| Saturday, March 24, 2007 |
| 8:00 a.m. |
A light breakfast will be provided |
| 9-9:45 a.m. |
Welcome. What is investigative journalism? How to do it on a daily, weekly and long-term basis. What resources to use. The importance of knowing and using freedom of information laws.
• David Donald, IRE and NICAR |
| 9:50-10:40 a.m. |
The art of finding and cultivating sources. How to get the best information and interviews through source development to the interviewing techniques.
• David Heath, The Seattle Times |
| 10:45-11:25 a.m. |
Paper and database trails. Documents and data you need to know about and get.
• Daniel Lathrop, Seattle Post-Intelligencer |
| 11:30 a.m.-12:15 p.m. |
Making effective use of the Internet for investigations. From better search techniques to the "Invisible Web." Find out everything you are missing.
• David Donald, IRE and NICAR
• Dave Carlson, University of Florida |
| 12:15-1:15 p.m. |
Lunch on your own |
| 1:15-2:05 p.m |
Dissecting profit and nonprofit businesses. Using regulations and licensing documents to dig deeper and find great stories.
• Byron Acohido, USA Today |
| 2:10-3 p.m. |
The right to records and meetings. How to use federal and state laws. How to write an open records request. How to appeal and challenge denials. How to keep a steady flow of information and ideas coming in.
• Duane Swinton, Witherspoon, Kelley, Davenport and Tool
• Dave Carlson, University of Florida
• Tracy LeRoy,Witherspoon, Kelley, Davenport and Tool |
| 3:05-3:35 p.m |
Managing and juggling. Putting it all together. How to cover a beat and still produce investigative stories. How to manage your day. How reporters and managers can collaborate
• Byron Acohido, USA Today |
| 3:40-4:10 p.m. |
Following the money trail in elections. How to uncover the stories by looking at contributions, expenditures, committees and nonprofit groups and all the financial loopholes.
• Daniel Lathrop, Seattle Post-Intelligencer |
| 4:15-4:45 p.m |
Brief overview of computer-assisted reporting. Examples of blending databases into investigations. What to ask for in electronic files and how to ask for them.
• David Donald, IRE and NICAR |
| 4:50-5:15 p.m. |
Questions and answers. Review of follow-up resources.
• All |
| 5:15 p.m. |
SPJ Region 10 Leadership Meeting |
| 6:15 p.m. |
SPJ Mark of Excellence Awards |
| Sunday, March 25, 2007 |
| 8:00 a.m. |
A light breakfast will be provided |
| 9 a.m.- Noon |
Introductory CAR: Attend this hands-on workshop and learn how to use Excel, a powerful electronic spreadsheet, for deadline and beat reporting on budgets, salaries, and Census data. Also learn how to dig deeper using the Internet and find valuable datasets for your stories (limited to the first 20 to sign up).
• David Donald, IRE and NICAR |
Intermediate CAR: If you can comfortably move around, write a formula and import information into a spreadsheet, this is the session for you. This hands-on workshop will help reporters use Microsoft Access to delve into databases for more in-depth stories. The session will cover searching a database, summarizing and sorting data, and importing information into a database (limited to the first 20 to sign up).
• Daniel Lathrop, Seattle Post-Intelligencer |
