Reserve rooms at an official convention hotel

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studentpress
on August 5, 2009
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To take full advantage of the convention, delegates who live outside the Portland metro area are encouraged to stay at one of the following sanctioned JEA/NSPA convention hotels for the Spring 2010 convention. The Oregon Convention Center will house all convention activities.

3/3/10 UPDATE: The Hilton has the most availability. The Doubletree has the next-highest number of rooms available. The Red Lion and Crowne Plaza have very limited availability at this point.
Continue reading ‘Reserve rooms at an official convention hotel’

Airline discounts to Portland

Published
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logan
on March 2, 2010
in Uncategorized
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American Airlines offers 5 percent off the lowest applicable published fare. To reserve a discounted fare, you or your travel agent should call 1-800-433-1790 and give the authorization number A7340AX, or book your flight at aa.com and use the discount code 7340AX. Booking by phone will result in a $20 charge. If your desired ticket is not available in the discounted inventory, you may be informed that the code is invalid. Discounts may be valid on zone fares.

Note: American Airlines informs us that the Web site sometimes will return an error if a user attempts to book more than three tickets. However, American Airlines’ site does allow for a temporary hold, so you can reserve each portion of your group (if over three) to ensure enough seats are available on the plane.

Delta Airlines is offering a discount of 5 to 7 percent off full fares and 2 to 5 percent off discount fares if tickets are ordered via phone. Call 1-800-328-1111 for one to nine passengers. For 10 or more passengers, call 1-800-532-4777. In both cases, use the code NM4LM. All discounts also apply to zone fares. Booking fees apply.

JEA/NSPA officials suggest purchasing your tickets by no later than 21 days prior to your scheduled departure date. Flexibility in departure/arrival based on time of day may help to lower the cost of your ticket.

Important updates about Portland convention

Published
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logan
on February 22, 2010
in events, hotel, registration and transportation
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Coming together twice a year is important to the livelihood of our organizations. During the gloomy days of late winter, we all definitely deserve a few days of refueling in April. Portland, Ore., will be the perfect place for that.

The local committee is enthusiastic and making excellent progress on what will be a memorable convention. How could it not be with keynoters Nigel Jaquiss and Tim Harrower, special strands of programming, a very strong slate of featured speakers, three fantastic issue seminars, and the usual mix of workshops, breakout sessions, contests, and social events to exchange ideas.

A few updates about which you should be aware:
HILTON HOTEL RATE NOW $149: The Hilton hotel rate has been reduced to $149 per night. That is a significant savings and makes this one of the lower-priced hotels in our room block. It’s a great facility in the heart of downtown Portland, very convenient to the MAX light rail and to shopping, dining and entertainment downtown. It takes less than 15 minutes to ride to the convention center from downtown, about the same time to walk from the Doubletree to the convention center. Please strongly consider the Hilton as you make your plans.

DESIGN WORKSHOP WITH TIM HARROWER: For just $40 per person, spend all day Thursday at the convention learning from the master of design and coverage, Tim Harrower. It’s a tremendous opportunity and a great price.

SPECIAL TRAINING FROM DART CENTER: You’ll want to attend these sessions to learn how you and your students can prepare for the effects of tragedy and trauma — both for your coverage and for your own health. Instructors from the Dart Center at the University of Washington team with Paul Kandell, the current National High School Journalism Teacher of the Year to share knowledge.

ON-SITE CRITIQUES: Remember the publication will be sent to the judge but the payment will be sent to Ellen Kersey at the address in the registration book. Ellen also needs people to critique the publications on behalf of the local committee.

WAYS TO EARN REGISTRATION (PICK 2): Moderate Write-Off contest, judge Write-Off category, judge Best of Show, present a session, present a second session, chaperon a dance.

DANCE CHAPERONS: We’re looking for some people to help at the dance by checking badges at the door and monitoring to ensure things stay under control. Serving as a dance chaperone will also qualify as one of two convention duties a person can perform to earn complimentary registration. Contact Emily Griesser at NSPA (emily at studentpress dot org) if you are interested.

MAX LIGHT RAIL: For just $2.30, ride the MAX light rail directly from the airport to the Convention Center area or to the downtown Hilton. I did this, and it’s easy to find, easy to ride, convenient and cheap. Between the Convention Center area and downtown, you ride free!

Special opportunity: PLC workshop for advisers

Published
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logan
on February 5, 2010
in Uncategorized
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A new pre-convention workshop for advisers only is available at the Portland convention. Read about it here and then sign up for it when you register for the convention. This workshop is not listed in the registration booklet PDF, but it is available for registration.

