelling What’s in Your Lunch Bag? Utilizing writing activities, this session will lead you The Web gives your staff new storytelling opportunities. Learn interactive graphics, audio slide shows and from the mundane-everybody-else-type-writing to the core of your work. We will use common analogies other ways to ramp up your broadcast or multimedia for digging deep into the heart of what you want the footage for your site. reader to gain by reading your work. David Grewe Room TBA Laura Hunter Room TBA Personality profiles Noon Lunch, Ballroom Bring your subject to life and paint a vivid picture for with Alabama Press Association your readers with solid, colorful personality profiles. Keynote speaker, Alan Blinder Susan Newell Room TBA Even though it is legal, should you run it? Ethics, censorship and publication. Even though it is legal, what factors decide to run it or not? Students are encouraged to bring real-life examples of stories/decisions editors have made. Hear how the Student Press Law Center can help. Dennis Bailey Room TBA
1:30 p.m.
I wish I knew that! University of Alabama Society of Professional Journalist members will present tips and tricks that every aspiring journalist should know going into college to get ahead of the game. We will present advice from college lectures, tricks we have learned through student media internships and jobs, and things we learned the hard way. UA SPJ members Room TBA
Planning the Issue (New advisers) Getting organized for the first issue is a challenge for new advisers. And experience adviser provides a framework for developing the newspaper, starting with brainstorming story ideas through sending the file off to the printer. Suan Newell Room TBA
Writing features students will want to read For students who dread writing features. How to make them light and interesting, learn skills to keep readers engaged, tips to make writing come alive. Leada Gore Room TBA Theme development Theme isn’t just a word, but the blueprint to your entire publication. Learn how to weave your theme into every facet of your yearbook. Melissa Dixon Room TBA The Young, the Old and the Restless (For new advisers) An experienced advisers panel for newcomers. Are you sometimes ready to bow out? Find why these veterans are still around after years, and still looking good! If media advising takes a special kind of craziness, how can you manage to look sane, some of the time? Marie Parsons, JoAnn Hagood, Room TBA Nora Stephens
Session 3
Photography From ordinary to extraordinary. See dozens of examples of strong photojournalism and others that will leave you laughing. Melisa Dixon Room TBA
Writing Effective Dialogue In this session, we will look at dialogue that engages your reader as well as dialogue that diverts. We will discuss the time and place for dialogue tags and the need for adding action (or not) within the dialogue. Laura Hunter Room TBA Media law 101 (Advisers) What advisers should know about student press law. Don’t wait until you need to know. Become armed with the information you need now. Banks Sewell Room TBA Covering sports games Tips for keeping score, interviewing, writing leads. techniques on how to cover games for daily and weekly publications and for the Web. Chris McCarthy Room TBA
2:30 p.m.
Session 4
Problem Solving (Advisers) Bring your problems and throw them out for solutions from other advisers. Marie Parsons and Jody Evans
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ASPA State Convention
Better blogging Learn how to attract more eyes to your publication or broadcast through great blogging. Blinder, the lunch keynote speaker, has live-blogged from events ranging from a national college football championship to a Supreme Court confirmation hearing and will share his insights on how to write thoughtful, reflective posts that pack a punch and provoke conversation. (His wife, Meredith, who has worked on multimedia for the Houston Chronicle and the American Press may toss in a few ideas, too, about how to use visual content alongside the written word to spice up your blog further.) Alan Blinder Room TBA Understanding the reporter’s privilege Freedom of the press is a cherished idea, but in many schools it exists only in textbooks. This session will explore the protections afforded to news reporters under the First Amendment of the United States Constitution. Commonly known as the reporter’s privilege, the First Amendment provides a mechanism by which reporters can avoid the compelled disclosure of information learned during the course of the newsgathering process. This discussion will analyze the scope of the Reporter’s Privilege, as well as different avenues by which the privilege can be overridden. Banks Sewell Room TBA Headline design for yearbooks Learn how to write headlines that will entice your readers while connecting everything on your spread. Melissa Dixon Room TBA Focusing your story Not just the “who, what, when, where, why and how,” but focusing the story even more. Driving it home. Having a compelling lead. Really refining and focusing in on what makes a story great. Dr. Bill Keller and Carol Robinson Room TBA How and Why You Want to Enter Writing Contests Winning a place in a respected writing contest can do wonders for getting your name out there. This session will cover the aspects of writing that all publishers look for in deciding which work to select as the best offered. You can use these exercises and comments to better all of your writing. Laura Hunter Room TBA
3:30 p.m.
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Session 5
Describe that! Make your writing more descriptive and have fun while learning! This session will use food as a technique to learn better descriptive writing. Chip Brantley Room TBA Newsworthiness It seems simple, but does your staff know the keys to knowing what is news? For example, news values, editorial policies, etc. A veteran newspaper publisher will guide you through the process. Kenneth Boone Room TBA Print + Web = Success (Advisers and student leaders) Would you like to share your print publication with a larger audience? Don’t have the budget for printed publications? Learn how to use free internet resources to take your students’ work to the Web. In this workshop, you will learn proper precautions before going on the Web, as well as learn ways to showcase your students’ talents. You can then share the link with your community and celebrate the good things going on in your classroom and at your school. This information can be applicable to all student publications. Brandy Panagos Room TBA Basic and advanced yearbook design The arrangement of elements on a spread is layout. Thoughtfully leading your reader around the spread to convey a message is design. Discover the difference. Melissa Dixon Room TBA So many mediums, so little time! University of Alabama student media professionals from online, radio, print and broadcast mediums will demonstrate how to effectively get ahead in the media business today. We will demonstrate how to write for each medium and how to compile a diverse resume throughout college that will be useful to employers upon graduation. This session will focus on how to learn a little bit of everything so each graduating journalist has the competitive edge to land that job. UA SPJ members Room TBA
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ASPA State Convention
4:30 p.m.
