National Conference 2012

RTDNA@50
The Future of Electronic Journalism
Electronic journalism has come a long way since the 1900s. We have supplanted print as the way most people get their news, added pictures (and impact), and have transitioned into web-based media as well, extending our reach. We’ve brought war, peace and everything in between into people’s homes in an effort to make them better informed. We have a lot on which to pride ourselves!

Join us for RTDNA’s National Conference, June 21-23, 2012 in Toronto, Ontario and help us celebrate over 100 years of experimental and commercial electronic journalism. Find out where we’ve come from and our accomplishments as a medium along the way - those things will truly shape our future!

50th Anniversary WOW!! You won't want to miss this year's National Conference in Toronto some highlights include:

MOBILE APP
The official Journalism 2012 Conference App acts as your personal passport to the event. Browse sessions, plan your schedule and connect with others.

Wi-Fi Zone
The free Wi-Fi zone is available to anyone registered for the conference. You can use the free Wi-Fi in the lobby area of the conference.

Product Demo Area
The Journalism Expo is designed to provide you with information for your newsroom. You will find exhibitors that represent a wide variety of products, services and subjects. We encourage you to take some time to check out the companies and organizations during the conference.

Newsroom Tours
You have an opportunity to tour some of our major television stations, Pre-registration required, limited spots. Transportation is not provided.

5 Minutes with a News Director
Back for a second year our popular "5 Minutes with a News Director" session features radio and television News Directors who meet with different young job seekers. Conceptually similar to how "speed dating" works, session attendees would move to a new news director every five minutes. The session is a perfect opportunity for job hopefuls to get advice, ask questions, and network.

Hotel Reservations

Conference Hotel: Sheraton Centre Hotel, Toronto
Hotel Rates: $169 Standard (single/double) | $269 Club (single/double)
Reserve your Hotel now through Destination Toronto.

Registration

You can either conveniently register online using our secure server, or you can register by mail/fax. To register by mail/fax, simply download our printable Registration Form (PDF), and mail or fax your completed registration to the address indicated on the form. Please do not e-mail your completed PDF Registration Form!

Sponsorship Opportunities

To become a 2011 National Conference Sponsor, simply download our Sponsorship Form (PDF), select your Sponsorship Level, and return your completed application to the address indicated on the form. To become an Educator Sponsor, please download our Educator Sponsorship Form (PDF).

