Society for Features JournalismConference 2018

Wednesday-Saturday, Sept. 12-15, 2018New OrleansTheme: RenewalHotel: Ace HotelSessions location: Loyola University New OrleansAuction location: The New Orleans Advocate

WEDNESDAY | 09.12.18

Opening reception and registration | 6 to 9 p.m.Barnett Dining Room and Courtyard at Ace HotelMeet your fellow features creatures, register for the conference and relax. Enjoy a glass – or two – of wine, some hors d’oeuvres and good conversation. SFJ President Jim Haag and other officers will welcome guests and introduce some special folks, such as our Diversity Fellows and any panelists in attendance.

THURSDAY | 09.13.18

Communications/Music Complex, Loyola Unversity New OrleansThose attending will take the streetcar from Ace Hotel to Loyola. The streetcar runs every 15 minutes. The trip takes about 30 minutes. We’ll provide streetcar passes for Thursday, Friday and Saturday.8:30-9:15 a.m. | Breakfast and registration at Loyola9:15-9:50 a.m. | The conference openingLet the renewal – of your skills and your spirit – begin. SFJ President Jim Haag, retired features editor at The Virginian-Pilot, welcomes attendees, and Mark Lorando, editor of The Times-Picayune, delivers the keynote address.9:50-10 a.m. | Break10-11 a.m. | Finding story ideas: 20 tips your editor won’t tell youLane DeGregory, enterprise reporter at the Tampa Bay Times, talks about stories that came from a variety of sources and discusses how a general assignment reporter comes up with fascinating people and topics to write about.11 a.m.-noon | Get the most out of online toolsSamantha Sunne, a trainer with the Society for Professional Journalists, will offer tips on using YouTube, Public Data Explorer and Trends. Samantha is well-versed in many technology tools involving Google and other online sites.Noon-1:15 p.m. | SFJ Hall of Fame luncheon and inductionIt’s been too long – eight years – since SFJ inducted anyone into our Hall of Fame. So, we’ll rectify that this year by introducing our newest members – two former SFJ presidents who continue to inspire and teach us: Ann Maloney of NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune, and Alice Short, retired from the Los Angeles Times.1:30-2:25 p.m. | Navigating the new world order – online and in printMore reporters – and even news sites – are injecting opinion in their posts on Twitter and Facebook in the wake of #metoo, school shootings and the current political climate. How is that greeted, and legally can reporters get fired for these kinds of posts? We’ll share some social-media policies from around the country, and try to shed some light on this issue. We’ll also look at the state of presenting the ”other side” in stories when you know that the source is not being honest. Does balanced coverage mean accurate coverage? Where do we draw the line? A panel discussion led by Emily Spicer, features editor at the San Antonio Express-News, with Jamie Stockwell, deputy national editor at The New York Times; Eva Saketkoo, a media attorney with the Hearst Corp.; and others.2:25-2:30 p.m. | Break2:30-3:30 p.m. | The perfect recipe for creating a food community on social mediaHear how publications are using social media to create a food community that shares stories and can be mined for ideas. Emily Spicer, features editor at the San Antonio Express-News, leads a panel discussion that includes Ann Maloney, a food writer at NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune, who will talk about her publications vibrant food following and how it came to be. Liz Seymour, features editor at The Washington Post, discusses The Post’s new stream of food coverage called Voraciously that is aiming for a young digital reader.3:30-4:20 p.m. | Reporters and editors: teaming up to tell storiesReporters want attention, support and confidence. Editors need focus, patience and conviction. Success means working well together. Lane DeGregory, enterprise reporter at the Tampa Bay Times, and Maria Carrillo, assistant managing editor/enterprise at the Tampa Bay Times, will talk about what editors and reporters can do to build that relationship.4:20-4:30 p.m. | Break4:30-5 p.m. | Show + Steal, Part 1Laura T. Coffey, a writer and editor at Today.com, moderates one of our most popular sessions, where editors share their best ideas from the past year for anyone to steal. A warning: Laura’s enthusiasm can be infectious, so we might get a little carried away here. The streetcar will take us back to Ace Hotel.6:30-9:30 p.m. | The SFJ Foundation Auction at The New Orleans Advocate (about three blocks from Ace.)We’ll offer appetizers and drinks as we sell, both silently and aloud, the goodies we’ve gathered from across the country to help support the SFJ Foundation’s Diversity Fellowship program. Emily Spicer and Jim Haag will lead the craziness, with able assistance from those in the crowd. Dan Shea, president and publisher of our hosts, The New Orleans Advocate, will welcome guests, and Diversity Committee Chairwoman Jeneé Osterheldt will talk about the importance of the Diversity Fellowship program and will introduce our three Fellows for 2018. Expect an evening of chaos and be prepared to sing, just in case.

