SPJ 2015 Western Regional Conference: Full Schedule

12:30pm PDT

Registration / Check-in

Conference guests should enter through 901 Mission St. to pick up a name tag at the San Francisco Chronicle security desk before proceeding into the Impact Hub.

Friday April 17, 2015 12:30pm - 7:30pm PDT
The Impact Hub 901 Mission Street Suite 105 San Francisco, CA 94103

1:00pm PDT

Data Mining A to Z: How to Develop Data-Driven Stories

How do you find the larger story hidden in a mass of data? From census data to twitter streams to campaign finance records, there are tons of data sources journalists can mine to find compelling, impactful stories. Learn more about where the data you want may be hiding and how to wrangle it into submission from two of the nation's top data journalists. Participants need to bring a fully charged laptop and download a copy of Libre Office to use during the session. Download a free copy here: http://www.libreoffice.org/.

Speakers

Jennifer LaFleur

Senior Editor, Data Journalism, Center for Investigative Reporting

Jennifer LaFleur is senior editor for data journalism at The Center for Investigative Reporting. She was previously ProPublica's director of computer-assisted reporting (CAR). She was also the CAR editor starting in 2003 for The Dallas Morning News, where she worked on the investigative... Read More →

Serdar Tumgoren

Data Journalist, Associated Press

Serdar Tumgoren, is a data journalist at the Associated Press, where he works on newsroom tools and data projects. He previously worked at The Washington Post and Congressional Quarterly, where he focused on political and election-related data and Web applications. Prior to becoming... Read More →

Friday April 17, 2015 1:00pm - 5:00pm PDT
The Impact Hub 901 Mission Street Suite 105 San Francisco, CA 94103

Intensive hands-on training

1:00pm PDT

Data Security for Journalists

What should you do if you are contacted by a source who wants to share sensitive information? How do you prevent third parties from eavesdropping if you have a major scoop? How can you use encryption to safeguard email, chat, and text messages? This intensive training workshop will feature Micah Lee, a technologist at The Intercept who has worked with Edward Snowden and Glenn Greenwald. He'll be joined by Cyrus Farivar, Senior Business Editor at Ars Technica, and Patrick O'Doherty, a software engineer and privacy advocate. At this session, learn about the tools you'll need to safeguard your communications. Bring your laptop and mobile device.

Speakers

Cyrus Farivar

Senior Business Editor, Ars Technica

Cyrus [suh-ROOS] is the Senior Business Editor at Ars Technica, and is also an author and radio producer. His book, The Internet of Elsewhere – about the history and effects of the Internet on different countries around the world, including Senegal, Iran, Estonia and South Korea – was published by Rutgers University Press in April 2011. He previously was the Sci-Tech Editor, and host of "Spectrum" at Deutsche Welle Eng... Read More →

Micah Lee

Technologist, The Intercept

Micah Lee is a technologist with a focus on operational security, source protection, privacy, and cryptography. He is a founder and board member of Freedom of the Press Foundation and the author of the “Encryption Works” handbook.An avid GNU/Linux user, he has been writing code... Read More →

Patrick O'Doherty

Software Engineer, Intercom

Patrick O'Doherty is a software engineer at Intercom in San Francisco, and a hacker, tinkerer, and aspiring cryptoanarchist.

Friday April 17, 2015 1:00pm - 5:00pm PDT
The Impact Hub 901 Mission Street Suite 105 San Francisco, CA 94103

Intensive hands-on training

1:00pm PDT

Data Visualization for Dummies

Want to use interesting data sets to create killer online presentations? Learn the ins and outs of turning data into powerful online graphics that users can easily engage with. Alex Salkever of Silk.co will start the workshop with a shared data set and walk you through how to analyze and display it using Silk, an online data visualization platform. Jewel Loree, data analyst at Tableau in Seattle, will teach you to use Tableau software to create web-ready visualizations. Attendees should download and install Tableau Public prior to the session.

Speakers

Wilson Hsieh

User Success Analyst, import.io

Wilson Hsieh is a user success analyst at import.io. Prior to joining import.io, Wilson worked at Fidelity Investments as a Next Generation Contact Center analyst, an operational analyst and a financial representative on the High Opportunity Team. His achievements include receiving... Read More →

Jewel Loree

Data Analyst, Tableau

Jewel Loree is equal parts data junkie and artist. As a Senior Data Analyst for Tableau Public she assists journalists, bloggers, and hobbyists create data visualizations that are insightful, interesting, engaging, and beautiful. Follow her on Twitter: @jeweloree.

