2004 WORKSHOP SCHEDULE

March 30-31: Editorial Principles & Practices for Local Public Broadcasting; New Orleans
April 24-25: Covering Campaign 2004; Washington, DC
May 15 - 16: Producing Debates; Portland, OR
June 5 - 6: Money and Politics 2004; Chicago, IL
July 16 - 18: Covering the Home Stretch, Denver, CO
September 13-14: Editorial Principles & Practices for Local Public Broadcasting; New York City, NY

Campaign coverage workshops will be open to both public and commercial station participants. The workshops offer reporters, assignment editors, producers and news directors the opportunity to see and hear great work, listen to stimulating speakers, discuss newsroom challenges and network with colleagues from around the country

Editorial Principles and Practices for Local Public Broadcasting

Monday, September 13 to
Tuesday, September 14, 2004

Le Parker Meridien Hotel,
New York City, NY

A Best Practices in Journalism workshop for public broadcasters

Session topics include:

  Speaker: Lawrence K. Grossman, former president of PBS and former president of NBC News

  Undue Influence from Funders and License Holders

  Can you have different standards for different channels and platforms?

  Working efficiently and effectively across media platforms

  Station Policies and Staff Issues

  How Will Public Broadcasting Maintain its Independence?

[ look at the complete agenda ]

[ view PowerPoint slides from the workshop ]

Covering the Home Stretch of Campaign 2004

Friday, July 16 to
Sunday, July 18, 2004

Westin Tabor Center,
Denver, Colorado

A TV newsroom workshop
sponsored by
Best Practices in Journalism
in partnership with
USC Annenberg School for Communication

Session topics include:

  Featured Speaker: Bernard Goldberg, HBO reporter, former CBS correspondent, author of New York Times best seller "Bias: A CBS Insider Exposes How the Media Distort the News"

  Speaker: Doug Fox, retired political reporter, formerly of WFAA, Dallas

  News Directors and reporters offer advice for selling political stories in the newsroom

  Beyond Man on the Street: Hearing from Voters

  Money, Lobbying and Legislation

  Contending with the Conventions and the Candidates

  What Every Journalist Should Know about Polling

  Newsroom Dilemmas

  Attend the Colorado Rockies vs. San Francisco Giants baseball game

[ look at the complete agenda ]

Money and Politics 2004

Saturday, June 5 to Sunday, June 6, 2004

W Lakeshore Hotel
Chicago, Illinois

A TV newsroom workshop
sponsored by
Best Practices in Journalism
in partnership with
USC Annenberg School for Communication

Session topics include:

  Featured Speaker: Carol Marin, NBC5, Chicago

  Why Money Matters

  Number Crunching Made Easy

  The Who, What and Where of Online Research

  Researching your home state race hands-on with guidance from experts

  Translating Money to Television

  Economic Stories to Watch for in '04

[ look at the complete agenda ]

Producing Debates

Saturday, May 15 to Sunday, May 16, 2004
Hotel Vintage Plaza
Portland, Oregon
[visit hotel Web site]

A TV newsroom workshop
sponsored by
Best Practices in Journalism

Session topics include:

  The "Get": How do you get candidates to debate?

  Debate Format Innovations

  Media Partnerships: Advantages and Lessons Learned

  Who Asks the Questions and What Gets Asked?

  Legal Briefing: What are your obligations and requirements?

  Help in Planning Your Debate

[ look at the complete agenda ]

Covering Campaign 2004

Saturday, April 24 to Sunday, April 25, 2004
Westin Grand Hotel
Washington, DC
[visit hotel Web site]

A TV newsroom workshop
sponsored by
Best Practices in Journalism
in partnership with
USC Annenberg School for Communication

Session topics include:

  Featured Speaker: , CBS News White House Correspondent

  Speaker: Andrew Kohut, Pew Research Center

  What's on the Mind of the Voter in 2004?

  Tips from Brooks Jackson for Covering Jobs, Trade and the Economy

  Covering the Influence of Money in the Campaign

  Creating Revealing Candidate Profiles

  Producing issue stories that don't make you snooze

  2004 Coverage Pitfalls and Problems

[ look at the complete agenda ]

Editorial Principles and Practices for Local Public Broadcasting

MARCH 30-31, 2004
Tuesday to Wednesday
INTERNATIONAL HOUSE HOTEL: NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA
[visit hotel Web site]

A Best Practices in Journalism workshop for public broadcasters

Session topics include:
  Keynote Speaker: Bob Coonrod, President and CEO, CPB
  Speaker: , GM of Marketplace Productions and Sr. VP of Minnesota Public Radio
  Does public broadcasting have a liberal bias?
  Should every program be balanced or is balance across the
schedule enough?
  Partnerships and the Perception of Fairness
  Corporate and Foundation Influence on Editorial Independence

All professional disciplines are encouraged to apply.