Preliminary Program At-A-Glance

Wednesday, June 20, 2012
9:00 am - 3:00 pm	RTDNA Board Meeting
Thursday, June 21, 2012
9:00 am - 4:00 pm	CTV News Directors Meeting
1:00 pm	Registration Sponsored by:
4:00 pm - 4:30 pm	RTDNA Central Region Meeting
5:00 pm - 9:00 pm	Central Region Awards Reception & Banquet The RTDNA Lifetime Achievement Award is presented to individuals who have distinguished themselves through outstanding service and continued excellence during their careers in broadcast journalism. This year RTDNA will honour Warren Beck and Dave Wright. Plus, the coveted 2011 RTDNA Awards will be presented as RTDNA Canada honours the best in electronic journalism in the Central Region. Sponsored by:
9:00 pm - 11:00 pm	RTDNA Opening Reception Mingle with old friends and meet new ones as we kick off our 50th Anniversary. Guest Speaker: M. Tom Jenkins - Executive Chairman and Chief Strategy Officer OpenText Corporation
Friday, June 22, 2012
7:30 am - 9:00 am	RTDNA Business Breakfast Meeting
8:00 am	Registration Sponsored by:
9:00 am - 10:30 am	SUPER SESSION Lloyd discusses where the news business has gone and where he sees it going from here. Moderator: Beverly Thomson – Co-Host, Canada AM Speaker: Lloyd Robertson – Co-Host, W5
10:30 am - 11:00 am	Refreshment Break
11:00 am - 12:30pm	Leading Change in a Digital Newsroom Your viewers are changing the way they get their news. So why does your newsroom still act and look as it did 10 or 20 years ago? If you're hiring the same types of people for the same jobs, you're falling behind. The newsrooms that will thrive (even survive) in the years ahead are those ready to rebuild themselves from the inside out. At this leadership-focused session, you'll hear from industry leaders who are helping newsrooms make those necessary changes. Moderator: Kevin Benz, Chair, RTDNA International Panel: Kevin Newman, CTV Digital Evangelist & Co-host Question Period Amber MacArthur, Co-Host, App Central, CTV Rachel Nixon, Director of Digital Media, CBC News and Centers Richard Bloom, Managing Editor, CityNews.ca at Citytv Andrew Lundy, Director, Globalnews.ca
12:30 pm - 2:30pm	RTNDF Luncheon with guest Speaker RTNDF will provide scholarships to deserving individuals from across the country as well as one broadcast educator will receive the Michael Monty Memorial Award Speaker: Brianna Keilar, CNN White House correspondent Sponsored by:
2:30 pm - 3:15 pm Concurrent Session	Powerful Storytelling Techniques Compelling storytelling is the very heart and essence of broadcast news - The "Powerful Communicator Principles" are based on three points: 1. Tell the Truth 2. Make it Matter 3. Never be Boring! There are no BORING stories, only boring storytellers. Using these proven techniques, you'll learn to become a more powerful storyteller, to find and develop stories that will engage, inform and entertain, and even inspire and grow your audience. Moderator: Dave Trafford – Managing Editor, Global News Toronto Speaker: Valerie Geller
2:30 pm - 3:15 pm Concurrent Session	New Research on Building Newscast Audience Loyalty Stations are being forced to compete for viewers in whole new ways as mobile and internet provide instant, on-demand news coverage. In this example-packed session, audience retention expert Graeme Newell presents new research on growing newscast loyalty. Learn how innovative news teams are building customer loyalty triggers right into the heart of their shows. See best practices for increasing audience retention, and time spent viewing. Moderator: Paul Rogers – CTV Toronto, Senior Vice-President, CTV Toronto Speaker: Graeme Newell
3:15 pm - 4pm Concurrent Session	NEVER LOSE A LISTENER OR VIEWER Do you ever find you're working on a story that might not connect or matter to your audience? In this session learn techniques and methods to find your audience's "engage point" Here you'll come away with solid techniques to make every subject, story and topic in your newscast universally relevant! Moderator: Stephanie Smyth – Senior Breaking News Producer, CP24 Speaker: Valerie Geller
3:15 pm - 4:00 pm Concurrent Session	Social Networking Best Practices: Building Genuine Viewer Relationships Delivering information over social networks requires that you rethink your presentation strategy. Social Media isn't just about informing, it's also about listening, building friendships, and fostering genuine bonds with viewers. In this example-packed session, audience marketing expert Graeme Newell shows how busy newsrooms find the time and resources to build the systems that make social media a huge asset to their news operation. Moderator: Peter Angione – News Director, CTV Ottawa Speaker: Graeme Newell
4:00 pm - 6:00 pm	RTNDF Live Auction The RTNDF auction is always filled with bargains and laughs. The 50th anniversary Conference this June will have our guest auctioneers offer up the best in deals.
7:00 pm - 8:00 pm	President's Gala Reception Hosted by: Andy LeBlanc, President, RTDNA Canada
