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MONTH, YEAR
ANNOUNCING THE 2001 NATIONAL WRITERS' SYMPOSIUM
THE CAJ'S NATIONAL WRITERS' SYMPOSIUMOCEAN POINTE RESORT AND SPA
November 3-4, 2001
Victoria, BC.
Sponsors
FEATURING:James B. Stewart
Jan Wong
Kevin Newman
Richard Siklos
Mary Lynn Young
Tom Hawthorn
Lynne Van Luven
Steve Wadhams
Eric Nalder
Jim Handman
Lawrence Martin
Jill St. Louis
Carol Off
KEYNOTE SPEAKER:
Senator Pat Carney
The National Writers' Symposium
The Canadian Association of Journalists presents a professional development event for writers, reporters and editors.
The National Writers' Symposium features award-winning journalists and top-notch coaches from Canada and the United States.
Join us for a weekend of intensive, hands-on workshops, covering all aspects of the writing process. A Friday night social hosted by the local CAJ chapter and two keynote speakers are included in the registration price. The workshops start Saturday morning and wrap up by mid-day on Sunday.
Featured Speakers:
Saturday, Nov. 3 8:30 - 9:15 a.m.
Opening Keynote Speaker
MUFFLING THE DRUMS OF WAR: WHAT THEY ARE SAYING vs. WHAT THEY ARE DOING
Senator Pat Carney will discuss the power of language in changing public opinion as the U.S. launches the war against terrorism. She will argue that the challenge facing journalists is to question the rhetoric rather than repeat it. Senator Carney started her career as a business journalist for the Vancouver Sun and Province and found her true calling in politics. Last year she rediscovered her joy of writing, publishing her autobiography, Trade Secrets. Senator Carney sits on the board of the UBC School of Journalism.
Sunday, Nov. 4 11:00 a.m.
Closing Keynote Speaker
MARCHING TO THE SAME DRUMMER: HOW THE FORCES OF INTIMIDATION IN THE CANADIAN MEDIA THREATEN TO COW US ALL
Lawrence Martin's views are familiar to Canadians through his columns in national newspapers and his books on Canadian politicians and political life. Most recently a columnist for Southam newspapers, Martin has also worked for the Globe and Mail in Toronto, Montreal, Washington and Moscow. Martin is currently writing the second volume of a biography of Jean Chretien.
Speakers:
Saturday, Nov. 3 9:30 - 11:00 a.m.
Tom Hawthorn, PUN-FILLED DAYS IN THE TOY DEPARTMENT: HOW TO BE A GOOD SPORTS WRITER
Tom Hawthorn's sports features appear in the National Post and on CBC Radio. He has a singular talent for writing sports stories that capture the attention of not only sports fans but also the rest of us. Recognized for his compelling writing, Hawthorn has shared a Canadian Association of Journalists award and has been a Webster Award finalist. He has also won three B.C. Newspaper Awards.
Mary Lynn Young, MAKING NEWS MATTER: BUILDING CONTEXT INTO YOUR STORIES
From "news you can use"to "storytelling techniques" journalists have been trying to address the limitations of the traditional 'who, what, where and when' style of news for years. This session will discuss the importance of moving beyond this model of news to examine the "how and why" of events and practical ways to show increasingly sophisticated audiences what these stories mean to them. Young has a wealth of journalistic experience. Her career in Canada and the United States included crime reporting at The Houston Post, the Vancouver Sun and The Hamilton Spectator. She later worked at The Globe and Mail in the Report on Business as a copy editor. Currently she is completing her PhD at SFU's Centre of Criminology. Her research interests include the media coverage of crime and social problems.
Carol Off, BIRTH OF A BOOK: TAKING THE SEED OF A STORY THROUGH LABOUR PAINS
After dedicating months of her life to researching and writing The Lion, The Fox and The Eagle, Carol Off says the whole process is just like giving birth. In this session learn what it takes to develop a story into a book. Off has gained national attention for her compelling radio and television reporting from places like India, Pakistan and Bosnia. The Lion, The Fox and The Eagle garnered praise for its incisive look at Canada's role in Bosnia and Rwanda.
Saturday, Nov. 3 11:15 - 12:45 p.m.
Jim Handman, CURE FOR CANCER DISCOVERED - AGAIN!
Public interest in science and medical stories has exploded in recent years, as have the number of media sources that provide this kind of news. But much of the reporting is sensational, misleading, or just plain wrong. Can scientists and journalists ever find common ground? Handman is senior producer of CBC Radio's weekly science program, Quirks & Quarks. During his time on the program, he has won the Canadian Science Writers Award twice, as well as the Canadian Nurses Association Media Award, and a Gold Medal at the New York Festivals. He has been a producer at CBC Radio for 20 years.
