2018 AAJA National Convention: Full Schedule

5:00pm CDT

Mentor Match Reception

INVITE ONLY:
AAJA is hosting a reception for the AAJA Mentor Match class of 2018. This is an invite-only event for mentors and mentees who were selected to take part in the yearlong program. As a benefit, you will mix and mingle with AAJA members in the program from around the world, exchange best practices and share mentor/mentee success stories. Light appetizers and refreshments will be served. We will collectively head to the opening reception after this event.

Wednesday August 8, 2018 5:00pm - 6:00pm CDT
Fort Bend 1777 Walker St, Houston, TX 77010

AAJA18 Convention Event

9:00am CDT

Crafting a Narrative

The appetite for digital narratives continues to thrive and continuously progress how journalists tell stories. From creating an interactive experience to producing a long-form podcast, the numerous mediums for longform storytelling necessitate strategic thinking to create a compelling narrative. This session will explore new formats of narrative storytelling and walk through the process, from pitch to execution.

Speakers

Dolly Li

Content Director, Goldthread (SCMP)

Dolly Li is an Emmy Award-winning video producer. Currently, she is the Content Director of Goldthread, a new digital publication that covers Chinese food and culture for the internet age. Previously, Dolly worked at AJ+ where she created viral short documentaries such as â€œThe... Read More →

Lyndsey Read

Senior Producer, CNN

CNN Senior Producer Lyndsey Read focuses on digital video production, programming and strategy. Over the last 2 years, she has launched dozens of special projects across core and emerging platforms including short documentaries, episodic series and sponsored campaigns. Prior to CNN... Read More →

Neena Satija

Investigative Reporter, Texas Tribune

Jim Schachter

Vice President - News, WNYC

Jim Schachter is Vice President for News at WNYC, where he is responsible for an enterprise-focused multiplatform newsroom, as well as programs, podcasts and websites including On The Media, The Takeaway, The Brian Lehrer Show, Midday on WNYC, Gothamist, There Goes the Neighborhood... Read More →

Lauren Young

Science Journalist and Digital Producer, Science Friday

Lauren J. Young is a journalist and web producer on the digital team at Science Friday. She crafts pre- and post-show articles so that listeners can get their fill of science stories throughout the week. She specializes in writing long form features and helps manage SciFri's social... Read More →

Thursday August 9, 2018 9:00am - 10:30am CDT
Fort Bend 1777 Walker St, Houston, TX 77010

Skillbuilding

11:00am CDT

Utilizing Free Web Tools to Empower Your Reporting

Take a peek behind the scenes to see what tools reporters are using for their research and newsgathering. From Google search hacks to identifying misinformation, come hear how reporters from several organizations utilize free web tools.

Speakers

Frank Bi

Director of Tools & Technology, Star Tribune

Frank Bi is senior journalist, technologist, educator and nonprofit leader passionate about the intersection of media and technology. He is the Director of Tools & Technology at the Star Tribune in Minneapolis. Frank is also the president of the New York chapter of the Asian American... Read More →

Matt Dempsey

Data Editor, Houston Chronicle

Matt Dempsey is the data editor at the Houston Chronicle. He worked on projects involving wildfires, state pensions, and the chemical industry. His passion for public records frequently leads to disclosure of data from all levels of government. His series Chemical Breakdown won the... Read More →

Rachael Gleason

Deputy Digital Editor, Houston Chronicle

Rachael Gleason is an award-winning data journalist and digital storyteller for the Houston Chronicle. She previously worked as a reporter and online editor for the Midland Reporter-Telegram in West Texas and a data visualization journalist for the San Antonio Express-News._x000D... Read More →

Ted Han

Director of Technology, DocumentCloud

Ted Han is a leader in development and strategy for journalism products. Heâ€™s led DocumentCloud's technology efforts since 2011, working with journalists and news organizations across the globe during his time with Investigative Reporters and Editors. Ted has worked in the... Read More →

Thursday August 9, 2018 11:00am - 12:30pm CDT
Fort Bend 1777 Walker St, Houston, TX 77010

Skillbuilding

2:00pm CDT

MMJ Life: Surviving and Thriving

Being a multimedia journalist is tough but it's the reality of television news. This session will inspire journalists to embrace being a multimedia journalist. The panel will share tips and tricks on being an MMJ including how to spice up your creativity, how to get good lighting on the go and how to build a reel that will get you noticed.

