2022 conference schedule
8-9 a.m. • Great Hall entrance
Registration & check-in
9 a.m. • Great Hall
Welcome
Welcome to the convention by Elisia Cohen, director of the Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, and Kathryn Campbell, president of the Journalism Educators of Minnesota.
9-9:45 a.m. • Great Hall
Keynote
Community journalism: The story starts at home
In the most traditional sense, it’s the newspaper on the front doorstep in the morning or in the newsstand at the local grocery store. Today, it’s the news that neighbors comment on in the online edition or engage with on social media. Learn how local publications report unique and essential stories that may be underrepresented or absent in larger publications. Ask questions in the Q&A.
Azhae’la Hanson is a reporter and youth program coordinator for North News, the community print and digital news publication that focuses on North Minneapolis where she grew up and currently resides. She is a recent graduate of Xavier University of Louisiana and through her work as a journalist, hopes to inspire youth and community members to create and celebrate their own narratives.
Hard work and dedication to her multi-generational family and family business has always been Tracey Lynn Williams-Dillard’s main focus. Tracey has the responsibility of running the day-to-day operations of the Minnesota Spokesman-Recorder, as well as, providing leadership direction to move the business forward. Her vision, passion and commitment to take the newspaper into the future are the main reasons that it continues to this day, more than eight decades since its founding. She has a solid understanding of the beliefs and values of her grandfather, the late Cecil E. Newman, who founded the newspaper in 1934, and she is committed to continuing his legacy.
9:55-10:35 a.m.
Breakout sessions
President’s Room (30)
MHSPA adviser roundtable: yearbook
For advisers only. Join other yearbook advisers from across the state to discuss issues related to community building, staff management, policy development, book production, and more. Come share ideas and learn new methods for your staff.
Sarah Cole, Orono High School
Room 303 (60)
Great feature stories: Five essential ingredients
How does a journalist find, report and write a great feature story? Of course it all comes down to the writing and reporting, but what does that really mean? We’ll discuss the five essential ingredients needed to write powerful and engaging feature stories.
Gayle Golden, Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Minnesota
Room 307 Boardroom (22)
Designing your SNO site with FLEX PRO
This session will introduce attendees to the SNO FLEX Pro design tools, including Design Drafts, Header and Footer Design, Widget Design and more. Attendees are welcome to bring their personal devices to work on site design during the session if they choose.
Andrea Bell, SNO Sites
Room 319 (30)
Win-Win-Win: Rights responsibilities
of the First Amendment
Learn how one staff fought censorship that made national headlines and prevailed to maintain their forum status.
Glenn Morehouse Olson,
St. Francis High School
Room 323 (30)
Get your head in the game:
Sports photography tips
Small changes can make a big difference in the quality of your sports photography. Get practical tips for photographing the most common sports that you can use right away as well as ideas to make your photographs stand out in the long run.
Sam Oldenburg, Western Kentucky University
Room 324 (48)
Social media style:
Learning from the pros
Does your publication have a Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram but all you do is post links to stories from your website? Do you want to branch into Snapchat or TikTok reporting because — let’s face it — that’s where everyone is. Come to this session to get post ideas and boost social media engagement.
Kathryn Campbell, St. Paul Academy and Summit School
Room 325 (48)
Campaigns and the capitol
Learn how to localize big issues in political campaigns ahead of the election and get a jump on some of the top issues expected to come up next year in the Minnesota Legislature.
Dana Ferguson,
Minnesota Public Radio News
Room 326 (30)
How to use marketing
to better reach your audience
Learn how to broaden your audience to reach them where they are when they are ready to consume your product.
Sam Ginsberg, Star Tribune
Theater (400)
How to do college
So you’ve got all these skills from your years on the varsity journalism team. What can you do with them in college? Here are your options and possibilities. Also, here’s how to do college right, whether you major in journalism,
pre-law or forensic pet therapy.
Scott Winter, Bethel University
10:45-11:25 a.m.
Breakout sessions
President’s Room
MHSPA advisers roundtable:
for digital/newspaper
For advisers only. Join other newspaper, newsmagazine, and news website advisers from across the state to discuss issues related to staff communication, production work flow, convergence media, policy development, and more. Come share ideas and learn new methods for your staff.
Kathryn Campbell,
St. Paul Academy and Summit School, and Jess Wagner,
Owatonna High School
Room 303 (60)
Beat 101
Develop compelling stories at your school all year-round both short-term and in-depth enterprise articles.
