Excellence in Journalism conference internships

The Working Press is a daily tabloid newspaper and online news site that covers the Excellence in Journalism conference.

SPJ is seeking 12 interns for The Working Press, a daily tabloid newspaper and online news site that will cover the Excellence in Journalism: 2011 conference. Collegiate student reporters, editors, photographers and designers are invited to apply for these select positions. This year’s conference is set for September 25-27 in New Orleans.

Selected interns will need to arrive in New Orleans on Saturday, September 24 and attend a mandatory 2 p.m. staff meeting. The internship ends Wednesday, September 28, at Noon. Read more about The Working Press internship online for complete details and application information. Contact Heather Dunn with questions.

SPJ-ers invited to college media convention

The Spring College Media Convention, March 13-15, sponsored by College Media Advisers, will feature a keynote and interview Q&A with Helen Thomas. She will speak on her controversial 2010 remarks about Israel that led to her retirement and the eventual SPJ board of directors’ vote to retire the Helen Thomas Lifetime Achievement Award.

Read more about the keynote here.

In addition to the speech, the convention will feature many sessions on career building and skills training for student journalists. SPJ national student representative Tara Puckey will present the session ”50 sites in 50 minutes,” and local New York chapter members will give resume and clip critiques.

Convention director and SPJ South Florida chapter president Michael Koretzky is offering for SPJ members to attend the Helen Thomas session at no cost. And SPJ student members can attend the entire convention at a discounted price. If interested, contact Koretzky at michael@koretzky.com or 954-292-7515.

SPJ/RTDNA student chapters hold Sunshine Summit

In February, the Ohio University SPJ and RTDNA chapters will hold their first “Sunshine Summit” to bring together student journalists and professionals from Ohio and beyond to discuss press freedom issues confronting student journalists.

At the conference, the two student groups will work to draft a policy to propose to the Ohio Board of Regents and the University System of Ohio, which will aim to standardize open meeting and open record policies in Ohio. The conference will include a series of panels, guest speakers and breakout sessions that will educate journalists throughout Ohio about current laws, university policies and how to protect their rights as student journalists.

The summit is Feb. 26, 2011, 10 a.m. – 5 p.m. at the Walter Hall Rotunda on the campus of Ohio University. For more information, e-mail Taylor Mirfendereski.

Free Reynolds Center training in using social media and mining the Census

Improve your social media skills for better business reporting

Whether you’re a newbie or a veteran at social networking, pick up new skills from BusinessJournalism.org M.E. Robin J. Phillips in free Webinars Feb. 8-10 from the Donald W. Reynolds National Center for Business Journalism.

• The first hour – Social Media 101 on Feb. 8 — targets those new to Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.
• Social Media 202 on Feb. 9 will help you use social media to cover your beat.
• In the third hour — Social Media 303 on Feb. 10 — you’ll explore how to contain the clutter with all the info coming at you from social networks.

The interactive Webinars are held at noon or 4 p.m. EST each day. Register today for one or more, and be on your way to social media savvy.

Mine the Census data for great local business stories

USA Today database editor Paul Overberg and Arizona State University Knight Chair Steve Doig will help you find enterprising local business stories in newly released Census and other government data.

Sign up today for this free daylong workshop in either Philadelphia Jan. 31 or in Dallas April 7. The Dallas session precedes the annual Society of American Business Editors and Writers Conference April 7-9.

Each daylong session will cover how to access and analyze local business data from the U.S. Census Bureau’s just released American Community Survey, plus the Economic Census and County Business Patterns data, as well as how to track foreign trade, gross domestic product and household income to the local level. Here’s more on the unique local business stories you can develop from Census data.

Tune into our Business Journalism Week coverage and grab coverage tips remotely

From Jan. 4-7, a select group of business journalists and professors will study financials in-depth at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication during Reynolds Business Journalism Week.

You don’t have to travel to Phoenix to learn from our expert presenters at the Strictly Financials and Business Journalism Professor seminars. We’ll have coverage on BusinessJournalism.org, including tip sheets, lecture videos and live-streaming of this year’s discussion with two-time Pulitzer winner Jim Steele and the winners of the 2010 Barlett & Steele Awards for Investigative Business Journalism. We’ll also live-stream the keynote speech by Diana Henriques, The New York Times reporter writing a Madoff book, on business journalists as investigators.

Bookmark this page to follow our coverage.

Improve your skills with these free Webinars in just one hour a day:

• Social Media 101, 202 and 303: Feb. 8-10
• 15 Red Flags When Editing Business Stories: March 29
• Covering the Green Economy – Follow the Green Money: April 19
• 15 Tips on Time Management for Business Journalists: May 3
• Beyond Google: Mining the Web for Company Intelligence: May 17-18
• Unlocking Financial Statements: July 18-22

Don’t miss these free workshops:

• Mining the Census for Local Business Stories: Philadelphia, Jan. 31, and Dallas, April 7.
• Investigating Private Companies and Nonprofits: Raleigh, Feb. 23 (before CAR Conference) and Orlando, June 8 (before IRE Conference)
• Covering the Green Economy – A Western Perspective: Los Angeles, March 4

View the entire training calendar, and sign up at BusinessJournalism.org. Attend three training events and earn a Circle of Achievement certificate.

We’re talkin’ ’bout you, freelancers!

Join host Sarah Bauer, SPJ Membership Committee chairwoman, and Dana Neuts, SPJ Freelance Committee chairwoman, Thursday, Dec. 9, on BlogTalkRadio for a 30-minute call-in program to discuss the many SPJ benefits available to freelancers. Learn more about the Freelance Committee’s projects, resources and more.

Listen by live streaming from BlogTalkRadio.com or on the embedded player on SPJ.org.

Next Episode: Thursday, Dec. 9, 1 p.m. EST
Call-in Number: 347-857-2441

Got a question about freelancing? Call in during the show to contribute to the conversation!

Can’t listen in live? No worries – we’ve got you covered! Listen to this and past episodes in the archives at BlogTalkRadio.com/SPJ.