Speakers

Elise Hu

International Correspondent, NPR

I'm NPR's founding Seoul bureau chief, responsible for covering Japan and the Koreas. I host a travel video series called Elise Tries. Previously I helped launch The Texas Tribune and was a television reporter in Texas, Missouri and South Carolina. Proud Mizzou J-School alum and a... Read More →

Tiffany Liou

Multi-Media Journalist, WFAA

Tiffany Liou is a reporter at WFAA in Dallas. She loves working as a solo-journalist â€“ shooting, writing and editing her work. Itâ€™s all part of her storytelling process. Tiffanyâ€™s roots are in the Bay Area, California, but sheâ€™s told stories across the... Read More →

Madeleine Rivera

Multimedia reporter, Fox News Network

Madeleine is a multimedia reporter with Fox News. She is based in Houston._x000D_ _x000D_ Before working at Fox News, she was a reporter at News 12 Connecticut. She was also a reporter at Spectrum News Albany._x000D_ _x000D_ As a reporter for Fox News, sheâ€™s covered the Austin... Read More →

Thursday August 9, 2018 2:00pm - 3:30pm CDT
Fort Bend 1777 Walker St, Houston, TX 77010

Skillbuilding, Small Market Broadcast Journalists Affinity Group

4:00pm CDT

Everything You Need to Know About Unions

Several newsrooms have moved to unionize this year. What does it mean? How might managers and corporate react? What do you need to know? Hear from an informational panel on how other newsrooms put together their unions and their tips, tricks and missteps along the way.

Speakers

Mary Cavallaro

Chief Broadcast Officer, SAG-AFTRA

Mary Cavallaro is the Chief Broadcast Officer for the SAG-AFTRA News & Broadcast Department. Cavallaro is responsible for overseeing the negotiation and administration of more than 250 labor agreements between SAG-AFTRA and network and local broadcast employers nationwide. She received... Read More →

Cindy Chang

Staff writer, Los Angeles Times

Cindy Chang covers the Los Angeles Police Department for the Los Angeles Times and is a member of the L.A. Times Guild bargaining committee. She came to The Times in 2012, first covering immigration and ethnic communities before moving to the L.A. County sheriffâ€™s beat. Previously... Read More →

Esther Gim

Senior Copy Editor, Mic

Esther is a copy editor at Mic and its newly formed bargaining unit. She has served as a governing board member of the Asian American Journalists Association and went through the Executive Leadership Program. She's a Michigan native.

Thursday August 9, 2018 4:00pm - 5:30pm CDT
Fort Bend 1777 Walker St, Houston, TX 77010

Leadership/Entrepreneurship

9:00am CDT

Training Day: Entertainment Reporting 101

How do you go about building sources on the red carpet and on movie sets? What skills do you need in order to thrive as an entertainment reporter? And how many hours of TV and movies should you be consuming to qualify? A panel of experts will weigh in to talk about being movie critics or breaking celebrity news. They reflect on skills acquired from interviewing celebrities, insights into how entertainment reporting can vary from other types of journalism, the dearth of Asian representation in this specific area of work, geeking out about pop culture and how that informs their work, and their views on #OscarsSoWhite and other sorts of activism in the entertainment world.

Speakers

Cary Darling

Features/Entertainment General Assignment Writer, Houston Chronicle

Cary Darling began his career as a writer for Billboard Magazine in Los Angeles before moving to newspapers where he was an arts writer/editor for the Orange County Register, Miami Herald, and the Fort Worth Star-Telegram. He has been at the Houston Chronicle since November 2017... Read More →

Ashley Lee

Entertainment Reporter, Freelance

Ashley is an Los Angeles-based entertainment reporter and critic who specializes in film and theater coverage. She recently worked for five years as an editor at The Hollywood Reporter, out of its New York bureau, and just completed the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center's National Critics... Read More →

Deborah Sengupta Stith

Music Writer, Austin American-Statesman

For almost 15 years, Deborah has been haunting bars, trudging through festival grounds and hanging out in sweaty flop houses to collect stories about the Austin music scene.