Alex Salkever

Head of growth, product marketing, and business development, Silk

Alex Salkever is head of marketing and data journalism evangelism at Silk.co. He was an award-winning freelancer and reporter for 10 years, including five spent as Technology Editor of BusinessWeek.com covering Silicon Valley. He has trained dozens of hundreds of journalists and students... Read More →

Friday April 17, 2015 1:00pm - 5:00pm PDT
The Impact Hub 901 Mission Street Suite 105 San Francisco, CA 94103

Intensive hands-on training

4:30pm PDT

Regional Leaders' Meeting

Meeting of SPJ professional and student chapter leaders. We'll discuss regional business, share updates on what our chapters have been doing, and hand off the torch for next year's regional conference.

Friday April 17, 2015 4:30pm - 5:30pm PDT
The Impact Hub 901 Mission Street Suite 105 San Francisco, CA 94103

Networking

5:30pm PDT

Welcome Reception

Get a head start on networking and forming relationships with conference speakers and attendees over appetizers and drinks in an intimate setting. This is the perfect opportunity to exchange business cards and solidify your panel schedule, if you haven't already!

Friday April 17, 2015 5:30pm - 7:30pm PDT
The Impact Hub 901 Mission Street Suite 105 San Francisco, CA 94103

Networking

8:00am PDT

Continental Breakfast

Fuel up for the day full of panels with continental breakfast at the Ghirardelli room.

Saturday April 18, 2015 8:00am - 10:00am PDT
Hotel Whitcomb (Ghirardelli)

8:00am PDT

Registration / Check-in

The registration table will be located at the hotel ballroom.

Saturday April 18, 2015 8:00am - 4:00pm PDT
Hotel Whitcomb (Ballroom)

8:45am PDT

Mark of Excellence Awards Breakfast

Join the 2015 Mark of Excellence award winners for a breakfast and ceremony honoring these outstanding student journalists.

Moderators

Mark Scarp

Past President, Valley of the Sun (Phoenix) SPJ

Mark J. Scarp is a faculty associate (adjunct professor) of journalism at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, where he teaches journalism ethics and diversity. He currently is communications manager of the Heard Museum in Phoenix... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2015 8:45am - 9:45am PDT
Hotel Whitcomb (Ballroom)

9:00am PDT

Publishing Platforms

As a freelancer, how can you find outlets and audiences that both appreciate your work and are willing to pay for it--or in some cases, help you access crowdfunding for it? Hear from representatives of publishing platforms that connect writers with publishers and potential readers/listeners/viewers. How do they work and what can you do to maximize your chances of success when using them?

Moderators

Liz Enochs

Vice Chair, San Francisco Public Press

Liz Enochs, an award-winning journalist with two decades of experience, is a Senior Editor at Charles Schwab. She’s worked as both a reporter and an editor, and has written pieces ranging from features to profiles to investigative stories. Her experience includes work as a senior... Read More →

Speakers

Mark Armstrong

Editor / Founder, Longreads (Automattic / WordPress.com)

Mark Armstrong (@markarms) is an editor for Automattic / WordPress.com and the founder of Longreads, a global community for finding and sharing outstanding storytelling on the web. Armstrong first started Longreads as a hashtag on Twitter in 2009; the company was acquired by Word... Read More →

Peter Beller

Director of Content Strategy, IZEA, Inc. / Ebyline

Peter C. Beller, Director of Content Strategy at IZEA/Ebyline, is a former Forbes magazine writer and Knight-Bagehot fellow at Columbia University. At IZEA/Ebyline he helps brands, agencies and publishers connect and work with journalists to produce quality content across legacy and... Read More →

Catherine Hollander

Editorial Director, Beacon

Catherine Hollander is the editorial director at Beacon, where she helps writers and publications find reader support for their work. Prior to joining Beacon, she covered health care and economic policy as a staff correspondent for National Journal in Washington, D.C. Her writing... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2015 9:00am - 10:00am PDT
Hotel Whitcomb (Lombard)

Freelancing/entrepreneurship

9:00am PDT

Diversity In Media

How do you go beyond the usual sources to ensure there's diversity in your coverage -- not just of gender, race, sexual orientation, and so on, but also of point of view? You'll learn tips, techniques and strategies to find sources with a broad variety of backgrounds and perspectives so you can give your readers, listeners, or viewers the widest possible lens on the subject matter you're covering.

