NHSJC speaker portal
The session proposal deadline for the Fall 2026 convention is 11:59 p.m. CDT Sept. 9.
The JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention is the largest gathering of high school journalists in the country.
Members and other individuals interested in supporting convention efforts are invited to submit proposals to present breakout sessions at each event. This invitation is extended to teachers, advisers, professional journalists and students in editorial leadership positions.
Typically, the on-site conventions comprise between 300-400 breakout sessions. Each standard breakout session is 45 minutes long and will take place on the Friday or Saturday of convention week between 8 a.m. and 2:45 p.m.
Each speaker can submit up to six session proposals, which includes joint sessions with co-speakers. There is a chance all or most will be accepted and scheduled, so please only submit multiple proposals if you are willing and able to present them all.
Speakers should ideally have approval from administrators to attend the convention BEFORE submitting a proposal. However, if this isn't possible, please do still submit BY THE DEADLINE, even if you are still unsure about your attendance status. You can withdraw your session later if you find out you aren't able to attend, but we aren't able to guarantee late submissions.
Session approval notices for the fall convention will be sent by Sept. 30 and final scheduling details will be shared by mid-October.
Questions? Please visit the speaker FAQ page or email us at convention@jea.org.
Session proposal process
Interested in submitting a session for this fall's convention in Orlando?
The session proposal deadline for the Fall 2026 convention is Sept. 9. Submissions are now open here.
Please note that for the fall convention we have moved the proposal process into Cvent, so things may look a little different than they did in the past year. Thanks for your patience and understanding as we continue to troubleshoot and improve the process.
See below for more information on session proposal submissions.
How to submit a proposal
If you are willing and able to participate as a breakout session speaker for the spring national convention, here is more information about the process and what materials will be required.
The session proposal deadline for Fall 2026 is 11:59 p.m. CDT Sept. 9.
You will first be asked to create an account in Cvent so you are able to re-access the submission portal throughout the process.
Then, the submission process itself consists of two steps.
Step 1. Enter speaker details
Here is the information that will be requested:
- First and last name
- Email address (where you will receive speaker communications)
- Onsite mobile number
- School/company name
- Your job title/staff position
- City, state, country
- Your role (student, teacher, media pro, etc.)
- JEA certification status, if applicable
- High-resolution headshot/photo (optional except for Featured Speakers)
- Speaker bio (100 words or less, AP style - optional except for Featured Speakers)
Then, you'll be asked to enter the same required information for any co-presenters or panelists who will present the session with you, including any students.
Not speaking yourself, but submitting on behalf of someone else? Please follow this procedure:
- Enter your own info in the speaker details section.
- Under "Role(s)" select "Submitting on behalf of someone else."
- Use the "co-presenter details" section to enter the speaker(s) details.
Step 2. Enter session and scheduling details
Here is the information that will be requested:
- Session type (single or double slot)
- Session title (AP style, 70 characters max, but note that room readerboard character limit is 50, so longer titles will be edited to fit)
- Session description (3-5 sentences, AP style, PLEASE PROOF)
- Primary session topic(s)
- Recommended skill level for participants
- Audio/visual needs
- Seating configuration needs, if any
- Scheduling availability for this session (please review prescheduled convention events and consult with any co-presenters)
- Notes for organizers, if any
Session proposal guide:
Session length: Our standard breakout session time slot is 45 minutes. We will also consider a very limited number of "double" sessions (1 hour 45 minutes.)
Session title: Up to 70 characters, with readerboard cut-off at 50 characters. Please use sentence case and AP style, see the style guide below for details. Please be specific and avoid vague titles. Clever is good, but it is more important for attendees to understand what the session will cover at a quick glance. (Example: "Open up: Writing yearbook theme copy" NOT JUST "Open up")
Session description: 3-5 sentences. Avoid using the speaker’s name in the session description. Instead, describe what the session will cover and what topics/concepts the audience will take away. Please use complete sentences in AP style and sentence case, see style guide below for details.
Session topic: On the session proposal form, you will be asked to select 1-2 primary session topics. This info will help us sort sessions in the convention mobile app. The NHSJC planning team reserves the right to change your selected topics as they see fit.
