CAJ National Conference - Workshops - 2002

Access to information - an introduction: A workshop covering all the basics for those who want to use access to information or freedom of information laws as tools to conduct investigative journalism. Presented by David McKie. (This workshop complements the one on Investigative Reporting and Access to Information being given by Andrew McIntosh of the National Post.)

David McKie has been an Ottawa-based reporter with CBC Radio for the past 15 years and is editor of the CAJ's Media magazine. McKie has used the federal Access to Information law as a starting point for many investigations on stories ranging from Health Canada's laws for the approval of drugs and medical devices to Correctional Service's Canada's attempts to deal with corrupt guards.

Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 10:45 a.m. / Renaissance Room

(The links above require Adobe Acrobat to open - or see the Schedules page for other options.)

Art of the chase: Behind every great talk segment... there's a great "chase." So where do you find the best guests? How do you pull together research in a hurry? What intros and questions work best? For researchers, producers or even hosts of studio-based "talk" programming for radio and tv. Led by trainer and Ryerson journalism professor Marsha Barber.

Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. / Macdonald Room

(The links above require Adobe Acrobat to open - or see the Schedules page for other options.)

Community newspapers: Weekly newspaper veteran Rosaleen Dickson will conduct a hands-on seminar on the whole truth about Canadian Community Newspapers. This will include who owns them, who runs them, who supports them, who writes them, who reads them and how they differ from every other news medium. The participants will have an opportunity to discover the various skills needed in the production of the community weekly paper. This genre of journalism will be explored as an entry into the profession, a semi-retirement occupation, or as a lifetime career.

Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. / Drawing Room

(The links above require Adobe Acrobat to open - or see the Schedules page for other options.)

Computer assisted reporting workshops: New this year, we're offering two full days of workshops on computer-assisted reporting (CAR). (There are also panels on topics of CAR interest.)
Introductory computer-assisted reporting skills: Thursday April 11 from 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. at Carleton University School of Journalism computer lab. (The day before the main conference begins.) Learn all the basics of computer-assisted reporting with David Akin, CTV News. In a hands-on session, find out how easy it is to use spreadsheets to make numbers sing. No specialized computer knowledge required. Extra $20 charge to cover setup of the computer lab. At $20 for the full extra day, it's an unbeatable value. Don't forget to book your extra night's hotel, if you need it, at our low conference rate.

Thursday, 8:45 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. / Carleton University Journalism School computer lab

Advanced computer-assisted reporting skills: Friday April 12 from 8:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. at Carleton University School of Journalism computer lab. Build on the skills you learned at the beginner's course Thursday, or sign up for Friday on its own if you've already got the basics covered. Troll government databases for the big story. Find and clean data. Friday's course is included in the main conference fee. Led by Fred Vallance-Jones, CAR specialist with The Hamilton Spectator.

Friday, 8:45 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. / Carleton University Journalism School computer lab

The following workshops will take place Saturday in the CAR demo room at the conference hotel:
The 2001 census and you: Throughout 2002, Statistics Canada will release data from the 2001 census. It's one of the best opportunities yet for CAR reporters. Find out how you can mine the census for story gold. Featuring Paul Schneidereit of the Halifax Chronicle-Herald and Bill Doskoch of Bell Globemedia Interactive.

Saturday, 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 a.m. / L'Orangerie Room

(The links above require Adobe Acrobat to open - or see the Schedules page for other options.)

Database building:: Award-winning investigative reporter Robert Cribb of the Toronto Star shows you how to build your own databases that will have the awards coming your way.

Saturday, 10:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. / L'Orangerie Room

(The links above require Adobe Acrobat to open - or see the Schedules page for other options.)

Data mining the PDF mountain: Learn how to grab data directly from the Internet and put it work to get great stories. Included, tips on how to extract useful data from .pdf files. They're used by agencies and corporations to publish data and have long frustrated reporters wanting to import the data into spreadsheet and database applications. Find out how you can end the .pdf deep freeze. With CAR specialist Fred Vallance-Jones of The Hamilton Spectator.

Saturday, 11:00 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. / L'Orangerie Room

(The links above require Adobe Acrobat to open - or see the Schedules page for other options.)

Spreadsheet skills: David McKie of CBC Radio News in Ottawa shows you how you can use a spreadsheet to build a chronology that will help you crack the toughest investigative puzzles.

Saturday, 4:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. / L'Orangerie Room

(The links above require Adobe Acrobat to open - or see the Schedules page for other options.)

Directing field shoots: What your crew wishes you knew. You're headed out the door with a crew in tow to capture a great story - but are you equipped to direct a field shoot? What does it take to make your visuals and natural sound tell the story for you? A show and tell workshop for non-shooting television researchers, reporters and producers. Led by award-winning journalist and trainer John Scully, with help from some of Ottawa's best camera and sound technicians.

Friday, 2:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. / Macdonald Room

(The links above require Adobe Acrobat to open - or see the Schedules page for other options.)
Editing for print: Sharpen your blue pencils! Sharon Burnside, currently head of Training and Personnel at the Toronto Star, brings this workshop 20 years of editing experience, first at the Owen Sound Sun Times and then the Ottawa Citizen where she was a night news editor, city editor, and features editor before she was appointed managing editor. She's back by popular demand for another half-day editing workshop.

Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. / Quebec Room

(The links above require Adobe Acrobat to open - or see the Schedules page for other options.)

Independent production: How to turn your ideas into television programs. This hands-on workshop gives participants a chance to find out what it takes to get their television program ideas to air. Presented by independent producer and Algonquin College broadcast instructor Donna Leon, it includes a case study of a documentary project for national television.

Saturday, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. / Renaissance Room

(The links above require Adobe Acrobat to open - or see the Schedules page for other options.)

Investigative reporting and access to information: Examples and discussion of specialized investigative techniques using access to information or freedom of information laws as crucial tools for journalists. Presented by Andrew McIntosh.(This workshop builds on material outlined in the workshop Access to Information - An Introduction, given by David McKie.)
McIntosh is a senior writer for the Parliamentary Bureau of The National Post who won the CAJ Award for investigative reporting in Canadian newspapers in 1999 and 2000. He also teaches investigative research methods in the graduate journalism program at Carleton University.

Friday, 2:00 p.m.. to 5 p.m. / Renaissance Room

(The links above require Adobe Acrobat to open - or see the Schedules page for other options.)

Journalists and the law: How not to get sued or charged.
This workshop will provide an update on the latest trends in defamation law, bans on publication, and contempt of court. Recent cases and hypothetical scenarios will be used to explore the legal limits on reportage, with an emphasis on how to get the story without being sued or threatened with a criminal charge.

The morning session will examine recent Supreme Court of Canada rulings that should make it more difficult for parties to obtain publication bans, as well as efforts under way to develop Internet-based systems to notify the media of ban applications. The easing of restrictions, in some provinces, on pre-trial reporting of criminal records and other potentially prejudicial information will also be discussed.

The afternoon session will review trends in defamation law, including an examination of the impact of the controversial Leenen and Myers judgments against the CBC's fifth estate.

With Dean Jobb, Halifax Chronicle-Herald reporter and columnist. Jobb is a winner of the Canadian Bar Association's Justicia Award for legal journalism and teaches media law at the School of Journalism, University of King's College in Halifax.

Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 5:00 p.m. / Tudor Room

(The links above require Adobe Acrobat to open - or see the Schedules page for other options.)

The new environment writing: People say they care about the environment but do they want to read about it? Canadian Geographic editor Rick Boychuk and award-winning science and nature writer Wayne Grady on rekindling the interest of jaded readers and cynical editors in stories about nature, wildlife and the environment.

Friday, 2:00 p.m. to 5 p.m. / Gatineau Room

(The links above require Adobe Acrobat to open - or see the Schedules page for other options.)

Online storytelling 101: A primer for the Web-unaware. If Flash makes you think of a camera, you need this workshop. Bill Doskoch, senior web producer with Bell Globemedia Interactive, will talk about the exciting technologies that can be used in telling stories on the Web, plus writing techniques for this new medium.

Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. / L'Orangerie Room

(The links above require Adobe Acrobat to open - or see the Schedules page for other options.)

Peeling the onion: interviewing and getting to the truth: Whether it's holding a politician accountable, conversing with an athlete who's just won a gold medal, or talking to a woman who's just had sextuplets, there is potential for revealing truth in every interview. This workshop will give you a basic tool kit to peel away the layers that truth may be hiding behind. Presented by Sheila Coles, host of CBC Radio's Morning Edition in Saskatchewan.
Sound storytelling secrets: Examples and discussion of the main areas of radio storytelling, including how to think in pictures and scenes, ways to create a powerful and memorable "picture flow" and the use of story structure and "dramatic intelligence" in documentary storytelling. With veteran story-teller, sound craftsman and audio documentary maker Steve Wadhams.

Wadhams has been using sound to tell stories for almost 30 years at such CBC Radio programs as As It Happens and Sunday Morning. He is currently producer of CBC Radio's Out Front, a forum for Canadians to tell their own stories in their own words, using styles which vary from dramatic monologue to experimental documentary. A Prix Italia winner for radio documentary, Wadhams has also done training for CBC, BBC and independent radio producers.

Saturday, 2:15 p.m. to 5:30 p.m / Palladian Room

(The links above require Adobe Acrobat to open - or see the Schedules page for other options.)

Succeeding at freelancing:The upshot of convergence is that you may want to go out on your own! Learn the nuts and bolts of being a successful freelance journalist. Rosa Harris-Adler, currently the editor of Ottawa City Magazine and a veteran magazine writer, will teach the basics - running a business, query letters that get noticed, recycling stories, as well as how to stand out above the pack. Copyright issues, freelancing for CBC Radio and dealing with editors are some of the other items on her check-list. Rosa Harris-Adler, Editor, Ottawa City Magazine with assistance from Lisa Hébert, Network Producer, CBC Radio, Ottawa

Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. / Gatineau Room

(The links above require Adobe Acrobat to open - or see the Schedules page for other options.)

When the camera and mic are turned on YOU: Is media convergence, beat expertise or punditry forcing the print journalist in you to on to the airwaves? Learn how to shine in front of a camera or mic whether you're being interviewed on your latest scoop or weighing in on a panel discussion. With Janice Neil, Carleton University School of Journalism broadcast professor. Neil is a former producer and reporter for both TVO and CBC.

Friday, 9:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. / Macdonald Room

(The links above require Adobe Acrobat to open - or see the Schedules page for other options.)