2008 IRE conference — Miami, June 5-8

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Tipsheets from the IRE Conference in Miami are now available. IRE members can download them free from the Resource Center (use the search terms "Miami 2008") or order a CD with the entire collection for $15, plus $5 shipping.

IRE members can also purchase professional audio recordings of conference panels. Conference attendees can click here to download them from the site in MP3 format or order one copy of the CD compilation for $5. IRE members who did not attend the conference can purchase the audio CD for $20 plus $5 shipping.

Order online (credit card payment only) or download an order form (PDF).

The best in the business will gather for more than 100 panels, including tracks for editors and broadcasters, extensive options for beats such as justice, business, education, politics and health. Additional panels will cover the fundamentals of reporting from interviewing to Internet research, plus hands-on classes in computer-assisted reporting and an optional day of CAR-focused panels.

The IRE Awards Luncheon will honor journalists for outstanding stories of 2007. Dave Barry, humor writer and former Miami Herald columnist, will deliver the event's keynote speech. The Saturday luncheon is included in conference registration.

IRE members should plan to attend the annual membership meeting on Saturday evening. Eight seats on the IRE Board of Directors are up for election. If you attend the conference, you must cast your ballot at the meeting; only members who will not attend the conference can . For more on the board candidates, click here.

Program information

Web frameworks advanced boot camp: In this new advanced boot camp, we'll take you from the basics to a fully functioning data-driven application in Django, the web framework that drives award-winning projects like EveryBlock, PolitiFact, and The Washington Post's congressional votes databases. Click here for a list of expected panels and to sign up.

Schedule
Speakers
Hotel information
Need a roommate? Check this roommate list to find one.
Airport transportation
Blues Bash
Sagamore Hotel (South Beach) reception
Frequently asked questions
The Greater Miami Convention & Visitors Bureau
Exhibitor and Recruiter application

New HBO screening: Friday, 6:15 to 8:15 p.m. - Generation Kill: Journalist Evan Wright's series for Rolling Stone on the Marines who led the invasion of Baghdad in 2003 became a book and, next month, premieres on HBO as a seven-part mini-series. HBO will do a sneak preview of a one-hour episode from Generation Kill, written by Wright, former Baltimore Sun journalist David Simon (Homicide, The Corner, The Wire) and Ed Burns (The Corner, The Wire), with Simon and Burns among the executive producers. Wright, Simon and Burns will then participate in a panel discussion on how they've turned their experiences as observers into both fiction and non-fiction, in print and on television. Wright will participate in a book signing after the panel.

Free tickets to this screening will be distributed on Friday beginning at 9 a.m. at the Sales table located in Mezzanine East on the 2nd floor. Tickets are limited due to seating capacity in the theater. One ticket per person please.

Mentoring: The conference offers an opportunity for in-depth, one-on-one coaching on investigative reporting. These private sessions allow attendees to seek advice on challenging stories or followup ideas. You must have registered for the conference and have signed up for a mentor by May 10.

IRE pairs those who signed up with a mentor and contact information is provided to both mentors and those who want to be mentored. Mentors and mentees can then agree on a time and place to meet at the conference.

These sessions are not for job seekers; they are designed for teaching and sharing information. Mentees should bring examples of work and story ideas. (Note: IRE is unable to provide private access to audiovisual equipment for broadcast mentoring. Please make your own arrangements if your mentor agrees to review a work sample.)

Poynter's Al Tompkins will again be at the conference on Saturday, June 7, to critique broadcasters' tapes. (There is no pre-registration for these sessions.)

Reprints and tipsheets: Please follow these directions; otherwise you run the risk of your box getting misplaced or lost. When sending reprints or tipsheets to the conference:

  • 1. For tipsheets or reprints to be handed out during your session, put "TIPSHEETS," "2008 IRE CONFERENCE" and "NAME OF THE PANEL" on the box. For reprints to be placed in the reprint area, put "REPRINTS," "2008 IRE CONFERENCE" and "NAME OF THE PAPER" on the box.
  • 2. Include the name of presenter, panelist or author.
  • 3. Include the number of boxes being shipped (1 of 3, 2 of 3, etc.).
  • 4. Boxes must be received by Friday, May 30, at this address:
    • Miami Herald
    • Attn: Manny Garcia
    • Re: IRE Conference Tipsheets & Reprints
    • 1 Herald Plaza
    • Miami, FL 33132
    • Phone: 305-376-3507

If you wish to retrieve extra copies at the end of the conference, you must do so by 5 p.m. on Saturday, June 7. Otherwise, they will be recycled.

If you have any questions regarding the above instructions, please contact Stephanie Sinn, Conference Coordinator, or 573-882-8969.

Drawing Winner: Philip Drechsler, WCPO-Cincinnati, won the complementary conference registration to the 2008 IRE Conference by filling out an evaluation at the 2007 conference in Phoenix.

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