Speakers

Rose Aguilar

Host, Your Call, KALW

Rose Aguilar began hosting Your Call on KALW in 2006, she also provides a weekly commentary about undercovered activism for KPFK's Uprising, and writes about politics and social issues for Truthout and Al Jazeera English. In 2005, Rose took a six-month road trip through the so-called... Read More →

Kwan Booth

Writer, Boothism

Kwan Booth spends his days at a big tech company teaching people how to make money on the internet. At night he writes fiction, articles and essays that often detail the dangers of big tech companies and the ridiculous ways that people try to make money on the internet. It’s strangely... Read More →

Pueng Vongs

Journalist and digital editor, Bay Area News Group

Pueng Vongs is a journalist and digital editor who currently works for the Bay Area News Group. She is past national diversity chair for SPJ and has held a number of posts with the local chapter. She frequently trains and advises journalists on diversity and digital media strategies... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2015 9:00am - 10:00am PDT
Hotel Whitcomb (Fisherman's Wharf)

Skill building

10:15am PDT

Science Writing and Covering Controversy: Vaccines, Ebola and Neuroscience

A recent survey found that more than 80% of Americans support mandatory labeling on “foods containing DNA.” With public understanding and acceptance of scientific consensus at such a low point, it’s more important than ever to avoid the trap of “presenting both sides” when there’s no scientific debate. (Think vaccines, “health scares” like Ebola and climate change.) This panel will discuss basic aspects of science reporting, from covering embargoed papers to vetting experts for comment, and offer tips on covering controversial issues.

Moderators

Liza Gross

Author, The Science Writer's Handbook

Liza Gross writes frequently about ecology, conservation and health for publications including the New York Times, Discover, Washington Post, and Slate, and is a regular contributor to KQED. She won a 2014 SPJ NorCal excellence in journalism award for a Discover story on medical innovations... Read More →

Speakers

Lisa Aliferis

Editor, State of Health blog, KQED

Lisa Aliferis is Editor of State of Health, the health blog at KQED News, San Francisco’s NPR affiliate. She focuses on health policy, public health and health disparities. Aliferis has twenty years’ experience producing health reports for television news, including Dateline NBC... Read More →

Erika Check Hayden

Reporter, Nature

Erika Check Hayden is an award-winning science journalist based in San Francisco. In 2014, with support from the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting, Erika traveled to Sierra Leone to cover the Ebola epidemic. She has worked on staff with the journal Nature since 2001. Follow her... Read More →

Amina Khan

Science writer, Los Angeles Times

Amina Khan is a science writer at the Los Angeles Times who covers a range of topics, from astrophysics to animal behavior. A Northern California native, Amina attended UC Berkeley where she occasionally went to class but mostly spent her time at the campus paper, The Daily Californian... Read More →

Greg Miller

Senior Writer, Wired magazine

Greg Miller is a freelance science journalist who writes about biological, behavioral, and social science. He was a senior writer at WIRED and a staff writer at Science. In 2013, Greg was part of a team of writers who received a communication award from the National Academies for... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2015 10:15am - 11:15am PDT
Hotel Whitcomb (Ballroom)

Science and Technology

10:15am PDT

Secrets of the Internet Archive

Journalists are good at finding information online, but the task gets complicated in searches for older information and video clips. Web pages are updated, sites get architecture makeovers and publishers disapear, archives and all. The nonprofit Internet Archive offers a host of tools to help journalists access older parts of the Web and information that is hard to find through search engines, as well as growing digital archives of texts, audio, moving images and older software. Join us for this conversation with Roger Macdonald, the Internet Archive's director of television archive, to find out how these tools can help you provide more historical context in your reporting and do better investigative journalism. Bonus: Learn how to locate your digital-born work from publications that no longer exist.

Speakers

Roger Macdonald

Director of Television Archive, Internet Archive

Roger joined the Internet Archive to help create an open digital public library of TV news, providing a means to thoughtfully reflect upon the most pervasive and persuasive medium of our time. He spent the previous eleven years helping to manage the nation's largest independent noncommercial... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2015 10:15am - 11:15am PDT
Hotel Whitcomb (Fisherman's Wharf)

Skill building

10:15am PDT

What You Need to Know About Video

Even if your job doesn't involve video now, it may one day soon.Video has become an essential component of many newsrooms. Having video shooting, editing, and storytelling skills can set you apart in the job market. What do you need to know about how news organizations are using video now, how they plan to implement video in the future, and what that means for journalists? What tools do you need to be familiar with? What skills do you need to have? And what's the best way to market your multimedia skills?

Moderators

Sachi Cunningham

Assistant Professor of Multimedia Journalism, San Francisco State University

Director Sachi Cunningham is a documentary filmmaker and Professor of Multimedia Journalism at San Francisco State University. Her award-winning stories have screened worldwide for outlets including FRONTLINE, The Discovery Channel, The New York Times Sunday Magazine and The Los... Read More →

Speakers

Vicky Nguyen

Investigative Reporter, NBC Bay Area

Vicky Nguyen is an award-winning investigative reporter for NBC Bay Area News. She has covered numerous high profile stories including Florida's hanging chads debacle in the 2000 presidential election, the serial shooters and Baseline Killer in Phoenix, the PG&E pipe explosion in... Read More →

