Alaska Press Club is hosting Journalism Month! For the month of April, we’ll host online sessions Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, starting Monday, April 4 through the end of the month. Join us each of these mornings at 8 a.m.
CONFERENCE SCHEDULE 2022
MONDAY | April 4
Understanding ranked choice voting in Alaska’s upcoming elections
State and federal elections this year will use a new voting system — ranked choice. What is this new system, and what do you need to understand as a journalist to cover the elections? Veteran Alaska congressional reporter Liz Ruskin will moderate a discussion with Gail Fenumiai, Alaska Division of Elections director.
Host: Liz Ruskin, Alaska Public Media
Guest: Gail Fenumiai, Division of Elections & Scott Kendall, author of the ranked choice voting ballot measure.
WEDNESDAY | April 6
How to find (and keep!) the best talent
It’s the phrase that terrifies news directors and hiring managers across the country: the Great Resignation. The pandemic has made many people re-evaluate their working lives and how they can pursue a career, but maintain balance with home. APM Studios’ Joanne Griffith joins the Alaska Press Club to talk about how you can be proactive in attracting and retaining diverse talent. Pro tip: It’s not just about the money.
Host: Lori Townsend, Alaska Public Media
Guest: Joanne Griffith, APM Studios
FRIDAY | April 8
Redesign your job and your newsroom
A discussion about the concept of “work design” and how it can help alleviate stress — particularly among media managers who are leaving their journalism jobs in record numbers.
Host: Julia O’Malley, Alaska Press Club
Guest: Jane Elizabeth, Scripps School of Journalism
MONDAY | April 11
The art of the interview
Interviews are one of the basic building blocks of a great news story, but as journalists we don’t spend much time thinking about how to make the most of them. In this session, we’ll talk to two seasoned reporters, Emily Kwong and Michelle Theriault Boots, who have learned what it takes to encourage a source to open up, how to ask tough questions and how to elicit answers that will resonate with your audience.
Host: Annie Feidt, Alaska Public Media
Guests: Emily Kwong, NPR’s Short Wave & Michelle Theriault Boots, Anchorage Daily News
WEDNESDAY | April 13
Find the heart of your story
You’ve got a rough story idea or maybe even a big pile of notes. Now, you need to figure out what the heart of your story really is. Tom Huang, the assistant managing editor for journalism initiatives at The Dallas Morning News, has a system. He shares how to find the center of your story with five focusing questions.
Host: Tegan Hanlon, Alaska Public Media
Guest: Tom Huang, The Dallas Morning News
FRIDAY | April 15
Making images in divided places
Andrea Bruce spent the last five years making images along America’s political divide. She’ll show some of that work, plus talk about what she’s learned about building trust with subjects and how she stays safe.
Host: Julia O’Malley, Alaska Press Club
Guest: Andrea Bruce, freelance photographer
MONDAY | April 18
What Alaska fish experts want journalists to know
Nearly every Alaska newsroom reports on fishing. It underpins the state’s culture and serves as one of its largest industries. As ecosystems change, rapid shifts are occurring to fish stocks. Hear from people working within different sectors of Alaska fishing about what they want journalists to know about what’s happening to Alaska’s fish and to the people who depend on them.
Host: Anna Rose MacArthur, KYUK
Guests: Mary Peltola is the Executive Director of the Kuskokwim River Inter-Tribal Fish Commission & Andy Wink is the Executive Director of the Bristol Bay Regional Seafood Development Association
WEDNESDAY | April 20
The social media tangle
Get tips on monitoring your news organization’s social media. How do you deal with online trolls, mobs and bullying? Should reporters ever engage with the public online? Is there a time when comments should be turned off? Andrew Losowsky helps to answer those questions. He’s the founding head of Coral, a commenting platform that’s used in more than 500 newsrooms in 28 countries.
Host: Angela Denning, KFSK-Petersburg
Guest: Andrew Losowsky, Vox Media, LLC.
FRIDAY | April 22
Records requests mistakes we’ve made so you don’t have to
Veteran Alaska reporters Nat Herz and Kyle Hopkins share tips for becoming a public records ninja — or at least someone who doesn’t waste time on wild records chases.
Host: Tegan Hanlon, Alaska Public Media
Guests: Nat Herz & Kyle Hopkins, Anchorage Daily News
MONDAY | April 25
Balancing enterprise with the day-to-day
Noelle Crombie, a longtime reporter for the Oregonian, talks about how she balances ambitious, award-winning projects like Ghosts of Highway 20 with demands of covering breaking news and shorter-term reporting.
Host: Michelle Theriault Boots, Anchorage Daily News
Guest: Noelle Crombie, Oregonian
WEDNESDAY | April 27
Survival skills for reporting on courts
How to effectively cover state and federal criminal court proceedings, from charges to plea deals, trials and (sometimes) appeals, including how to frame a basic trial story, how to access lawyers and court documents and how to interpret court dockets.
Host: Julia O’Malley, Alaska Press Club
Guest: Casey Grove, Alaska Public Media
FRIDAY | April 29
KEYNOTE: Apoorva Mandavilli of The New York Times
New York Times science and global health reporter Apoorva Mandavilli has covered the coronavirus pandemic since its beginnings. She’ll discuss her reporting — her approach, the challenges and what keeps her going as the pandemic presses into another year. We will reserve a big part of Mandavilli’s presentation for Q&A, so be sure to bring your questions.
Host: Tegan Hanlon, Alaska Public Media
Guest: Apoorva Mandavilli, The New York Times
KEYNOTE
New York Times science and global health reporter Apoorva Mandavilli has covered the coronavirus pandemic since its beginnings. She’ll discuss her reporting — her approach, the challenges and what keeps her going as the pandemic presses into another year. We will reserve a big part of Mandavilli’s presentation for Q&A, so be sure to bring your questions.
Friday, April 29, 8-9 a.m. AK Time
REGISTRATION & MEMBERSHIP
Members have full access to the Alaska Press Club Conference.
EMAIL UPDATES
Many thanks to our conference partners including Atwood Foundation, Alaska Public Media, Alaska Teen Media Institute, University of Alaska Anchorage Department of Journalism and Public Communications, and Alaska Center for Excellence in Journalism.
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