All-day Workshops | 8:30 a.m.-5 p.m. Thursday | $40
Art Direction and Conceptual Thinking
Love those amazing cover images for the NYT magazine, Wired, Rolling Stone and Time? This hands-on workshop will help you to become a strong art director. You’ll develop skills with visual metaphor, wordsmithing and conceptual thinking. You’ll learn tools for brainstorming, collaborating, innovating and creating a marriage of words, illustration and photography across platforms — everything you need to inspire award-winning storytelling. This workshop is led by Sara Quinn, design and journalism consultant and researcher at Kansas State University and president of the Society for News Design, and Suzette Moyer, design editor at The Washington Post. Limit 40.
Broadcast and Video Boot Camp
In this hands-on workshop, beginning and intermediate students will learn the fundamentals of creating an effective news package from the ground up. This includes videography, sound recording, editing and story structure. Working in small teams, participants will spend the morning developing their videography skills and planning a story, and the afternoon shooting and editing that story. The instructor will be 2014 Broadcast Adviser of the Year Michael Hernandez of Mira Costa High School in Manhattan Beach, California. Participants must bring their own video cameras, tripods, microphones and laptops with editing software. Please test and become familiar with your equipment before attending the session, as the presenters may not be familiar with your specific hardware/software. An off-site permission form is required for each student attending this workshop. Limit 40.
Digital Photography Workshop
Designed for photographers who have at least one year’s experience shooting for their publications, this 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. intensive workshop will cover composition, lighting, cropping and camera technique. Participants will receive instruction and go out on assignment with Mark Murray of Arlington, Texas, and Evert Nelson, professional photographer from Topeka, Kansas. Following the photo shoot, the instructor will critique students’ work and offer editing tips and techniques. Participants must bring a digital camera, and they are encouraged to bring a laptop computer with the photo-editing program (Photoshop, Lightroom) they will use. An off-site permission form is required for each student attending this workshop. Limit 70.
Leading Change
Whether you are asking your staff to make a small change for one deadline or you are overhauling your staff’s approach, change can’t be successful without strong leadership. Now that you’ve made it to the end of the year, it’s time to hone your leadership skills and put into practice the best methods for navigating change, growing staffers, mediating conflict, and creating a culture of excellence and celebration. In this workshop led by advisers Annie Gorenstein Falkenberg, CJE, of Longmont (Colorado) High School and Carrie Faust, MJE, of Smoky Hill High School, Aurora, Colorado, participants will explore leadership styles and strategies, feedback protocols, staff communication, meeting deadlines, and working with your adviser. You will leave this class ready to finish this year on a high note and set your staff up for success next year. (Attendees might find it beneficial for current leadership and incoming leadership to attend together.) Limit 75.
Online/Social Media Boot Camp
Are you overwhelmed with the thought of managing a website, a social media presence, multimedia posts, and even possibly live coverage online? This workshop, led by Chris Waugaman, MJE, of Prince George (Virginia) High School, will cover online storytelling using Twitter, Snapchat, Instagram, and the many third-party social media platforms in addition to incorporating video and audio content into your WordPress site. Your online team will leave with a plan to execute online storytelling with best practices in social media, multimedia posts, and live coverage. Participants may want to have login and password data available to use from their own site. All participants must bring either a laptop or tablet device. Limit 30.
Redesign Seminar
During this intensive, hands-on, one-day design seminar, newspaper, newsmagazine and yearbook students will actually redesign elements of their publications. We will study advanced packaging techniques including modular design, typography, marriage of elements, negative space and photo packaging. Students also need to bring some of their favorite magazines. Workshop instructor is Pete LeBlanc, CJE, of Antelope (California) High School. Students are required to bring the most current version of their publication and to have a laptop computer with a working version of InDesign. Limit 40.
Team Storytelling
Great storytelling combines good writing, good photos and good design. Behind it all is good planning. In this team-based reporting experience, taught by Emily Smith, CJE, of Pittsburg (Kansas) High School and J.D. Garber of Salina (Kansas) Central High School, students will work in groups of three to create real story packages. The workshop begins with instruction on planning packages with readers in mind, and then the students will go off-site to gather stories. Students will return to the convention site to finish their packages. Schools should register students in teams of three, preferably a writer, design and photographer, though certainly the students can each practice all these skills. At least one student needs InDesign skills, as the students will design their packages. Students will need to bring any equipment they might need (cameras, laptops and card readers). Students can create content for print, broadcast or web, and the workshop is recommended for experienced student journalists. An off-site permission form is required for each student attending this workshop. Limit 60.
Writers’ Workshop
If you’re looking for ways to sharpen and brighten your writing so others will clamor to read it, this interactive workshop is for you. This seminar, led by Dan Austin of Casa Roble High School in Orangevale, California, will entertain and inspire as we analyze excellent writing and apply the pros’ techniques to your work. Whether you need to write a catchy headline or a 2,000-word feature, you’ll learn to improve every aspect of your writing as we discuss ledes, voice, narrative style and literary devices to tighten and strengthen your writing. Limit 70.
Morning Workshops | 8:30 a.m.-noon Thursday | $25
Law of the Student Press
Learn about what the law does and doesn’t protect in terms of free press and free speech. Topics will include avoiding plagiarism, accessing public documents and understanding copyright laws. Geared toward new advisers and students taking on leadership roles this fall. Mike Hiestand of the Student Press Law Center will be the workshop speaker. Limit 40.
SPJ Digital Tools
Join the Society of Professional Journalists for a half-day digital tools training event. During the first 90 minutes, you’ll learn the best Facebook techniques for both your media outlet and your own branding. Learn both basic and advanced tactics while learning about the newest tools available, like author tagging and LIVE with. The next 90 minutes will focus on Google tools that can help you as a journalist. From Google Maps and Google Alerts to Google Advanced Search and YouTube, you’ll learn how to incorporate these tools into your research and reporting. Students and teachers may register. Limit 40.
Afternoon Workshop | 1-5 p.m. Thursday | $25
Photoshop Workflow
Taught by Bradley Wilson, MJE, of Midwestern State University, Wichita Falls, Texas, participants will learn to use Adobe Photoshop. This workshop will emphasize a basic workflow for preparing photographs for publication. Some laptops will be available; however, participants may bring their own laptops with Adobe Photoshop CS6 or later installed. Two students may share one laptop. This session is open to both students and advisers. Limit 40.