Adithya Sambamurthy

Video Producer, The Center for Investigative Reporting

Adithya Sambamurthy produces, shoots and edits videos at The Center for Investigative Reporting. His work appears on CIR's website,revealnews.org, and also airs on a range of CIR's broadcast and online partners, including the PBS Newshour, Al Jazeera English, ABC News, KQED and the Guardian. At CIR, he has been nominated for a national Emmy, shared in a Peabody Award, and received commendations from the Society of Professi... Read More →

Dena Takruri

AJ+

Dena Takruri is a Presenter and Producer at AJ+, Al Jazeera's all digital video news channel based in San Francisco. She covers a vast array of issues including global affairs, politics, social justice and pop culture both in studio and in the field. Prior to joining AJ+, Dena was... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2015 10:15am - 11:15am PDT
Hotel Whitcomb (Lombard)

Skill building

11:15am PDT

Coffee Break

Coffee break!

Saturday April 18, 2015 11:15am - 11:40am PDT
Hotel Whitcomb (Ghirardelli)

11:40am PDT

Journalist as Entrepreneur

Interested in starting your own news organization? Curious about how high-profile journalism entrepreneurs built successful businesses? Come hear about the lessons j-preneurs learned along their paths to building new businesses. What worked and what didn't? What pitfalls should you avoid? And what about money -- how much do you need? Where and how can you raise it? How can you build sustainability into your business model?

Moderators

Liz Gannes

Senior Editor, Technology Trends and Innovation, Re/code

Liz Gannes most recently covered Google, startups and trends in innovation for AllThingsD.com, where she also co-produced the D: Dive Into Mobile conference. She has been a Silicon Valley-based business technology reporter since 2004, where she started her career at Red Herring. Liz... Read More →

Speakers

Tanja Aitamurto

Deputy Director, Brown Institute

Dr. Tanja Aitamurto is the Deputy Director and a Brown Fellow at the Brown Institute for Media Innovation at the School of Engineering at Stanford. She studies civic technologies and media innovations and teaches how to develop those by using human-centered design practices. In many... Read More →

Burt Herman

Board chair, Hacks/Hackers

Ryan Singel

CEO & Co-founder, Contextly - Ex Wired

Ryan started writing for Wired.com in 2002, after spending three years working for search startups in the DotCom boom. An online journalist from the start, he's always been on the digital side of barricades in the media revolution. His beats for Wired.com have included privacy, security... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2015 11:40am - 12:40pm PDT
Hotel Whitcomb (Ballroom)

Freelancing/entrepreneurship

11:40am PDT

How Climate Confidential Broke the Mold

Learn how six journalists joined forces to create a new model for cooperative, crowd-funded reporting. In its first year, Climate Confidential raised more than $60,000 from readers, produced more than 60 stories, hosted three events, and partnered with more than a dozen outlets, including The Atlantic, The Guardian UK, Scientific American, Smithsonian, Pacific Standard, Modern Farmer, Popular Science, Quartz, and many more. Find out what lessons these enterprising journalists learned, how you can replicate their success, what pitfalls you should avoid, and what the future holds for Climate Confidential and other crowd-funded projects.

Speakers

Josie Garthwaite

Co-founder, Climate Confidential

Josie Garthwaite is a journalist and editor based in San Francisco. Her writing on science, environment, and technology has appeared in publications including The Atlantic, Discover Magazine, National Geographic Digital Media, The New York Times, Smithsonian, and Wired. She holds... Read More →

Mary Catherine O'Connor

Co-founder, Climate Confidential

Mary Catherine O’Connor reports on environmental issues, outdoor recreation and technology for a wide range of publications including The Guardian, Outside and Fortune. She is based in San Francisco. Follow her on Twitter @mcoc.

Amy Westervelt

Co-founder, Climate Confidential

Amy Westervelt is an award-winning journalist who covers the environment, health, and technology for The Wall Street Journal and The Guardian UK. Her work has also recently appeared in Fast Company, Aeon, and Smithsonian. Follow her on Twitter @amywestervelt.

Saturday April 18, 2015 11:40am - 12:40pm PDT
Hotel Whitcomb (Fisherman's Wharf)

Science and Technology

11:40am PDT

Data Security for Reporters

If it has never occurred to you to wonder if someone is eavesdropping on your online communications, this session might be for you. Learn why journalists are beginning to encrypt their emails, text messages, and chats. Learn why reporters are taking steps to shield their online identities when browsing the websites of powerful corporations or agencies they plan to report on. Learn about the importance of safeguarding your online communications from two experts in digital security: Eva Galperin of the Electronic Frontier Foundation, and Trevor Timm of the Freedom of the Press Foundation.