Richard Siklos, MEDIA, NEW MEDIA, CONVERGENCE AND CONFUSION
New media has not only been one of the biggest stories of the new century, it's a phenomenon that journalists have to grapple with in their careers. This workshop will discuss how writers covered the recent Internet bubble and its collapse, what can be learned from it, and where things are headed. Siklos has covered and experienced the evolving worlds of media and new media first hand. While New York bureau chief for the Financial Post in 1995, he published the book Shades of Black, Conrad Black and the World's Fastest Growing Press Empire. Then, as media editor at Business Week, he covered the height of the Internet boom, including the mergers of AOL and Time Warner. From September 2000 to May 2001, Siklos was editor-in-chief of Inside Magazine (Internet startup Inside.com), which billed itself the journal of "The Business of Entertainment, Media and Technology." He has recently been consulting editor at Vanity Fair, editing its annual New Establishment feature and is also adjunct professor at New York University's Department of Culture and Communication.
Eric Nalder, FIRST STEPS: INVESTIGATIVE INTERVIEWING
It all starts with the information you garner in interviews. Eric Nalder provides a step-by-step ground-level guide for gathering gold while talking to people. Good interviewing is not just a reporting skill - it's an essential ingredient to good writing. Nalder is a multi Pulitzer Prize- winning investigative reporter currently working out of Seattle for the San Jose Mercury News. A reporter for 32 years (minus nine months as a pig farmer), Nalder has taught workshops in five countries, each year adding lessons learned from journalists, cops, lawyers and social workers. (TO BE REPEATED)
Saturday, Nov. 3 2:15 - 3:45 p.m.
James B. Stewart
James B. Stewart is the author of the national bestsellers Blind Eye, an investigation of the medical profession, Den of Thieves, about Wall Street in the '80s, and Blood Sport, about the Clinton White House. Follow the story: How to Write Successful Nonfiction, was published in 1998. He is currently editor-at-large of SmartMoney magazine, a contributing editor with SmartMoney.com, a contributor to The New Yorker, and formerly page one editor of the Wall Street Journal. Stewart is the recipient of a 1988 Pulitzer Prize for the Wall Street Journal articles on the 1987 stock market crash and the insider trading scandal. Stewart became the Journal's page one editor in 1988, overseeing coverage of the Berlin Wall, the Gulf War, the failed Soviet coup, and the presidential election of both 1988 and 1992. He is also the winner of the 1988 George Polk award and the 1987 and 1988 Gerald Loeb awards. Blind Eye was the winner of the 2000 Edgar Allan Poe Award given annually by the Mystery Writers of America.
Jill St. Louis, NEWS ON THE RUN: BREAKING NEWS FROM BAREBONES TO POLISHED PIECE ON DEADLINE
This session examines the nuts and bolts of putting together a breaking story, from logistics to writing: How to take the story from a barebones account to a well-crafted, polished piece. A career with Canadian Press has given Jill St. Louis plenty of opportunity to refine the art of covering breaking news on stories such as the Squamish Five terrorist trial and the Yeltsin-Clinton summit. Jill St. Louis is now Vancouver bureau chief for Canadian Press. (TO BE REPEATED)
Kevin Newman, COVERING BREAKING NEWS
Kevin Newman, anchor and executive editor of Global National - Canada's newest national newscast, will talk about how newsrooms cover live, breaking news events, without the use of prepared scripts. He will share his learnings and experiences from Global National and will provide his perspective on covering the recent tragic events in New York and Washington D.C.
Saturday, Nov. 3 4:00 - 5:30 p.m.
Jill St. Louis, NEWS ON THE RUN: BREAKING NEWS FROM BAREBONES TO POLISHED PIECE ON DEADLINE
This session examines the nuts and bolts of putting together a breaking story, from logistics to writing: How to take the story from a barebones account to a well-crafted, polished piece. A career with Canadian Press has given Jill St. Louis plenty of opportunity to refine the art of covering breaking news on stories such as the Squamish Five terrorist trial and the Yeltsin-Clinton summit. Jill St. Louis is now Vancouver bureau chief for Canadian Press. (REPEAT)
Eric Nalder, FIRST STEPS: INVESTIGATIVE INTERVIEWING
It all starts with the information you garner in interviews. Eric Nalder provides a step-by-step ground-level guide for gathering gold while talking to people. Good interviewing is not just a reporting skill - it's an essential ingredient to good writing. Nalder is a multi Pulitzer Prize- winning investigative reporter currently working out of Seattle for the San Jose Mercury News. A reporter for 32 years (minus nine months as a pig farmer), Nalder has taught workshops in five countries, each year adding lessons learned from journalists, cops, lawyers and social workers. (REPEAT)
Steve Wadhams, RADIO STORYTELLING
Think of a documentary as a series of visual scenes. In this session, Steve Wadhams will teach techniques to focus those scenes and make them work together. An NWS favorite, Wadhams pushes journalists to find the most creative way to tell a story. Wadham's career as a radio documentary producer has taken him around the world and spawned an interest in passing his skills along to others. He's now a trainer for CBC and the BBC. Wadhams' work has won him two Nellies, two Major Armstrongs, two B'Nai Briths, a New York, a Gabriel, two CAJs , a Premios Ondas and a Prix Italia.