8:00 pm - 11:00 pm	RTDNA President's Award Gala Join us as we present the 2012 Distinguished Service Award to Peter Angione and the RTDNA President's Award to a very deserving industry colleague. RTDNA is proud to have the following RTDNA Past President's join us for our 50th Anniversary, those confirming their attendance at this year's event include: Don Johnston Frank Flegel Karl Sepkowski David Knapp Dick Smyth Eric Rothschild John Hinnen George Clark Gerry Phelan Eldon Duchscher Terry Scott Cal Johnstone Bruce Hogle Hudson Mack Sponsored by:
Saturday, June 23, 2012
7:00 am	Registration Sponsored by:
8:00 a.m. - 9:00 am	Breakfast and Murrow Awards Hosted by RTDNA International Representative Terry Scott and RTDNA International Chair Kevin Benz Sponsored by:
9:00 am - 10:30 am	SUPER SESSION-NETWORK ANCHORS Three of Canada's network anchors talk about the changes in the way we cover, and deliver, the news today. Moderator: Seamus O'Regan, Correspondent with CTV National News Panel: Lisa LaFlamme, Chief anchor and senior editor of CTV National News Dawna Friesen, Anchor and executive editor of Global National Diana Swain, CBC News Investigative Unite
10:30 am - 11:00 am	Refreshment Break
11:00 am - 12:00 pm	EARNING CLICKS THROUGH HEADLINES Learn how to write lively and engaging headlines that will win clicks and help you generate revenue. This panel of online experts, led by Angela Pacienza, Director of Online News at The Canadian Press, will share tips on what works to attract eyeballs from the casual browser and win readers via search engine referrals. Angela Pacienza – Director of Online News, The Canadian Press Moderator: Terry Scott, Director of Broadcasting, The Canadian Press Sponsored by:
12:15 pm - 1:30 pm	5 Minutes with the News Director Back for a second year our popular "5 Minutes with a News Director" session features radio and television News Directors who meet with different young job seekers. Conceptually similar to how "speed dating" works, session attendees would move to a new news director every five minutes. The session is a perfect opportunity for job hopefuls to get advice, ask questions, and network.
12:15 pm - 1:30 pm	CRTC Update Grab a box lunch and hear from Andree Noel, CRTC and Leonard Katz, Acting Chairman, CRTC Moderator: Greg O'Brien, Editor and publisher Cartt.ca Panel: Andrée Noël, National Chair, CBSC Leonard Katz Acting Chairman, CRTC
1:00 pm - 3:00 pm	RTDNA New Board Meeting
1:30 pm - 2:00 pm	Refreshment Break
2:00 pm - 2:45pm Concurrent Session	Doing More with Mobile Devices From IPAD-2's, IPhone's to Galaxy and Blackberry - mobiles devices are being used more than ever for news gathering. This session will show you how to get the most out of your device and bring the story home to viewers live. Moderator: TBC Panelists: Gary Symons, President & CTO - Veridcoder Ivo Burum, Executive Producer, Burum Media
2:00 pm - 2:45pm Concurrent Session	Google for Journalists: Getting the Most from the Web Every day, millions of people around the world use Google's search engine to find what they're looking for. Journalists, editors, producers, and others in the media have long known just how essential it is to be able to find and use information, and this "Google for Journalists" session demonstrates ways to work more efficiently and effectively on the web. Learn how to get the most from Search and other free tools from Google. Whether you're in print, broadcast, or digital journalism, this session will introduce tips and tricks you can use to search smarter, keep better tabs on your beat, see what's hot and what's not, add a visual edge to your online content, and connect with your audience. Moderator: Scott Metcalfe, - News Director, 680News Toronto Mathew Ingram, Senior Writer, GigaOm.com Richard Bloom, Managing Editor, CityNews.ca at Rogers Communications
2:45 pm - 4:00 pm	CLOSING SUPER SESSION FUTURE OF BROADCAST NEWS Evolving without sacrificing content and remaining relevant in this technology-saturated era of news are the key elements to practice according to the panel at the "Future of Broadcast News". The discussion included topics such as social media networks and how they're being utilized for news gathering, citizen journalism, new portable technology devices used to cover news and how broadcast news companies are managing budgets to accommodate these new technological systems and devices while staying away from reducing staff members. Moderator: Carolyn Jarvis - Host of Global's Newsmagazine series 16:9 Panel: Wendy Freeman, President, CTV News Troy Reeb, Senior Vice President, News and Station Operations | Shaw Media Jennifer McGuire, Editor-In-Chief, CBC News
5:30 pm - 6:30 pm	National Award Gala Reception
6:30 pm - 11:00 pm	RTDNA National Awards Gala Radio and television winners in each of the regions compete for national honours while the networks and news agencies vie for similar recognition. The National RTDNA Canada Awards celebrate the very best and are recognized as the highest accolade in Canadian broadcast journalism. Sponsored by:

Thank You to Our Sponsors

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