Speakers

Eva Galperin

Global Policy Analyst, Electronic Frontier Foundation

Eva Galperin is a Global Policy Analyst atthe Electronic Frontier Foundation. Her work is primarily focused on privacy and security for vulnerable populations around the world. To that end, she has applied the combination of her political science and technical background to everything... Read More →

Morgan Marquis-Boire

Director of Security, First Look Media

Morgan Marquis-Boire is a Senior Researcher and Technical Advisor at the Citizen Lab at the Munk School of Global Affairs, University of Toronto. He is the Director of Security for First Look Media and a contributing writer for The Intercept. Prior to this, he worked on the security... Read More →

Quinn Norton

Freelancer, Wired, The Atlantic, Maximum PC

Quinn Norton is a writer who likes to hang out in the dead end alleys and rough neighborhood of the Internet, where bad things can happen to defenseless little packets. They are also places were new freedoms and poetries are born, and run riot over the network. She started studying... Read More →

Trevor Timm

Executive Director, Freedom of the Press Foundation

Trevor Timm is co-founder and executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation. A journalist, activist and lawyer, Trevor writes a twice-weekly column for The Guardian on privacy, free speech, and national security. He has contributed to The Atlantic, Al Jazeera, Foreign... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2015 11:40am - 12:40pm PDT
Hotel Whitcomb (Ghirardelli)

Skill building

12:40pm PDT

Keynote: Conversation Between Two Top Women Leaders

Saturday's keynote luncheon will feature an engaging conversation between two leaders in Bay Area journalism: Audrey Cooper, the first woman editor-in-chief of the San Francisco Chronicle, and Holly Kernan, executive editor of news at KQED.

Speakers

Audrey Cooper

Editor-in-Chief, San Francisco Chronicle

Audrey Cooper is editor in chief of The San Francisco Chronicle, and is the first woman to hold the position in the newspaper’s 150-year history. She has worked as a journalist at the Tri-Valley Herald, the Associated Press, and the Stockton Record, all in the San Francisco Bay area. She joined the Chronicle in 2006 as an assistant metro editor, rising to replace Stephen Proctor as managing editor in May 2013... Read More →

Holly Kernan

Executive Editor of News, KQED

Holly Kernan is the executive editor of news at KQED. She was formerly news director at KALW 91.7FM in San Francisco, where she was the architect of the award-winning Public Interest Reporting Project. In 2009 she was named Journalist of the Year by the Northern California Chapter... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2015 12:40pm - 2:00pm PDT
Hotel Whitcomb (Ballroom)

Skill building

2:15pm PDT

Pitch Slam!

Pitch Slam! This panel is geared for freelancers, who will have 90 seconds to pitch an idea to each of a panel of six editors from a variety of publications. The editors will give rapid-fire feedback and, for the lucky journalist, might say "come talk to me" and hand over a business card. During this fast-paced session, freelancers will get instant feedback, learn how to craft more enticing pitches and make new connections. And it will be fun! If you're looking for a creative boost, you won't want to miss this.

Speakers

Julie Caine

Managing Producer, KALW News

Julie Caine is the managing producer for Crosscurrents, KALW’s award-winning newsmagazine. She’s also the lead producer of Audiograph, an ongoing KALW series that uses sound to tell the stories of the San Francisco Bay Area. Her radio documentary, Squeezebox Stories won an SPJ award for best arts and culture reporting in 2012, and her radio work has aired on a wide variety of national programs. She has a master’s degree in journalism from UC Berkeley, and believes deeply in Grace Paley’s assertion that you must be a story listener to be a... Read More →

Hannah Levintova

Assistant Editor, Mother Jones

Hannah Levintova is an Assistant Editor at Mother Jones, based in San Francisco, California. She writes and edits stories about tech, gender politics, poverty, and criminal justice with a focus on gun policy. Before going West, Hannah worked on the news desk at NPR in Washington... Read More →

Adam Rogers

Articles Editor, Wired

Adam Rogers is the Articles Editor at Wired magazine in San Francisco, where he runs the front-of-book sections and edits features, primarily about science but also other miscellaneous geekery. Rogers was a writer and on-air correspondent for the television show Wired Science, and... Read More →

Katherine Ann Rowlands

Deputy Business Editor, San Jose Mercury News

Kat is Deputy Business Editor for the San Jose Mercury News and Bay Area News Group, directing coverage of business and technology in Silicon Valley and the region. She previously worked as East Bay Metro Editor. She also worked for the San Luis Obispo Tribune, Bay City News Service... Read More →

Michael Stoll

Executive Editor, San Francisco Public Press

Michael Stoll is a journalist, media critic and journalism educator. He is executive director of the San Francisco Public Press, a nonprofit, public-interest news project for the San Francisco Bay Area that aims to do for web and print what public broadcasting has done for radio... Read More →