Speaker bio: 100 words or fewer. Please use sentence case and AP style. We prefer education/journalism-related work and honors. Avoid family/pet information, age, personal philosophy, overly promotional details about product/service/company, things people do outside of work, unless it’s relevant to the session.
Audio-visual needs: Please note in your proposal if you anticipate needing a screen and projector for a PowerPoint/visual presentation and/or laptop speakers to play video/audio. Due to the volume of sessions received, we are unable to accomodate AV requests beyond these basics. Presenters are required to bring their own laptop with all materials preloaded, ideally available offline. Speaker Wi-Fi will be made available before your session, as needed.
Scheduling availability: Sessions are scheduled from 8 a.m. to 2:45 p.m. on Friday and Saturday of convention week. Correctly filling out your availability is VERY important as this will ensure your session is scheduled for a time slot that works for you and your co-presenters. Please ensure you have reviewed all prescheduled convention events and taken into consideration any other conflicts you and your co-presenters may have. We appreciate your flexibility in offering us as much availability as possible.
Session topic guide:
Advisers, professionals and students are invited to submit proposals on topics including, but not limited to, these curricular areas:
- Advisers — Sessions designed for scholastic journalism teachers and advisers, focusing on grading, classroom or publication management, or other related areas.
- AI and Journalism — Artificial intelligence and how it relates to journalism (best practices, tools, ethics, tips, etc.)
- College and Career — Sessions designed for middle or high school students that focus on college journalism, career preparedness or applying journalism skills elsewhere in life.
- Community Journalism Beyond Campus — Sessions that aim to help student journalists move beyond their classrooms to make an impact in their local town area or community.
- Design — Print or digital design topics as they relate to student media publications (basics of design, typography, use of color, white space, front page design, double-page spread design, trends, infographics, etc.)
- Editing — Copy editing, style, coaching writers, online editing, fact checking in the digital age, etc.
- Interviewing — Interview skills and techniques for student journalists.
- Law and Ethics — Sessions related to journalism law and ethics (i.e. First Amendment, libel, court cases important to student media, copyright, plagiarism, reporter’s privilege, ethics, privacy, rights and responsibilities, establishing staff policies, etc.)
- Leadership and Team Building — Topics designed for student media leaders (teambuilding, planning staff retreats, building portfolios, leadership traits and styles, diversity in staff and coverage, motivating staff, etc.)
- Literary Magazine — Topics related to starting, growing or working on a student literary magazine.
- Marketing and Audience Engagement — Topics related to marketing, fundraising, branding, sales, publicity, PR or audience engagement for student media
- Multimedia Broadcast — Topics related to broadcast and multimedia journalism (i.e. pre-production, script writing, storyboarding, lighting, videography and editing, video storytelling, on-air reporting, multimedia tools and equipment, etc.)
- Newsgathering — Topics related to newsgathering (i.e. news judgment, journalistic research, investigative reporting, interviewing basics, news gathering basics, using public documents, conducting a press conference, reporting with social media, data journalism, evaluating website credibility, etc.)
- Online — Topics related to online news, social media and digital journalism (i.e. web skills, defining an audience, budgeting, information design, basic HTML, online writing, social media strategy, staff workflow, creating a style guide, online tools and resources, etc.)
- Photojournalism — Topics related to photojournalism (tips and tricks, composition, photo editing, caption writing, portrait photography, history, photography for social media, image workflow and organization, preparing a portfolio, etc.)
- Podcast and Radio — Podcasting, radio production and audio journalism for students
- Social Media — Sessions related to social media skills as it relates to student media publications and journalism work.
- Sports Journalism — Topics providing insight into various aspects of sports media and photography for student journalists
- Staff Management — Topics related to managing a student media staff (i.e. creating or improving a staff manual, writing staff job descriptions, organizing staff, staff recruitment, developing a grading system, building parent/alumni support, organizing yearbook distribution, etc.)
- Trends in journalism — Topics focused on current scholastic journalism trends, such as developing diversity in the newsroom, data journalism, visual storytelling, future of journalism, tools and equipment every journalist should have or know how to use, etc.
