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Hacking News Leadership agenda


Check out this complete agenda for Hacking News Leadership, a conference for editors and news technologists. A PDF version available here. 

Hacking News Leadership
A conference for editors and news technologists 

Date: May 3-4, 2014
Site: Austin, Texas
Sponsors: The University of Texas at Austin, The Texas Tribune, the Austin American-Statesman, Digital First Media, Google, Scripps Howard Foundation and the Houston Chronicle

The newest specialists in journalism are bringing the tools, skills, language and culture into news organizations, sometimes in teams and sometimes through the work of lonely crusaders teaching themselves ways to harness technology to produce new kinds of reporting and storytelling.
 
Yet even in the age of data, the story of how news organizations are tapping the power of data and technology is one of haves and have-nots, knows and know-nots. For every Snowfall are dozens of newsrooms with little or no capacity for analyzing data or producing news apps, or cautionary tales of data that lacks context that good reporting might have offered. Tech-savvy young journalists find editors who know little and often seem to care less about new methods; editors trying to hire data journalists struggle to compete for a limited pool of highly skilled talent.
 
How can news leaders and technology specialists forge a successful marriage — one that capitalizes on their different but complementary disciplines of inquiry, discovery and knowledge-sharing? How can they join forces to hack the future?
 
AGENDA: 
 
Saturday, May 3
 
9-10 a.m. 
 
Registration and coffee 
 
10 a.m.
 
Welcome and introduction: 
 
ASNE President David Boardman
 
Program overview: 
 
Texas Tribune Editor Emily Ramshaw 
 
10:15 a.m. - Noon 
 
Breakthroughs and battle scars: Reports from the front lines of data journalism
 
In a series of short talks, editors and technologists will share noteworthy projects, offering a sampler of ways technology is changing news and storytelling. Presenters will pull back the curtain on what it took to develop these apps and stories, how they overcame obstacles and what they learned and can share with others.
 
Moderator: Mark Horvit, executive director of Investigative Reporters and Editors
 
Presenters:
 
• Dallas Morning News (Neighborhood Explorer)
• Corpus Christi Caller-Times (Migration Mapping) 
• Washington Post (Super zips) 
• Texas Tribune (Ethics Explorer)
• Southern California Public Radio (Firetracker app) 
• University of Texas at Austin (WeatherVain app)
• Houston Chronicle (Ship Crash Map)
• Digital First Media (ACA)
 
12 p.m. – 1:15 p.m. 
 
Lunch Keynote: Trei Brundrett, chief product officer for Vox Media
 
Muscle Shoals and Battleship Cannons: Developing a digital deep cuts collaborative hit factory with design and technology — or how Vox Media is organized. 
 
1:30 p.m. – 3 p.m. 
 
Hands-On Session: Trading Places
 
In this session, we'll break into two groups, the better to learn by doing. Editors will learn very simple HTML and Git. They'll come away with both coding knowledge and a broader understanding of how coding workflow works in newsrooms. 
 
Presenter: Amanda Krauss, director of technology for The Texas Tribune.
 
Technologists will become reporters and editors for the day, reporting from a simulated breaking news situation. 
 
Presenter: Christian McDonald, data editor for the Austin American-Statesman
 
3:15 p.m. - 4:30 p.m. 
 
Tech Tools
 
Experts in the field will demo five to six easy technology tools editors and developers can share in the newsroom. 
 
Moderator: Jim Brady, editor-in-chief, Digital First Media 
 
Presenters:
 
• Meredith Broussard, Assistant Professor, Temple University Department of Journalism (Stacked Up)
• Tom Meagher, data team lead, Digital First Media (TabulaPDF)
• Sarah Sampsel, director of digital strategy, The Washington Post (prototyping tools: Invision, Marvel, Keynote, Macaw)
• Christian McDonald, online projects and data editor, Austin American-
Statesman (Tableau)
• Max Zimbert. Editor, Yahoo! News Digest (TBD) 
 
5 p.m. – 7 p.m. 
 
 
Walk over to 2402 San Gabriel Street for drinks and light appetizers, courtesy of The Texas Tribune. 
 
Sunday, May 4
 
9 a.m. – 10 a.m. 
 
Breakfast Keynote: Mark Stencel, Digital Fellow, The Poynter Institute
 
The Goat Must Be Fed: With 24/7 demands and resource constraints, most newsroom leaders struggle to create time and space for innovation, especially when it comes to adopting the tools that enable data-driven reporting and digital story-telling. The Reporters' Lab at Duke University's DeWitt Wallace Center for Media and Democracy has examined the news priorities and institutional barriers that separate journalism's digital "haves" and "have-nots." 
 
10 a.m. – 11 a.m. 
 
Breakout Labs
 
We'll break into groups to tackle the biggest challenges and potential solutions at the intersection of editorial and technology in the newsroom, including workflow, deadlines, new product development and roll-out, time management, expectations and hiring. 
 
Moderator: Robyn Tomlin, editor of Digital First Media's Project Thunderdome
 
Facilitators: Several conference attendees will lead breakout sessions.
 
11 a.m. – noon 
 
Solution-Sharing
 
A moderated discussion on what's going to distinguish news organizations that figure it out from those that miss out. How do you hang on to great talent? How do you weave innovation into the daily pressures of your news operation? How do you convince your organization to invest in technology and talent? A look at best practices and solutions. 
 
Moderator: Robyn Tomlin, editor of Digital First Media's Project Thunderdome
 
Noon: Adjourn

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