Maria Streshinsky

Editor in Chief, Pacific Standard Magazine

Maria Streshinsky is the editor in chief of Pacific Standard, which she launched in 2012. She was previously the managing editor atThe Atlantic in Washington, D.C., where she managed a staff of more than 25 editors, writers, and art directors. In 2009 she won the Atlantic Media... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2015 2:15pm - 3:15pm PDT
Hotel Whitcomb (Ballroom)

Freelancing/entrepreneurship

2:15pm PDT

Tech Reporting

Tech reporting is now an integral part of a journalist's skill set, not just for science reporting but also for everything from business to politics to the arts. Come hear presentations on how to report on this tech with nuance, and how to build a unique beat in this competetive area. Presenters include Connie Cuglielmo, editor in chief of CNET news and Tom Simonite, San Francisco Bureau Chief of MIT Technology Review.

Speakers

Connie Guglielmo

Editor-in-Chief, CNET News

Connie is responsible for overseeing the global news team as they report on breaking news, and deliver analysis, profiles, Q&As and long-form feature stories about the people, companies and technology changing the world. She most recently worked as a business reporter on the tech... Read More →

Tom Simonite

San Francisco Bureau Chief, Technology Review

Tom is MIT Technology Review’s San Francisco bureau chief. He enjoys a diverse diet of algorithms, Internet, and human-computer interaction with chips on the side. He leads the Technology Review's coverage of new ideas from Silicon Valley, whether they spring from tech giants, new... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2015 2:15pm - 3:15pm PDT
Hotel Whitcomb (Ghirardelli)

Science and Technology

2:15pm PDT

Digital storytelling

Digital journalism is redefined daily by countless users and producers via social media, apps and other technology. From Medium to Meerkat, there are myriad ways to tell stories online and more storytellers doing it. Today, three journalists who have long been on the frontier of digital storytelling will discuss its limitless possibilities and what you can do now to improve your own stories. They are Kim Bui, West Coast producer for reported.ly and co-founder of #wjchat, a weekly Twitter chat for web journalists; David Cohn, executive producer at AJ Plus, part of Al Jazeera’s research and development team, and former Chief Content Officer of Circa; and Victor Hernandez, a news innovation strategist and former “news futurist” at CNN who is currently co-chair of the San Diego chapter of the Online News Association.

Speakers

Kim Bui

West Coast producer, Reported.ly

Kim Bui is the West Coast producer for reported.ly. She’s also an adjunct instructor at the University of Southern California and co-founder of #wjchat, a weekly Twitter chat for web journalists. Previously, she was a part of Digital First Media’s Thunderdome, working on breaking... Read More →

David Cohn

Executive Producer, AJ+

David Cohn is an executive producer at AJ Plus, part of Al Jazeera’s research and development team, leading efforts to turn a broadcast organization into a digital operation. Before that he was the Chief Content Officer of Circa, one of the first organizations to experiment with... Read More →

Victor Hernandez

News Innovation Strategist

Victor Hernandez is a digital journalism strategist and new media thought leader with keen eyes and full attention toward the big picture of tomorrow’s rapidly changing media landscape. Currently collaborating closely with news media startups on strategic initiatives and product... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2015 2:15pm - 3:15pm PDT
Hotel Whitcomb (Fisherman's Wharf)

Skill building

3:30pm PDT

Community Engagement: Why It Matters

When it comes to claiming your audience, you need to know who they are. What are some best practices for connecting with your community and getting them engaged in your work?

Moderators

San Francisco Public Press

Publisher, San Francisco Public Press

Lila LaHood is the publisher of the San Francisco Public Press. She has worked as a nonprofit consultant, and as a freelance writer and editor. She was previously a business writer at the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, where she covered retail and real estate. Lila is president of the... Read More →

Speakers

Lydia Chavez

Managing Editor and Founder, Misson Local

Lydia Chávez is the founder and managing editor of Mission Local. She’s also a professor at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism and formerly worked at the NYTimes, LA Times, Time Magazine and the Albuquerque Tribune. She has written and edited two books and has written... Read More →

Frances Dinkelspiel

Editor, Berkeleyside

Frances Dinkelspiel is the co-founder and executive editor of Berkeleyside. Her second book, Tangled Vines: Greed. Murder, Obsession, and an Arsonist in the Vineyards of California, will be published in October. Find her on Twitter at @Frannydink.

