2019 interns selected

Wally Zimmermann Internships for Television Broadcast Journalism

Hawaii to host 2020 Region 11 Conference

2019 Region 11 Conference held in Las Vegas

Nancy Cook Lauer,
board vice president,
2020 regional conference chairwoman

SPJ 2019 Region 11 Conference
"Not the Enemy"
Golden Nugget Hotel, Las Vegas
March 29-31

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REGIONAL DIRECTOR'S MEETING

This year marks the 110th anniversary of SPJ. There's likely to be some recognition of that at the national conference Sept. 5-7 in San Antonio. Early bird discounts start June 27. It's also the 50th anniversary of SPJ letting women in. (I quipped the organization should turn the blue SPJ logo pink for the recognition. Nobody laughed.)

On a more depressing note, SPJ membership has dropped from about 10,000 at its prime to fewer than 6,000 now. For some reason, membership hasn't seemed a priority for SPJ national. It was suggested that journalists be polled to see what is the biggest barrier to membership. The group seemed to think the cost of membership compared to perceived benefits is a main concern.
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Terror and the Aftermath

Las Vegas Review-Journal reporter Rachel Crosby, freelance photographer David Becker and KVVU TV's Christine Maddela, moderated by Nevada Public Radio senior producer Joe Schoenmann, described the trauma of covering the Oct. 1, 2017, mass shooting. Reporters on the ground during such a horrific, ever-changing event described "tunnel vision" and "reverting to your training," "running and gunning" and working on automatic pilot, but found themselves with PTSD after things calmed down.

The media outlets didn't have a written plan, and quickly learned communication was the key when all hands were on deck. Maddela stressed that reporters need to report what they know, regardless of what's happening with unconfirmed reports on social media. There were some false reports that made it on air, she said. Maddela stressed compassion for victims and their families, rather than acting like some "question-seeking missile."

Crosby said she still has "some" PTSD that comes and goes in waves. She also emphasized sticking with the facts: "Here's what we know right now," even if it's just which roads are closed, describing the scene. When interviewing victims and their families, be human first. Give them lots of space and let them know they're not obligated to talk to you.

Becker echoed the "report what you know" mantra when captioning his photos. Someone lying on the ground bleeding may or may not be dead. While some criticized the graphic nature of his photos, some victims and victim's families, said they appreciated his work as it helped them work through their trauma.

Scouting around for conference ideas and promoting SPJ-Hawaii's 2020 regional conference



Cookies from Big Island Candies labeled with "save the date" cards helped introduce our coming conference to SPJ Region 11 conference-goers. We also talked it up with SPJ leaders, in the process securing two regional speakers to participate in sessions.

And we came up with ideas for goodie bags, events, the printed program and sponsors.

Nonprofit Newsrooms
Sponsored by Voice of San Diego

Scott Lewis, CEO and editor-in-chief of Voice of San Diego, and Jon Ralston, executive editor of the Nevada Independent, described how they launched nonprofit news outlets, keep them solvent and remain independent while staying competitive with legacy media.

Both speakers believe nonprofit journalism is the future.


• Don't try to be the paper of record. Perspective, analysis and the big picture look work better than breaking news, generally. Work for the public interest. Don't compromise the truth.
  
• Be super transparent about who your donors are. Link to a list of donors on the front page. Ralston lists every donation down to $5.
  
• Don't count on just big foundations. Practice "revenue promiscuity." You can't just rely on corporate dollars. It can be awkward going to people you've covered in the past and asking them for money, but do it anyway. Push for small consistent donations ... get people committed to the cause.
• Institute for Nonprofit News (https://inn.org/) is a good resource. As is News Revenue Hub. (https://fundjournalism.org/)
• Set up your 501(c)(3) tax exemption early -- it takes a while to get the paperwork back. Lewis formed his nonprofit as an educational entity.


The Story Behind the Story

An in-depth look at the Arizona Republic's Pulitzer Prize-winning investigation into President Trump's proposal for a border wall. The newspaper was able to enlist local USA Today newspapers across the multi-state region, using local sources established over a long time and enabling them unparalleled access into border patrol, locals, migrants and even a man who made a living smuggling migrants across the border.

"It wasn't our job to come up with the answer," said investigative editor Michael Squires. ""We showed the humanity on all sides of the debate."

That personal, boots-on-the-ground reporting was coupled with the eye in the sky of a helicopter that followed the 2,000-mile border, collecting images that were processed into documentary films, interactive maps and virtual reality videos, podcasts and more. The entire project took nine months to complete, and then the newspaper took it on the road to film festivals and other locales to promote the project.



Oahu resident Madeleine Carr (second from left), a Pepperdine University student, was on a panel about "Covering Natural Disasters," talking about switching from working on the Borderline nightclub shooting, in which a student was killed, to serving hours later as a news source on Twitter for news media after a big wildfire cut off the Pepperdine campus. (Carr will be a summer HSPJ intern for Hawaii magazine.)