Adviser-Only Workshop: Professional Learning Community
It’s difficult for journalism teachers and advisers to find a fit in building-level Professional Learning Communities if they are the only journalism teacher in the school. This day-long workshop will provide a first-time productive PLC experience for participants. Advisers can join with other journalism professionals to create working PLCs using a national journalism PLC (NJPLC) model. Advisers who participate can come as a group, join with other participants to create a PLC on site or simply learn about the NJPLC model and take that knowledge home to create their own group. Taught by Jim Streisel, Carmel (Ind.) High School, and others from the JEA PLC committee, participants are certain to walk away knowing there are others who share the same challenges as opportunities.

Thursday, April 15, 9 a.m.-3 p.m.
Cost $25

Jaquiss, Harrower to be keynote speakers

Published
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logan
on January 26, 2010
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Two standout journalists will speak to attendees of the JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention in Portland, April 15-18.

THURSDAY, 7:30 p.m. — Nigel Jaquiss, 47, has been a reporter at Willamette Week since 1998. In 2005, he won a Pulitzer Prize for a series of investigative articles that exposed a former mayor’s inappropriate relationship with a teenage girl during his tenure. Jaquiss has won other local and national reporting honors, including two first place awards from Investigative Writers and Editors and three fi rst place awards from the Education Writers Association. He has twice been runner-up for the Bruce Baer Award, given annually to the best reporter in Oregon.

Prior to joining Willamette Week, Jaquiss traded oil for 11 years in New York and Singapore. He is a graduate of Dartmouth College and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

FRIDAY, 1 p.m. — Tim Harrower has been an editor, designer and columnist at newspapers large (The Oregonian), midsized (The Rochester Times-Union) and small (the Times weeklies in Beaverton, Ore.). He became a journalist in the ’80s after his fi rst career choice — rock ’n’ roll superlegend — fizzled out. Harrower’s first book, “The Newspaper Designer’s Handbook,” has been a fixture in newsrooms and classrooms around the world, translated into Russian, Chinese and Polish. His followup, “Inside Reporting,” is America’s most popular journalism textbook.

He currently hosts journalism workshops, consults on redesigns, noodles around with multimedia, composes music and writes fiction at his dog-and-frog ranch deep in the Oregon woods.

Map of key convention sites

Published
by
logan
on January 12, 2010
in sightseeing and transportation
. Closed

Use this map to plan your Portland trip. It has all the relevant hotels and convention center locations plus a few more key points of interest with descriptions.

If you have ideas for more helpful locations or points of interest, send suggestions to logan at studentpress dot org.


View JEA/NSPA Portland 2010 in a larger map

Portland.Current: The Video

Published
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studentpress
on May 18, 2009
in events and sightseeing
. Closed

This travelogue promoting the Portland convention was created by the students at jagtv, the broadcast program at Century HS, Hillsboro, Ore. Check it out:

Staying current is the challenge.

Published
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studentpress
on February 10, 2009
in events and sightseeing
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Whether you be a newspaper reporter, a broadcast anchor, a freelance photographer, a yearbook editor or an online producer, you must capture the here and now.
And the 2010 JEA/NSPA National Spring Journalism Convention in Portland is here to help you. From the MAX rail system, that uses current to link your hotel to the convention center, to the Willamette River, whose currents run right through town, to the workshops sessions that will help you and your editors become current in your practice, the spring convention will be all about what’s current. In design, in photography, in Web and in broadcast. Located just blocks from the currents of the Willamette River, the Oregon Convention Center will be a place for students to meet, greet and exchange ideas.

Ringed by natural beauty — Mount Hood, the Columbia River Gorge and the Willamette Valley wine country — Portland prides itself on protecting its environs. Portland also offers “green appeal” of the monetary variety. Since Oregon has no sales tax, Portland’s designer boutiques and department stores are a shopper’s dream. The “Fareless Square” encourages the use of public transportation — all light rail, bus and streetcar travel within the downtown core is free. Take some time to browse Powell’s Books, the world’s largest independent book store. Dine on organic food from local farmers. Enjoy the breathtaking beauty that is America’s “greenest” city.

The breakout sessions feature current professionals and students sharing their experiences. Break with a Pro will help students learn about how the local media professionals are affected by the current media challenges. Swap shops give editors the chance to share (and trade!) current trends in their publications or electronic media. And the keynote sessions give all a chance to go away with new ideas to keep their publications current, vibrant and fresh.

So come to Portland to mix and come to Portland to mingle, but definitely come to Portland to stay Current.