[ look at the complete agenda ]

[ view PowerPoint slides from the workshop ]

2003 WORKSHOP

GETTING READY FOR CAMPAIGN 2004

July 25 - 27, 2003
Friday to Sunday
LE PARKER MERIDIEN HOTEL: NEW YORK, NEW YORK

A TV Newsroom Workshop sponsored by
Best Practices in Journalism

Session topics include:
  Keynote Speaker: Bill Schneider, senior political analyst, CNN
  Covering the early campaign: turning photo ops into journalism
  New approaches to covering candidates and issues
  Identifying key political stories for 2004
  Candidate profiles: what they tell you and what they don't
  Ethical dilemmas of broadcast political reporting

[ look at the complete agenda ]

PAST 2002 WORKSHOPS

2002 Election Hangover Workshop: What Worked, What Didnt, and Whats Next

December 78, 2002
Saturday and Sunday
THE HOTEL INTER-CONTINENTAL : CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

A TV Newsroom Workshop co-sponsored by
Best Practices in Journalism and Stateline.org

Session topics include:
  Grading our Coverage of the 2002 Campaign
  Dealing with Candidates
  How to Cover State Budget Woes
  Identifying Key Political Stories for 2003
  News Briefing: Reporting in the Post 9/11 World
  Planning Your Continuing Coverage

[ look at the complete agenda ]

Putting the Pulse in Politics: Reporting the 2002 Campaign

July 2628, 2002
Friday to Sunday
THE WESTIN TABOR CENTER : DENVER, COLORADO

A TV Newsroom Workshop co-sponsored by
Best Practices in Journalism
and The Radio and Television News Directors Foundation

From ad watches to candidate profiles, this workshop will cover the bases a top-to-bottom look at the elements necessary for assembling your plan for Campaign 2002. Well join in partnership with RTNDF to create a full line-up of ideas to help make your fall election coverage the best ever.

Session topics include:
  Innovative campaign reporting in 2002
  How state budget deficits are shaping the campaign
  Navigating political coverage in the midst of 9/11 anniversary coverage
  Issues 2002: from bullets to ballot initiatives
  Telling the candidates story: what makes them tick?
  How to produce ad watches and truth checks

[look at the complete agenda]

Political Storytelling: How to Cover Candidate Character and Voter Concerns

June 2223, 2002
Saturday and Sunday
THE HOTEL REX : SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA

Whether youre developing an hour-long biographical portrait of a politician or crafting quick sketches to make tonights news, this workshop can help you find the right voices to tell the stories of the candidates and the voters. Well look at ways to develop fuller pictures of the people running for office as well as ways to explore issues important to voters.

Session topics include:
  Whats important to tell about a candidates past and present
  Producing and interviewing techniques for long- and short-form pieces
  Connecting the dots between what matters to people and what government does

[look at the complete agenda]

Ad Watches and Truth Checks: Keeping the Candidates and Issues Straight

June 12, 2002
Saturday and Sunday
THE WESTIN MICHIGAN AVENUE : CHICAGO, ILLINOIS

One of the most successful political reporting approaches in recent years has been the truth check, a technique that can be used on everything from campaign commercials to debates to stump speeches. Well look at the how-to that goes into these fact-checking reports and explore other approaches to keeping candidates accountable. Participants are encouraged to bring their own work for discussion and critique.

Session topics include:
  How to write copy and use graphics for better ad watches
  How to select which campaign ads and materials to target for truth checking
  Ideas for getting the research done
  Alternative formats that go beyond the classic ad watch
  How to deal with unhappy candidates

[look at the complete agenda]

Producing Debates (and how to survive them)

May 1819, 2002
Saturday and Sunday
THE W HOTEL : SEATTLE, WASHINGTON

A focused workshop looking at key elements in local campaign coverage. We take the venerable practice of hosting debates and walk through ways to invigorate your format with new ideas, as well as legal and partnership issues.

Session topics include:
  Who asks the questions and what gets asked
  The Get: Who do you get to debate and how do you get them?
  Innovative debate formats
  Legal briefing: What are your obligations and requirements?
  Partnerships: advantages and lessons learned

[look at the complete agenda]

Equipping the Desk for Campaign 2002: A Workshop for Assignment Editors

March 2324, 2002
WESTIN GRAND HOTEL : WASHINGTON, D.C.

Last to know, or in from the start? How involved is the assignment desk in your newsrooms political coverage? If the newsrooms goal is to produce more enterprising journalism on issues, campaigns and elections, the assignment editor needs to be much more than a dispatcher. Equipping the Desk for Campaign 2002, a workshop co-sponsored by NewsLab and Best Practices in Journalism, gave assignment editors a chance to rethink how they do their jobs and discover new techniques and skills for improving political coverage, including ways to:

   Turn the desk into a center for newsgathering on politics.
   Make good decisions when demands are in conflict.
   Tap fresh sources for better political story ideas.
   Strengthen the content of daily newscasts.

Kicking Off Campaign 2002

January 1113, 2002
WESTIN GRAND BOHEMIAN HOTEL : ORLANDO, FLORIDA
www.grandbohemianhotel.com

[complete agenda] " [video clips]

There are some handouts and documents from the Orlando workshop available in the Resources section of this web site, and we hope to include the transcripts of the dinner speeches by Candy Crowley and Gwen Ifill.

The focus of the workshop was on planning your strategy for improving your newsrooms coverge of the upcoming elections.

Session topics included:
  Curtain-Raising Story Ideas for 2002
  Storytelling: Lessons Learned from Campaign 2000
  Model Approaches for 2002
  Dealing with Political Statistics
  Audience Erosion and What You Can Do About It
  Managing Your Newsroom Resources
  Planning Your 2002 Coverage

Thanks to everyone who helped make our first workshop of 2002 a success, especially our co-sponsors:

 The Radio and Television News Directors Foundation [www.rtndf.org]

 NewsLab [www.newslab.org]

 Stateline.org [www.stateline.org]