Martin Reynolds

Senior Editor, Bay Area News Group

Martin G. Reynolds is senior editor for community engagement and training for Bay Area News Group and Digital First Media, western region. As former editor in chief of the Oakland Tribune, a lead editor of the Chauncey Bailey Project and co-founder of a Bay Area News Group-sponsored... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2015 3:30pm - 4:30pm PDT
Hotel Whitcomb (Ballroom)

Skill building

3:30pm PDT

Freedom of Information: What You Need to Know

Need to find out which business leaders your mayor has been meeting with over the last year? Or what criteria the state uses when awarding investment management contracts for public pension plans? Learn from experienced journalists and lawyers what information you're entitled to, what's the most effective way to ask for it, and what to do with it when you get it.

Moderators

Thomas Peele

Investigative Reporter, Bay Area News Group

Thomas Peele is an investigative reporter for the Bay Area News Group, specializing in data collection and analysis. He is also a lecturer at the University of California, Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism, where he co-teaches a class on public-records reporting. He’s won over... Read More →

Speakers

Ryan Gabrielson

Reporter, Propublica

Ryan Gabrielson is a reporter for ProPublica covering the U.S. justice system. In 2013, his stories for the Center for Investigative Reporting on violent crimes at California’s board-and-care institutions for the developmentally disabled were a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for... Read More →

Caitlin Henry

Attorney, @sue_the_fed

Kelly Henry, an Oakland-based attorney specializes in Freedom of Information and Public Records Act requests. You can read about some of her cases, and find resources for drafting your own requests here http://caitlinkellyhenry.com/foia. Kelly Henry also teaches in the Criminal Justice... Read More →

Mark Rumold

Staff Attorney, Electronic Frontier Foundation

Mark Rumold is a staff attorney at the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), where his work focuses primarily on government secrecy and national security surveillance issues. As part of EFF's Transparency Project, Mark regularly represents EFF in cases under the federal Freedom of... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2015 3:30pm - 4:30pm PDT
Hotel Whitcomb (Ghirardelli)

Skill building

3:30pm PDT

Sound and the Web: Podcasts, Tools, and Adventures in Audio

Interested in using sound to supplement online reporting? Have an idea for a podcast, but unsure where to start? Panelists in this session will cover the basics and share personal stories of using online audio. Bob Salladay from the Center for Investigative Reporting will describe CIR's experience of launching Reveal, a new podcast on investigative journalism. Anne Wootton of Pop-Up Archive will talk about a platform of simple tools available to help media companies and archives find and reuse sound.

Moderators

Kaizar Campwala

Speakers

Ben Manilla

Producer, Professor, UC Berkeley

For more than 30 years, Ben Manilla has been producing high-quality, nationally and internationally syndicated audio content - radio programs, podcasts, talk shows, documentaries, and music specials. He has won every major award in the audio world including the Peabody Award, the... Read More →

Anil Panguluri

CEO and Founder, NewsBeat

Anil Panguluri is the co-founder and CEO of Newsbeat, which lets people listen to the news they care about. Previously, he built mobile voice products at RingCentral, and was responsible for ground-breaking mobile innovation at Yahoo across web search, personalization and social... Read More →

Bob Salladay

Editorial Director, Reveal

Robert Salladay is the managing editor at the Center for Investigative Reporting. He has been the principal editor of projects that have twice been finalists for the Pulitzer Prize - in 2011 and 2012. Projects he has edited also have won two George Polk Awards and four IRE awards... Read More →

Anne Wootton

CEO, Pop-Up Archive

Anne Wootton is the co-founder of Pop Up Archive, a platform of simple tools to help media companies and archives find and reuse sound. Pop Up Archive began at the School of Information at the University of California, Berkeley and was co-developed with the Public Radio Exchange... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2015 3:30pm - 4:30pm PDT
Hotel Whitcomb (Fisherman's Wharf)

Skill building

4:45pm PDT

Why Journalists Should Care About Custom Content

Custom content: It’s not advertising, it’s not marketing, and it isn’t exactly journalism. It’s an increasingly popular tool that companies are using to tell their stories with the aid of journalists. There’s serious money to be made working with companies that publish custom content -- sometimes called native advertising or native content -- but there are ethical considerations to ponder. You’ll hear the views of four experienced journalists who produce custom content: Stephanie Losee, the managing editor for Dell, Monica Mehta, the content director at Sprocket Media, and Bay Area journalists Dan Fost and Leslie O’Neill, who have added custom content to their professional repertoire.