Sunday, Nov. 4 9:15 - 10:45 a.m.
Lynne Van Luven, LITERARY TECHNIQUES FOR WRITING NEWS STORIES
An associate professor at the University of Victoria, Lynne Van Luven draws on her extensive experience as a journalist to teach students how to use creative non-fiction in writing news stories. Van Luven started her career in Alberta and has since worked as a women's editor on a small daily paper, education and social affairs reporter, copy editor, freelance drama reviewer, books editor and CBC radio critic.
Jan Wong, HOW TO AVOID BEING OUT TO LUNCH, JOURNALISTICALLY SPEAKING
Many people have predicted that she'll never eat lunch in this town again. But as her "Lunch With" column in The Globe and Mail proves each week, there's always another unsuspecting celebrity ready to break bread. Jan Wong talks about her Top 10 rules on interviewing and writing. Jan Wong was the much-acclaimed Beijing correspondent for The Globe and Mail from 1988 to 1994. She is the recipient of a National Newspaper Award, among other honors for her reporting. Wong has also written for the New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. Her first book, Red China Blues, was named one of TIME magazine's top 10 books of 1996 and remains banned in China. She is currently a reporter and columnist for The Globe and Mail.
And don't forget to bring your work for review at the 'Red Pencil' sessions where some of the best editors in the country will go one-on-one to help you sharpen your writing. Be prepared for criticism, but it's always constructive.
REGISTRATION INFORMATION
A. Fees
Conference fees include all workshops and keynote speeches. The symposium begins Saturday morning with registration from 7:30 -8:30 a.m., followed by a welcome keynote address and workshops afterward. On Saturday night, an hors d'oeuvres reception is included with conference registration. Workshops continue Sunday morning, ending at noon.
New or lapsed CAJ members can renew/join using this form to take advantage of CAJ member rates (Memberships cost $75 for regular or associate members, $40 for journalists earning less than $30,000 annually, and $30 for students) (Please include all information on this form for the Media Directory)
NOTE: Early Bird Deadline has been extended to October 15, 2001
Conference Fees
Before Oct. 15 After Oct. 15
All CAJ Members $79 $99
Non-Members $139 $160
B. Book your hotelThe CAJ has arranged special rates ($99/ night) at the Ocean Pointe Resort and Spa. For reservations phone 1-800-667-4677 or check out the Ocean Pointe website www.oprhotel.com
C. Book your flight
Book your flight by calling Travel Cuts @ 1-888-647-7754 #302, mention it's for the CAJ National Writers' Symposium and you will be eligible for a discounted fare to Victoria for the weekend of November 3-4.
D. Tally the charges Registration fee $ ________________ CAJ Membership fee (if applicable) $ ________________ Sub Total $ ________________ add 7 % GST (Reg. # 131-683-518) $ ________________ Grand Total $ ________________ * Note* GST is applicable only on Registration fee E. Registration information (Please complete ALL information) Name:__________________________________________________ Address:_______________________________________________ City/Prov/P.Code:______________________________________ Home tel:______________________________________________ Employer/School:_______________________________________ Work address:__________________________________________ Work tel:______________________________________________ Fax:___________________________________________________ E-mail:________________________________________________ F. Method of payment (Please ensure information is complete) Enclosed is my cheque made payable to the Canadian Association of Journalists__ Please charge my Visa __ Please charge my Master Card __ Card no: ______________________________________________ Expiry date: __________________________________________ Signature: ____________________________________________Send completed registration form to:
CAJ
Rm. 316-B St. Patrick's Bldg.
Carleton University
Ottawa, ON K1S 5B6
FAX: 613-521-3904
Further information, contact:
John Dickins, CAJ Executive Director
Tel. 613-526-8061
e-mail: caj@igs.net
web page: www.caj.ca