DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSIONS EXTENDED! You now have until May 8 to pitch your idea to the national SPJ conference planning committee, and contribute to programming for an important gathering of journalists in the nation’s capital
The conference is co-hosted with the Society of Professional Journalists by two collegiate journalism organizations, but the idea is for programming that will be instructional for journalists at all levels of experience. Some panels may be dedicated to discussions of journalism issues, some may be on practical lessons in performing one’s job, some may look ahead to growing threats to the profession or to information-gathering.
The committee seeks panels on these topics:
- Advancing Journalism (ethics; diversity, inclusion and equity; first amendment; innovations; advocacy; press freedom, etc.)
- Strengthening Journalists (career development; tools, technology, skill development; innovation; tools; newsgathering; combating disinformation, etc.)
- Building Leadership – in News and in SPJ (self-care and self-advocacy; management skills; news advocacy; personal leadership skills; group/team development; SPJ officer development; chapter programming and management; etc.)
- Career Development for College Students & Young Professionals (resume writing; interviewing tips; using LinkedIn and other social media; networking skills; etc.)
- If you have an idea for a session that doesn’t fit into any of these categories, just submit it in the “other” category.
Washington, D.C., Pro Chapter President Randy Showstack, who serves on the national SPJ conference planning committee, emphasizes that conference planners are looking for presenters “who can design and deliver engaging and interesting educational breakout sessions lasting 50 minutes.”
Fill out the form, including all the details for your session idea, here. Submitting is easy; there’s a little more work in being sure you have commitments from prospective speakers before you do submit your idea.