Kansas City – Fall 2010
JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention Fall 2010 Program – Kansas City (PDF)
Ernest Hemingway was not much older than most of our registrants when he began his writing career in the newsroom of The Kansas City Star. “I hit it lucky,” he once told his brother, “because the people there liked to see young guys get out and deliver.”
It’s a great mission statement for any young journalist: Get out there. Deliver. Attending this convention is a great way to get started. We’ve scheduled more than 300 training sessions touching on essentially every journalism-related topic you can think of, and we have keynotes from nationally recognized speakers. We also take pride in offering a vast number of hands-on and personal experiences, including Break with a Pro, swap shops, contests and on-site critiques. This convention is also a wonderful opportunity to connect with colleagues and service-providers, so we’ve included dances, receptions, luncheons and exhibits in the program. Much of the terrific programming is the result of hard work from talented and dedicated local committee members, to whom we are indebted.
Thursday evening’s opening keynote will get you set for an energetic conference. Joe Posnanski is one of the country’s premier sports columnists, having twice taken top honors from the Associated Press Sports Editors. His writing has the unique ability to make sports figures’ stories appeal to both the avid fan and the casual reader. His work at Sports Illustrated, as well as his three books, will provide plenty of insightful anecdotes at his keynote.
Few people open the world’s eyes to a location or an issue like Jim Richardson, the keynote speaker on Friday afternoon. As a photographer for National Geographic Magazine and for National Geographic Traveler, he will share perspectives on areas and stories home and abroad, urban and rural, human and natural.
The Kansas City Convention Center hosts nearly all of our convention activities, including breakout sessions, keynote speakers, awards ceremonies and the trade show. It’s also a quick walk to dining, entertainment and shopping options in the heart of downtown Kansas City.
We’ve branded this convention “KConverge,” and it would be hard to find a more appropriate theme for this week. We not only have content teaching the latest in converged journalism trends, but the conference itself is a convergence of everything you need to become a better journalist — great instructors, great programming and great peers.