Session 6
Future of journalism How to keep up with print, and still keep it alive, as well as how print is evolving online. We will discuss Twitter, Facebook and interacting with readers. Jim Rainey Room TBA Submitting Your Work for Publication This session will explain practical, professional methods for submitting your works so you do not kill the chances of publication before the editor reads your submission. Laura Hunter Room TBA Let’s Get Some Mojo! (Advisers and student leaders) Is your staff lacking energy? Are there individuals who just can’t get the work done? Are you frustrated with the staff not working to their expectations? Learn
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some ways to motivate staff members to work on time, make deadlines, and take pride in the yearbook. Melissa Dixon Room TBA Building better graphics and illustrations Make your graphics and illustrations pop with advice from The Tuscaloosa News graphics editor. Anthony Bratina Room TBA Storify Storify is an online curation tool for reporting and telling stories using social media. In this session, you’ll look at some good ways to use Storify and then get started on your our own stories. Chip Brantley Room TBA
5:30 Dinner, awards ceremony and 75th anniversary celebration
Saturday, Feb. 18 sessions, Reese Phifer Hall All Day Please stop by the ASPA lobby on the third floor to say hello, grab a snack and see your home office.
9 a.m.
Session 1
Making good reviews great A veteran newspaper reporter will show you how to take your reviews from flat to fabulous. Learn how to avoid common boring language traps. Richard LeComte Room TBA
InDesign hands-on session Group and individual attention will be provided for advisers and students at their level of learning for their particular publication. Marlin Caddell Room TBA Photography tips and tricks Quick and easy ways to take your photography to the next level. Stop taking snapshots and start making pictures. Scott Bowman Room TBA Podcasting (All media) Podcasts consist of audio and video material that is distributed online for use on iPods and other media players. In this hands-on session, you’ll prepare your own podcast. Please bring your own headphones. Andrew Richardson Room TBA
Tell the whole story The sin of omission-failure to do something one can and ought to do. It is the greatest sin committed by yearbook staffs. Learn how to expand coverage through your words, photos, and design. Melissa Dixon Room TBA 10 a.m. Session 2 Hands-on photography (Meet in ASPA lobby then Exercises in style/tone end up in Room 301) Your writing style needs to meet the expectations of This class is limited to eight students. Sign up at regwhatever genre you are working on. Expand your istration Friday morning. Photography tips and tricks, writing style in this session. We will use specific writ- as well as one-on-one feedback. Students will go with ing exercises in how and when to alter your style and instructor to take photos and come back to Reese Phikeep your tone consistent. fer for feedback. Laura Hunter Room TBA Dan Meissner ASPA lobby
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Before, during, and after coverage Photoshop for everyone! Hands-on training for students and advisers to use Don’t just capture the here and now, but learn to Photoshop to make publications really pop. publicize what goes on before, and then much later, Scott Bowman Room TBA concerning your school events. Melissa Dixon Room TBA Sports A Tuscaloosa News sports reporter will offer examples Tumbl It! Pin It! Stori It! (It’s Delicious!) Use social networking and multimedia sites like Deli- of what works and what doesn’t when it comes to cious, Storify, Pinterest, Tumblr and others to promote sports coverage. From hockey to football, bring your your school media. These sites can also help you show sports-related questions and get answers. Meredith Qualls Room TBA off reporting and photography, and even get it picked up by the local and national media. Noon Lunch on your own Meredith Cummings Room TBA iMovie: How to Produce Video Clips in 15 Minutes or Less If you have a Macintosh computer, you can add video to your text news story using the iMovie application. We’ll show you how to use iLife’s video application to do BASIC video editing. No documentaries! No news packages! This hands-on session is for those who don’t want to spend a lot of time editing video, but still want the benefits of the moving-picture medium to add a dimension to their story. Andrew Richardson Room TBA
11 a.m. Session 3 Storytelling the right way Everyone has a story to tell. You just have to find it and tell it. Get tips on discovering all the hidden stories your student body has and how to include them in your multimedia packages. Learn what stories make good photo/video multimedia packages and which ones don’t. David Grewe Room TBA Final Cut Pro Lab Hands-on training using the Apple video editing program Final Cut Pro. Learn to cut and edit videos. TBA, Reese Phifer Room TBA
1 p.m.
Session 4, Tours
UA Campus Tour (Meet at front steps of Reese Phifer Hall) This tour will take students on a walk through campus guided by a representative from the Capstone Men and Women. Capstone Men and Women WVUA Tour (Meet in the Reese Phifer rotunda) Students will tour the television station located in the basement of Reese Phifer, the University’s own WVUA, which signed on the air as News Channel 49 in January 1998. The operation became the first television station in Tuscaloosa since 1996, when Tuscaloosa’s local television stations left the city. Question and answer session to follow. WVUA staff Getting Involved in College Media (Meet in the ASPA lobby) Students will check out the Student Media building that houses The Crimson White (newspaper); The Corolla (yearbook); and Marr’s Field Journal (literary magazine). Students will also hear about how to get involved in college media at any college. Question and answer session to follow. Crimson White staff
Follow ASPA on Twitter and Facebook! Twitter: @AlaSPA (Hashtag #ASPA75) Facebook fan page: Alabama Scholastic Press Association