2022 Sessions

Thursday, Oct. 20: Preconference

9 a.m. – 12 p.m.
Nebraska Union (Student Union building), Platte River Room

Google Tools for Your Newsroom and Classroom
This workshop covers data scraping, visualization, search fundamentals and how to extract real-time and historical stock data from Google Finance. We’ll dig into search and Google Earth tools in this hands-on session taught by Mike Reilley of the Journalist’s Toolbox.
Mike Reilley, Google Lab
Click here to sign up (FREE)


1 p.m. -3 p.m.,
Nebraska Union (Student Union building), Platte River Room

Workshop: Product Thinking for News and Communities
Readers look to journalism to understand the world, and journalists look to readers to understand and what news, products and services we can offer in support. This session will include discussion, examples and exercises covering the basic process and methods of audience research and product thinking that help newsrooms translate community information needs into solutions.
Damon Kiesow, University of Missouri
Click here to sign up (FREE)

Friday, Oct. 21: Day One
Nebraska Union, 2nd Floor Auditorium

8:30 a.m.-9:00 a.m.
Coffee and muffins

9 a.m.- 9:15 a.m.
Welcome
Dr. Shari Veil, Dean, College of Journalism and Mass Communications, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

9:15 a.m.- 9:45 a.m.
Why 5G, Why Now?
Conference Overview
Marc Lavallee, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

9:45 a.m.- 10:30 a.m.
The Next Gen Newsroom
An overview of how advances in mobile technology are being leveraged in news gathering by the New York Times and how these tools could become more accessible to smaller newsrooms in the coming years.
Niko Koppel, The New York Times

10:30 a.m. – 10:45 a.m.
Networking Break

10:45 a.m.- 12:00 p.m.
Ethics Guardrails for Mobile Media as 5G Rolls Out: What Are the Questions?
5G offers 10x increased speeds and very low-latency, that may in turn allow newer real-time applications for mobile media and journalism. How might we anticipate ethics concerns and options for consumers and companies?
Subbu Vincent, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University
Elite Truong, American Press Institute
Jeremy Gilbert, Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrated Marketing Communications, Northwestern University

12 p.m. – 1:00 p.m.
LUNCH – REGENCY ROOM – across the hall

1:00 – 1:45 p.m.
Putting the News on TikTok
How can you do journalism on TikTok? This talk will focus on how to create a sustainable strategy for a newsroom and discuss how TikTok is helping us reshape off-platform journalism across platforms.
Julia Munslow, The Wall Street Journal

1:45 p.m.- 2:00 p.m. 
Networking Break

2:00 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.
Voice Technology: The Loneliness Epidemic: The Role of Intelligent Agents in Improving Aging Adults’ Quality of Life 
COVID-19 vividly demonstrated how devastating loneliness and social isolation can be. Can intelligent agents like Alexa help, particularly among aging adults?
Valerie K. Jones, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

2:45 p.m.  – 3:15 p.m.
Coffee and cookies

3:15 p.m. – 4:00 p.m.
Spatial Journalism: Putting Location Into Action
Amy Schmitz Weiss, San Diego State University

4:00 p.m. – 4:45 p.m.
Stepping into the Frame: Communicating Experiences with  Virtual Reality
Virtual reality (VR) is opening new avenues for us to communicate experiences. This talk will explore how VR is changing how we experience stories, the social-psychological effects of VR, and why journalists have a stake in the future of this rapidly evolving technology. This presentation will also review how VR experiences can be produced relatively cheaply, quickly, and easily using omnidirectional (i.e., 360 °) cameras and a smartphone. 
Chris Ball, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign

5:00 -7:00 p.m.
Reception
Sheldon Museum of Art, UNL Campus

Saturday, Oct. 22: Day Two
Nebraska Union, 2nd Floor Auditorium

8:30-9:00 a.m.
Coffee and muffins

9:00 a.m. – 9:45 a.m.
The Gamification of Everything: How Games Have Influenced the Next Wave of Interactive Experiences
The games industry continues to inspire all forms of media as industries explore new ways to connect with audiences. Ray Soto will share insights into how he applied game design to journalism, leveraging advancements in mobile technologies.
Ray Soto, Loric Games

9:45 a.m. – 10:00 a.m.
Networking Break

10:00 a.m.- 10:45 a.m.
How On-Demand Listening Is Changing News Radio
The option of on-demand listening has changed how news consumers experience news radio. For example, listening to the same story in a podcast such as NPR’s “Consider This” is different compared to a news magazine program like “All Things Considered.” But also, this variance in mediums has opened opportunities to expand traditional radio stories to newer, younger and more diverse listeners.Arionne Alyssa Nettles, Medill School of Journalism, Media, Integrate Marketing Communications, Northwestern University

10:45 a.m. – 11 a.m.
Networking Break

11 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.
Storytelling in the Metaverse: How Do Stories Change When Experienced with Others in Shared Virtual Spaces?
This talk is a look at our metaverse past and future, and some of the tools that make it possible.
Dan Pacheco, Syracuse University

11:45 a.m. – 12:45 p.m.
Lunch

12:45 p.m. – 1:30 p.m.
Programming at the Speed of Now
News is a hyper-competitive space where a premium is put on  speed now more than ever. Here’s how CNN Digital is so swift and smart. 
Zach Wade, CNN

1:30 p.m. – 1:45 p.m.
Networking Break

1:45 p.m. 2:30 p.m.
The Future of Journalism Is Immersive
Mixed Reality Journalism is here, and it’s accessible to any newsroom – or sole journalist – through free (or nearly free) applications. Learn how USC’s JOVRNALISM has been producing award-winning immersive experiences for years and how you can begin producing your own.
Robert Hernandez, University of Southern California

2:30 p.m.- 2:45 p.m.
Networking Break

2:45 p.m. – 3:30 p.m.
Is There a Next Thing for Drones?
Drones went from zero to everywhere very quickly. But lately, it’s been quiet. However, some rule changes might open new doors soon.
Matt Waite, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Hands-On Virtual Reality Demonstration

3:30 p.m. – 4:30 p.m.
Hands-On Drone Demonstration