- Writing — Topics related to journalistic writing (tips and tricks, feature writing, news writing, opinion writing, writing headlines, revision, using quotes, etc.)
- Yearbook — Sessions focused on developing yearbook skills
- Miscellaneous — Specialty sessions related to scholastic journalism trends or other aspects of student media that don't fit into any other categories.
- Diversity in Journalism — We are seeking sessions for our DEI Certificate strand and beyond. These should be sessions specifically geared toward diversity, equity and inclusion as it relates to student media. Sessions selected for the strand will receive special promotion in convention materials. If you feel your session is a good fit, keep an eye out for the related question on the proposal application.
Wondering what topics we are most in need of?
We are especially seeking more interactive, hands-on sessions and more sessions covering advanced topics/skills. We are also seeking sessions for our DEI Certificate strand.
Additionally, these topics could often use more coverage: Multimedia Broadcast, Literary Magazine, Online, Photojournalism, Marketing, Editing. We are also seeking more non-yearbook design classes.
Please visit our speaker FAQ page for a list of more specific ideas based on past attendee feedback.
Programming information
Fall 2026 proposals must be received by Sept. 9 to be considered. Thank you for submitting promptly and respecting this deadline.
Each person submitting a session proposal will receive an initial status notification (accepted/waitlisted/rejected) by email by Sept. 30 at the latest. Final scheduling details (room, date, time assignment) will then be provided by mid-October. Speakers will need to provide final participation confirmation by no later than Oct. 22.
Please note that presenting an NHSJC breakout session is an unpaid, volunteer opportunity to benefit the education and professional development of student journalists and their advisers.
The number of proposals accepted will be determined by the number of rooms and available time slots. The programming committee will look for variety and coverage of topics appropriate for student journalists involved in yearbooks, newspapers, newsmagazines, literary magazines, online news and broadcasting. In addition, the committee will consider topics appropriate for advisers.
More NHSJC speaker policies:
- The session proposal process is designed for equitable and expeditious reviewing of proposals. Please follow and plan for the listed deadlines.
- All speakers are required to register for the convention and pay any associated registration fees. JEA and NSPA member advisers interested in qualifying for discounted or complimentary registration can visit this page for more information.
- Invited featured speakers and local media professionals who are not attending any convention events beyond the session(s) they are presenting may be exempt from registration fees. Please email us to discuss further.
- JEA and NSPA are unable to reimburse speakers for travel and lodging expenses.
- Proposals whose essential purpose is to advertise or disseminate information about books, materials or services for sales will not be accepted. Exhibit space and advertising in the program will be available for sale.
- Students in leadership positions are encouraged to submit proposals. It is recommended that no more than three students present any one session. There are no student fee waivers for speaking. Please visit this page to learn more about student scholarships.
- For student-led sessions, the adviser should be at the session to assist, if necessary. Student presenters are asked to work with their faculty adviser to guarantee quality instruction. We encourage advisers to share sessions with their student instructors and/or attend the students' session.
- Please follow the convention style guide, listed below, in your session proposal.
- One speaker can submit multiple session proposals. However, there is always a chance all or most will be accepted and scheduled, so please only submit multiple proposals if you are willing and able to present them all.
- No proposal will be automatically disqualified from consideration because it requires certain audio-visual equipment or room configuration, but proposers are encouraged to plan a flexible session that only requires simple, standard AV needs.
- JEA or NSPA membership is not required for convention speaker participation; however, in cases of equally good proposals on similar topics, proposals submitted by members may be favored.
Questions? Visit the speaker FAQ page or email us at convention@jea.org.
Convention style guide
Official name: Spring JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention, or Fall JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention
Please use spring convention, fall convention, national high school journalism convention or JEA/NSPA national convention on second reference. Not JEA convention or NSPA convention.
Always keep JEA/NSPA together, never separate. For an event acronym, please use NHSJC. #NHSJC used for social media.
All session materials — including titles and descriptions — should follow sentence case and AP style. Even in titles, capitalize only the following words:
- the first word of a title, header or sentence
- proper nouns (see AP style guide for what qualifies)
- in a title or header, the first word after a colon, em dash, or end punctuation