Featured sessions

General interest
A reporter’s tips on using the Freedom of Information Act to get what you need
SPLC experts in discussion with Michael Vasquez, senior investigative reporter, Chronicle of Higher Education. A longtime education reporter will help refine story ideas about policies and trends that affect high schools and offer tips on what to ask for and how to ask for it.
Student Press Law Center

General interest
Be the good
No matter what anyone says, journalism makes a difference. It matters. The world needs good journalists who change the world and give a voice to the voiceless. Let’s talk about ways you can start a movement, and be the good.
Jeanne Acton, University Interscholastic League

General interest
Engage: A deeper look at ‘Raise Your Voice’
Get a behind-the-scenes perspective of “Raise Your Voice” and youth social movements with director Maribeth Romslo and Mary Beth Tinker. The pair will share their experiences and answer questions.
Maribeth Romslo, director, cinematographer and independent film producer; and 
Mary Beth Tinker, plaintiff in the landmark Supreme Court ruling in Tinker v. Des Moines that established Constitutional free speech rights of public school students

General interest
I’M PRESS! – The targeting of journalists in the United States
More than 400 incidents of violence and targeting have been reported against journalists in the United States between May and July 2020. Many more will be documented by convention time. SPLC executive director Hadar Harris in conversation with Trevor Timm, executive director of the Freedom of the Press Foundation which runs the US Press Freedom Tracker, and Maria Salazar-Ferro, director of emergencies at the Committee to Protect Journalism.
Student Press Law Center

General interest
One Story: Behind the scenes of NYT At Home
When travel became basically a quarantine escapist fantasy last spring, The New York Times Travel section found a new way to travel, looking closely at the resources for entertainment, diversity and adventure readers could find close to home. Transforming into the At Home section, this reporting shows student journalists how to look close to home for world-expanding stories. Join members of the New York Times At Home team for a behind-the-scenes look at their section.
Amy Virshup, The New York Times travel editor

Multimedia broadcast
The 15 commandments of great video
Video is everywhere, but not everyone knows how to do it right. This speaker has 15 easy-to-follow tips on shooting and editing that will help you make professional-looking productions.
Jeff Sharon, Full Sail University course director

Multimedia broadcast
Art of a successful investigation
This session will explore an impactful investigative series from start to finish — including how leads are generated, sources are cultivated and suspects are prosecuted. It will highlight the importance of asking the right questions and being prepared during interviews.
Ed Drantch, WKBW Eyewitness News reporter

Multimedia broadcast
Everybody has a story and true tales of TV news
Here’s how to make your stories connect with the viewer and make them memorable. Finding stories at the whim of a dart and a thing called a phone book. Putting the subject at ease for better interviews. Accept the water. And never forget it’s not about YOU, it’s about the STORY.
Les Rose, Newhouse School Broadcast and Digital Journalism professor of practice

Multimedia broadcast
One Story: Broadcasting At Home: What you can learn from the pros
When COVID struck and everyone got stuck at home, that meant adapting and learning new ways to make sure productions stayed on-air. Learn the good, bad and ugly of broadcasting at home from professionals working in TV, radio, news, entertainment and sports.
Moderated by former local TV producer and Orlando local committee volunteer Nena Garga and featuring these panelists —
Christina Orazio, senior production manager at Discovery Inc.;
Andrew Chrenoff, sports reporter, WLKY in Louisville, Kentucky; 
David De Guzman, reporter/weekend anchor at WFXR in Roanoke, Virginia;
Ryan Koletty, senior production manager for Harris Blitzer Sports and Entertainment in Philadelphia;
Krista LePard, associate producer for The Golf Channel’s “Morning Drive”;
Clay LePard, reporter, WKMG, Orlando; and
Katie Sommers, on-air talent for iHeart Media Tampa Bay

News literacy
Media literacy and the election
2020 has been a year filled with intense political conversation. Some of it based in fact. Some of it not so much. In the age of information overload, how does one even begin to sort through all the news about politics? How does someone sift through election coverage and figure out what is misinformation? While there has been incredible journalism this year, we have also seen a plethora of false claims, conspiracy theories and even deep fakes. Join this panel discussion as we explore what we learned from the coverage of the 2020 presidential election, what we noticed about youth civic engagement and how media literacy can help us separate the reliable content from the falsehoods.
National Association for Media Literacy Education:
Michelle Ciulla Lipkin, executive director;
Alexa Volland, MediaWise;
Anglie Holan, Politifact; and
Peter De Guzman, CIRCLE research program coordinator

News literacy
Verifying and debunking images on social media
This session will examine techniques to fact find and use tools such as reverse image search to confirm images circulating on social media. Visual literacy is an important part of the online world and is useful even beyond the world of journalism.
Andrew Stanfill, The New York Times Licensing Group photo editor and photojournalist

Online
Basic Google tools for your publication and classroom

Learn about how to use more than just Google search to tell stories. We’ll explore tools such as Google Fact-Check Explorer, Dataset Search, Google Trends, MapChecking.com, Google Earth Measure tool and Google EarthEngine TImelapse to tell compelling stories. You’ll receive a handout with links to tools and training videos to help you long beyond this session.
Mike Reilley, Society of Professional Journalists digital trainer

Online
Become a Google Flourish and data scraping ninja in 1 hour
Learn how to scrape information off websites into a spreadsheet (cool!) and then load spreadsheets into the Google Flourish data visualization tool to build animated graphics. You’ll walk away with two handouts, scraping formulas, datasets and exercises as well as some cool training videos. Set up a free account at Flourish.studio prior to the session.
Mike Reilley, Society of Professional Journalists digital trainer

Online
How to set a digital strategy and grow an audience
Digital — this isn’t a new concept in journalism. But to many, digital and digital strategy is still a mystifying concept. In this session, we will talk about how to figure out what works and doesn’t work for your audience, and build a strategy based on that.
Erica Hernandez, CNN digital producer

Photojournalism
Drone videography bible
This is a short presentation on the basic rules, regulations and etiquette when operating a drone in the United States.
Ryan Watson, instructor, University of South Florida Zimmerman School of Advertising and Mass Communications

Writing
Finding your writing voice
This session is a fun and entertaining exploration of how young writers can tap into that inner voice that distinguishes their work from everyone else. It’ll also include advice on how to write opinion pieces.
Ernest Hooper, American Cancer Society communications director