Moderators

Bill Snyder

Freelance technology writer

San Francisco journalist Bill Snyder has followed business, technology, and the business of technology for nearly 25 years at newspapers, national magazines and Web sites. He’s currently writing features and a weekly column -- “Tech’s Bottom Line” -- for InfoWorld.com; a... Read More →

Speakers

Dan Fost

Freelance technology writer

Dan Fost is a freelance writer, former technology columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle, and author of the books, "The Giants Baseball Experience" and "Giants Past and Present." He has written for the New York Times and San Francisco magazine, among many others. As a freelancer... Read More →

Stephanie Losee

Managing Editor, Dell Global Communications

Stephanie Losee is the Managing Editor of Dell, directing Dell’s editorial content strategy and formalizing Dell’s role as a brand publisher. Among other projects, she led the launch of Dell’s Paid Posts as the inaugural brand on The New York Times’ native advertising platform... Read More →

Monica Mehta

Content Director, Sprocket Media

Monica Mehta is Content Director at Sprocket Media. She specializes in content strategy for technology companies, and has written and provided editorial direction for leading technology companies including Oracle, Dell, HP, Accenture, and Fujitsu. Monica received a Master's degree... Read More →

Leslie O'Neill

Freelance writer and editor, LTO Tech Communications

Leslie T. O'Neill is an award-winning professional journalist with more than 10 years experience writing and editing feature stories, interviews, and high-level technology articles for tech magazines and Web sites. She began working as a developmental editor for tech books in 2010... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2015 4:45pm - 5:45pm PDT
Hotel Whitcomb (Ghirardelli)

Freelancing/entrepreneurship

4:45pm PDT

Comedy News: Curing Your News Hangover

Keli Dailey, host, creator, and producer of the comedy-news webseries News Hangover, will discuss comedy news as a medium that's increasingly more relevant for young people and show several videos created as part of the project. Most recently a 2014 John S. Knight Fellow at Stanford University, Keli has also been a food critic for U-T San Diego and previously held positions at the Los Angeles Times and the TIME Asia bureau. Keli holds a master's degree from UC Berkeley's Graduate School of Journalism and is versed in the entertainment beat, social and political issues, documentary photography and media criticism.

Speakers

Keli Dailey

Host, Creator, Producer, News Hangover

Keli Dailey is the host, creator, and producer of the comedy-news webseries News Hangover. Most recently a 2014 John S. Knight Fellow at Stanford University, Keli has also been a food critic for U-T San Diego and previously held positions at the Los Angeles Times and the TIME... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2015 4:45pm - 5:45pm PDT
Hotel Whitcomb (Fisherman's Wharf)

Skill building

4:45pm PDT

Investigative Reporting: Beyond the Traditional Newsroom

Across the media landscape, fewer and fewer resources are being devoted to investigative reporting, and reporters who pursue in-depth investigative projects face challenges from shrinking newsrooms to short attention spans. At this panel an array of media professionals will discuss innovative approaches to investigative reporting beyond the realm of a traditional print daily format. Featuring Bernice Yeung of the Center for Investigative Reporting, Tim Redmond of 48hills.org, and Michael Stoll of the San Francisco Public Press.

Speakers

Tim Redmond

Founder, 48 Hills

Tim is the Founder of 48 Hills, a blog about news, art, culture and life in San Francisco.

Michael Stoll

Executive Editor, San Francisco Public Press

Bernice Yeung

Health and Welfare Reporter, Center for Investigative Reporting

Bernice Yeung is an investigative reporter for The Center for Investigative Reporting focusing on community health. A former staff writer for SF Weekly and editor at California Lawyer magazine, Bernice's work has appeared in media outlets such as The New York Times, San Francisco... Read More →

Saturday April 18, 2015 4:45pm - 5:45pm PDT
Hotel Whitcomb (Ballroom)

Skill building

4:45pm PDT

What Should Journalists Know About Coding? - CANCELED

CANCELED - "CURING YOUR NEWS HANGOVER" REPLACES THIS. As journalism migrates to online platforms and becomes more data-driven, what skills do journalists need to keep up? Do you need to become a code monkey or just have a basic understanding of html? Learn what skills you need to stay relevant in this quickly evolving world from two of the top leaders bringing the San Francisco Chronicle into the digital future.

Speakers

Michael Grant

Web Designer, SF Chronicle

Michael Grant is a San Francisco Chronicle web designer and site producer who is helping lead the newsroom’s thrust into the digital future. Before coming to The Chronicle Grant worked at the Asbury Park Press Design Studio where he was honored with a 2012 Best of Gannett Award... Read More →

Frank Mina

Deputy Managing Editor, SF Chronicle

Designer, dad, deputy managing editor at San Francisco Chronicle and regional director for the Society for News Design. Follow him on Twitter: @fmina.

Saturday April 18, 2015 4:45pm - 5:45pm PDT
Hotel Whitcomb (Fisherman's Wharf)

Skill building

5:45pm PDT

Closing Mixer

Miss a chance to catch a conference speaker or attendee you wanted to connect with? Join the closing mixer and tie up any loose ends in a casual setting. Appetizers will be provided, along with a cash bar.

Saturday April 18, 2015 5:45pm - 6:30pm PDT
Hotel Whitcomb (Mezzanine)

Networking Skill building