Diep Tran

Senior Editor, American Theatre

Diep Tran is currently the senior editor of American Theatre magazine. In 2014, Diep led the creation and launch of AmericanTheatre.org, the first official website for the magazine. Her writing has also appeared in the New York Times, Playbill, Time Out New York, Hello Giggles, and... Read More →

Friday August 10, 2018 9:00am - 10:30am CDT
Fort Bend 1777 Walker St, Houston, TX 77010

Skillbuilding

11:00am CDT

Media Law in the Age of Trump

Will Trump succeed in "opening up the libel laws"? Is Trump's threat to put leakers, and publishers and broadcasters, in jail for distributing national security information real? Can Trump bar “unfavorable" reporters from press conferences, and, by tweeting, can he circumvent press conferences altogether? Is FOIA still useful? Do Trump's daily diatribes against the media and calling us "the enemy of the people" have a legal effect and an effect on public opinion?

Friday August 10, 2018 11:00am - 12:30pm CDT
Fort Bend 1777 Walker St, Houston, TX 77010

Plenary

2:00pm CDT

How to Build Sources and Maintain Relationships

Every journalist needs sources – people who trust you and come to you with ideas. So how do you go about building and maintaining those relationships, especially if you're new to the area? And how do you know which sources to trust? This panel will be all about how to vet sources, maintaining that relationship and building trust.

Speakers

Kenny Choi

News Anchor, CBS KPIX-5 San Francisco

Michelle Ye Hee Lee

Reporter, The Washington Post

Michelle Ye Hee Lee is a reporter on the national political enterprise and accountability team at The Washington Post, covering money and influence in national politics. Previously, she was a reporter on The Washington Post Fact Checker. Prior to joining The Post in 2014, she was... Read More →

Nomaan Merchant

Reporter, The Associated Press

IMCA (Ismaili Media Communications Association)

Roger Yu

Assistant Managing Editor, Tech & Telecom, Bloomberg BNA

Roger Yu leads the tech & telecom team at Bloomberg BNA. He has worked as reporter and editor at USA TODAY, Dallas Morning News, Seattle Times, Dow Jones Newswires and the Star Tribune in Minneapolis.

Sponsors

Bloomberg BNA

Friday August 10, 2018 2:00pm - 3:30pm CDT
Fort Bend 1777 Walker St, Houston, TX 77010

Skillbuilding

4:00pm CDT

North and South Korea: From the Olympics to Families Divided

The Korean Peninsula has been a focal point of media coverage, especially in the last year. Three AAJA photographers have spent a lot of time in the region and will offer their insights and share their knowledge of having to balance the many social, cultural and political nuances associated with reporting in the peninsula.

Speakers

Indira Lakshmanan

Senior executive editor/VP for news and features, National Geographic Media

Indira Lakshmanan is the senior executive editor/VP for news and features at National Geographic Media, where she oversees reporting. Previously, she was executive editor at the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. She has reported from more than 80 countries on six continents for... Read More →

Chang Lee

Staff Photographer, The New York Times

Change W. Lee is a staff photographer for The New York Times. Mr. Lee joined The New York Times in 1994 as an intern. Mr. Lee was a member of the staff that won two 2002 Pulitzer Prizes. Mr. Lee was also among the New York Times journalists who won the 2008 Grantham Prize and nominated... Read More →

Laura Elizabeth Pohl

Photographer + Filmmaker, Laura Elizabeth Pohl Multimedia

Laura Elizabeth Pohl is a photographer and filmmaker living in Baltimore. In May 2018 she drove up the East Coast with her self-funded photo truck exhibition about people separated from family in North Korea since the Korean War. She recently began working at The Hatcher Group, where... Read More →

Friday August 10, 2018 4:00pm - 5:30pm CDT
Fort Bend 1777 Walker St, Houston, TX 77010

In the Know, Photojournalists Affinity Group