NEW PLATFORMS, TRADITIONAL CONCEPTS
SPJ Region 12 conference
Crowne Plaza
Lafayette, La.
March 30-31, 2012
FRIDAY
Registration 3-8 p.m.
Opening night reception, 6-8 p.m. Seafood gumbo, red beans and rice, cash bar and Cajun and zydeco music by JoJo Reed and the Happy Hill Band
Hospitality suite
SATURDAY
8-9:15
Breakfast speaker: Alejandro Junco de la Vega, publisher of El Norte in Monterrey and Reforma in Mexico City, living in self-imposed exile in Austin, Texas, because of death threats from drug traffickers.
Buffet: Coffee, juices, scrambled eggs, bacon, grits, mini-muffins and biscuits
9:30-10:45
Survivor! (Newspaper style)
Publishers and editors of newspapers of varying size markets and ownership examine the business model they believe newspapers will, or should, embrace in the coming decade to remain viable.
Moderator: TBA
• Cherry Fisher May, co-publisher of The Independent, free-circulation, locally owned weekly in Lafayette.
• Will Chapman, publisher of The Daily Iberian (circ. 14,400) in New Iberia, La. (Wick Communications)
• Carl Redman, executive editor, The Advocate, (circ. 83,200) in Baton Rouge, urban daily locally owned by Capital City Press.
• Dwayne Fatherree, platforms editor of The Daily Advertiser (30,400 circ.) in Lafayette, Gannett- owned urban daily
The Relevance of Radio: Where Does it Go from Here?
Radio has had to adapt to new realities twice before, once with the advent of television, now with the arrival of the Internet. What will radio’s niche be in journalism in the digital age?
Moderator: Bill Davie, Ph.D., broadcast professor, UL Lafayette
• Jim Engster, president of the Louisiana Radio Network and host of “The Jim Engster Show” on WRKF-FM, NPR affiliate in Baton Rouge
•Dave Spizale, general manager, KRVS-FM, NPR affiliate, UL Lafayette
•Suzanne Ferrara, former radio and TV reporter
11-12:15
Sports Celebrities and Journalists
Platforms and technologies may be changing, but sportswriters and athletes still have to deal with one another. Hear about the relationship from both sides.
Moderator: Scott Brazda, former sports director, KATC-TV3, Lafayette and adjunct journalism professor, UL Lafayette
•Chris Gannon, former tight end for the New England Patriots and San Diego Chargers
• Cavan Bordelon, former sports director, KLFY-TV10 in Lafayette and current sportscaster for the Louisiana IceGators hockey team
• Kevin Foote, sports editor of The Daily Advertiser and host of the radio sports program in “Footenotes” Lafayette
Reflections on the 2012 Campaign
A pollster and a political scientist and media consultant offer their assessments of the 2012 campaign a week after the Louisiana primary and three weeks after Super Tuesday and offer suggestions that could improve media coverage this fall.
Moderator: Robert Buckman, Ph.D., UL Lafayette journalism professor and freelance political reporter
•Kurt Corbello, Ph.D., director of the Southeastern Poll at Southeastern Louisiana University
•Pearson Cross, Ph.D., head of political science department, UL Lafayette, and political consultant for KATC-TV3 in Lafayette
12:30-1:45
Mark of Excellence Awards Luncheon
Speaker: John Ed Bradley, author of such popular novels as Tupelo Nights and his non-fiction memoir on LSU football, It Never Rains in Tiger Stadium; former reporter for The Washington Post and regular contributor to Sports Illustrated and Esquire.
Buffet: Tossed green salad, chicken and sausage jambalaya, crawfish étouffée with rice, corn maque choux, smothered green beans, baked rolls, bread pudding with bourbon sauce, iced tea and coffee
2-3:15
Plenary Session: Dark Clouds Over Sunshine Laws
A press association lobbyist, SPJ’s Region 12 sunshine chair, a media attorney and two reporters with horror stories discuss growing threats to public access and how to fight them.
•Sherry Lee Alexander, Ph.D., Loyola University communication professor and Region 12 Sunshine Chair; author of Covering the Courts, The Media and American Courts and Courtroom Carnival: Famous New Orleans Trials
•Pam Mitchell, executive director, Louisiana Press Association
•Jim Hashek, media attorney and faculty adviser for the Driftwood, University of New Orleans.
• Elizabeth Hill, reporter for KATC-TV3 in Lafayette, who fought a public records access battle with St. Landry Parish over files of pending rape cases.
• Heather Miller, reporter for The Independent Weekly in Lafayette, who won a public meetings battle with the mayor of St. Martinville, La., while she was a reporter for the Daily Iberian
3:30-4:45
The BP Oil Spill Plus Two: Lessons Learned
It became a national mega-story, right here in our back yard. Four experts who dealt with the disaster discuss what the media did right and what it did wrong—in case it ever happens again.
Moderator: Derek Albert, freelance environmental writer, St. Martinville, La.
•Mark Schleifstein, Pulitzer Prize-winning environmental reporter, The Times-Picayune, New Orleans
•Robert Twilley, Ph.,D., vice president of research, UL Lafayette, and an expert on coastal restoration, who was interviewed by NPR during the spill
•Charlie Whinham, news anchor, host of “Louisiana: The State we’re In” on Louisiana Public Broadcasting
•Sandy Davis, reporter, The Advocate, Baton Rouge
The Relevance of Photojournalism: Do Still Photographs Have a Future?
Some of the most iconic images since the Civil War have been still photographs. With media websites increasingly using video, will old-fashioned shutter-snappers still have a role?
Moderator: Alice Ferguson, communication professor, UL Lafayette
• Peter Piazza, veteran of more than 34 years as a photojournalist with The Daily Advertiser in Lafayette.
• Philip Gould, renowned freelance photographer and illustrator of several books on Louisiana culture
ALSO: Book signings, résumé critiques and a roundtable where staffers of college newspapers, broadcast stations and websites can meet and exchange ideas
Hospitality suite! Watch the Final Four with some free beer and food (no, seriously!)
Times, moderators and additional panelists to be announced
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