Kelly Smith, Star Tribune
Room 307 (22)
EIC roundtable
For editors-in-chief of their publications, this session will start in breakout groups for newspaper, website / broadcast, and yearbook. Exchange contact information, maybe swap a publication, and bring your topics for discussion. The group will convene into a larger roundtable for the second half to talk larger EIC leadership topics.
Jonny Clubb, OHS Magnet,
Owatonna High School
Isaac Bengtson, Noise News,
Spectrum High School
Leona Barocas, Ibid Yearbook,
St. Paul Academy and Summit School
Room 319 (30)
Critical review:
Writing for theatre and the arts
This session will discuss who to write theater reviews and provide information about the Critical Review program through the Hennepin Theatre Trust.
Glenn Morehouse Olson,
St. Francis High School
Room 323 (30)
Building community through feature writing
After years of navigating COVID challenges, do you feel like you just don’t know as many people as you once did at your school? Certainly some other students, faculty, and staff feel disconnected from the school community. Journalists like you can help your community rebuild bonds that were weakened by distance learning and social distancing. Help your peers get to know each other and the adults in the building by writing feature stories. Everybody has a story; it’s up to you to find and feature those stories!
Anna Reid, The Blake School
Room 324 (48)
Five simple ways to improve your photography
This session will give you five simple ways to take better photographs. Bring your camera (even if it’s your phone) and we’ll practice. This is a hands-on session for anyone who wants to take better photos for news.
Regina McCombs, Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Minnesota
Room 325 (48)
Visualizing data
What is good data and where does it come from? Indispensable tips for context and the magic of numbers and relatable, engaging, amazing stories.
Sara Quinn, Hubbard School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Minnesota
Room 326 (30)
Interviewing celebrities
Whether it’s the school principal or a pop star, talking to bigwigs can be a challenge. Neal Justin, who covers TV and comedy for the Star Tribune, offers tips and tales from the Hollywood trail.
Neal Justin, Star Tribune
Theater
Duct tape and high funkadelity
Just because we’re journalism-geeky enough to spend nights and weekends making newspapers and yearbooks and broadcasts, even traveling across the state and country to talk journalism, doesn’t mean we can’t enjoy it. We’ll cover 758 ideas to make journalism more fun. And most of them aren’t even all that naughty.
Scott Winter, Bethel University
11:35 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
President’s Room
Advisers’ luncheon
Breakout sessions
Room 303 (60)
Designers are editors, too
Who is the person in contact with all pieces of a story — reporting, photography, editing and more? It’s not just the section editor. Designers are asked to serve as project managers and also the creative brain force of a project. In this session, designers (or anyone interested in visual stories) will learn how to form their own ideas, balance their time, work with others in the newsroom and get inspired to create.
Anna Boone, Star Tribune
Room 319 (30)
Publishing and designing stories
on a SNO site
The Story literally starts HERE. We will teach you the basics of how to format and publish a story on your SNO site. Then we will present how to add extra media, and use SNO story elements to make your stories stand out. Bring a laptop if you want to work along on your site during this session.
Kyle Phillips, SNO Sites
Room 323 (30)
Student roundtable newspaper/digital
This session will discuss topics for newspaper and website staffs. Exchange contact information, maybe swap a publication, and bring your topics for discussion.
Room 324 (48)
Five quick things you can do
to improve your writing right now
Great writing takes practice and experience. But you can boost your writing immediately with these five simple steps. Plus, we’ll talk about the neuroscience of creativity and how you can use it to make writing easier.
Kate Parry, writing consultant
Room 325 (48)
Art of the interview
By reviewing foundational questions, lessons learned in the field, and guiding principles for asking questions, this session focuses on improving journalists’ interviews.
Kyeland Jackson, Star Tribune
Theater
“Show some #*$(@& character“
I know you, Joe, you’re the kind of president who… I know you, Byron, you’re the kind of player who… All our magazine, yearbook and broadcast stories are driven by character(s). Let’s talk about how to find good ones and how to surprise our readers with real characters, and change our communities by producing stories with real character.
Scott Winter, Bethel University
12:30-1 p.m.
Great Hall
Awards Ceremony
MHSPA will present awards for Gold Medallions and Best of Show and JEM will present its All-State Awards.
Gary Lundgren,
MHSPA & National Scholastic Press Association
Kathryn Campbell, St. Paul Academy/
Journalism Educators of Minnesota