FRIDAY | 09.14.18

Communications/Music Complex, Loyola University New OrleansThose attending will take the streetcar from Ace Hotel to Loyola. The streetcar runs every 15 minutes. The trip takes about 20 minutes. We’ll provide streetcar passes for Thursday, Friday and Saturday.8:30-9:15 a.m. | Breakfast at Loyola9:15-10:15 a.m. | Hello, digital! Goodbye, print?Liz Seymour, features editor at The Washington Post, talks about the process of transforming from print to digital and what that really means in 2018. The Post has been a leader in the field, but even the biggest papers are finding a slow road as we cut our ties with paper and fully embrace the digital future.10:15-10:30 a.m. | Break10:30-11:30 p.m. | The #metoo movement: Where are we now?The news of 2017 and 2018 was frequently dominated by stories about sexual harassment and assault. A trickle turned into a torrent of headlines, accusations, denials and apologies. Companies and institutions and individuals resolved to look inward to change toxic cultures. Many women found reasons to feel optimistic – or, at the very least, they found outlets for their rage. Now it’s September 2018, and the big question is: Where are we as a country and a culture? Institutional change takes years, but are there examples of documentable change or plans in place that might offer hope that the issue won’t fade from prominence? Who continues to kick ass and take names? Alice Short, retired assistant managing editor at the Los Angeles Times, will lead a panel discussion with L.A. Times columnist Robin Abcarian; Brett Anderson, food critic at NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune; and Jeneé Osterheldt, a writer at The Boston Globe.11:30 a.m.-noon | Search and slice: being your own best editorLearn how to edit – yourself and others – when you’re racing against a deadline. Maria Carrillo, assistant managing editor/enterprise at the Tampa Bay Times, offers pointers that will help you get your stories online quickly and accurately but also will serve you well when you’re doing long-form work.12:15-1:15 p.m. | SFJ award winners luncheonWe laud the winners of the 2018 Excellence-in-Features Awards.1:30-2:25 p.m. | Show + Steal, Part 2Laura T. Coffey, a writer and editor at Today.com, is back with more great ideas to share.2:25-2:30 p.m. | Break2:30-3:30 p.m. |Cooking up profits on social mediaLearn how publications are making money – money! – from food events. Emily Spicer, features editor at the San Antonio Express-News, leads a panel discussion that includes Ann Maloney, a food writer at NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune, who will talk about ways her publication has mined food for gold.3:30-3:40 p.m. | Break3:40-4:30 p.m. | Short takes: reporting and framing narratives in a dayFollow a veteran reporter – Lane DeGregory, enterprise reporter at the Tampa Bay Times – and a longtime editor – Maria Carrillo, assistant managing editor/enterprise at the Tampa Bay Times – as they talk about taking small bites off the news and writing short narrative stories and doing it all in one day.The streetcar will take us back to Ace Hotel.

SATURDAY | 09.15.18

Communications/Music Complex, Loyola Unversity New OrleansThose attending will take the streetcar from Ace Hotel to Loyola.8:30-9:15 a.m. | Breakfast at Loyola9:15-10:25 p.m. | What should we do with kids today? Train ’em? Teach ’em? Or – maybe listen to them?We all need cheap labor, right? How about hooking up with a local college? But then what? Laura Jayne, a former professional journalist and now the director of student services at Loyola University New Orleans, talks about a program she started at Loyola that lets students in her class partner with NOLA.com and The New Orleans Advocate and write for them as freelancers for the exposure. She’ll offer tips on how to do this at your own paper. Barbara Allen, the managing editor of the Poynter Institute’s website and the former director of student media at Oklahoma State University, will offeradvice for mentoring college students, whether they’re interning or freelancing or the newest members of your staff. And a college student will tell us what journalism students want from professional journalists.10:25-10:30 a.m. | Break10:30-11:30 a.m. | Features 911We’re bringing back an old favorite. Annette Sisco, features editor at The New Orleans Advocate, leads a discussion where we answer questions posed by conference attendees. We’ll have a 911 box available throughout the conference, and we’ll ask conference attendees to ask questions, both big and small. Sharon Chapman of the Austin American-Statesman already has the first question for the group: How does everyone handle movie listings these days?11:30 a.m.-noon | Changing of the guardIt’s a time-honored tradition: The current SFJ president, Jim Haag, turns over the gavel – and few surprising pieces of clothing – to the incoming president, Margaret Myers of Atlantic Media. Then, sadly, it’s time to wrap it up.12:30-2 p.m. | SFJ BOARD MEETING at LoyolaMargaret Myers will lead her first meeting at SFJ president, and the SFJ gang starts to look ahead to 2019.