Reserve rooms at an official convention hotel

Published
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studentpress
on August 5, 2009
in hotel
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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’

Award winners announced in Portland

Published
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studentpress
on April 17, 2010
in Uncategorized
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Congratulations to all of the NSPA contest winners announced Saturday afternoon at the JEA/NSPA spring convention in Portland:

Portland Best of Show

Online Pacemaker

Yearbook Pacemaker

Digital Yearbook Pacemaker

Magazine Pacemaker

If you’re coming to Portland, some last-minute reminders

Published
by
logan
on April 7, 2010
in Uncategorized
. Closed

You’re all signed up for the JEA/NSPA National High School Journalism Convention in Portland next week. We hope you’re ready for hundreds of learning sessions, wonderful keynote sessions and unique networking opportunities — as well as contests and awards ceremonies. We wanted to give you a few reminders to ensure a smooth convention. The info in this e-mail can also be provided to parents to assist with communication.

CONVENTION BLOG HAS WHAT YOU NEED
Our convention blog also has the information you need, and links are provided below to specific pages to assist you.

CONVENTION LOCATION
All convention sessions are at the Oregon Convention Center, a short distance from the official convention hotels. Use this map to locate your hotel and plan how to get to and from the convention center for the convention activities as well as your meals and other Portland adventures.

PLAN AHEAD — PROGRAM BOOK IS ONLINE
Check out the convention program. It tells you where and when to show up. Planning ahead is helpful to know where to go, and you can download  the maps to assist you. A program update will be supplied on-site with any last-minute changes.

WE STILL CAN USE HELP
We need some advisers to assist with checking badges at the dances on Friday or Saturday from 9 to 11:30 p.m. in Exhibit Hall A. If your school requires you to supervise your students and you’ll be there anyway, please let us know. Contact Emily Griesser at emily(at)studentpress(dot)org.

FOR A SMOOTH CHECK-IN AT REGISTRATION DESK
Convention registration opens at 1 p.m. Thursday at the Oregon Convention Center in Hall A. The Exhibit Hall level is the main level. Registration is open until 7 p.m. Thursday and reopens at 8 a.m. Friday. Be sure to leave some time to visit the exhibits.

FOR A BETTER EXPERIENCE
We still have spots available in our pre-convention workshops on Thursday for writing, design, leadership, maestro, Photoshop and Adviser PLC. All are $25 except the Tim Harrower design course, which is $40. If you have not signed up and want to, contact Suzanne Taber in the NSPA office at (612) 625-1857 or suzanne(at)studentpress(dot)org and she will add that to your registration.

FIRST SESSION WILL HAVE UPDATES
Advisers who are at their first JEA/NSPA convention are encouraged to attend an orientation meeting at 6:45 p.m. in Hall A1-B just before the opening keynote session. The convention opens at 7:30 p.m. with announcements, some recognition and keynote speaker Nigel Jaquiss.

FOR A CHANCE AT AN AWARD
Pre-registration has closed for JEA’s Write-Off contests on Friday. More information about the contests can be found at http://www.jea.org. Winners will be announced Sunday at the closing awards ceremony, which begins at 8:30 a.m. in Hall A1-B.

NSPA membership is required to enter Best of Show contests, and high schools must have students attending. Bring the publication, broadcast or Web URL to the convention. Please note that all work must be from the 2009-10 school year. Deadline to enter Best of Show contest is 4 p.m. Friday. Winners will be announced Saturday at the awards ceremony, which begins at 3:30 p.m. in Hall A1-B.

NO REFUNDS BUT SUBS ALLOWED
If you get close to the convention and realize someone cannot attend, be sure to get a substitute. JEA and NSPA do not allow refunds for the convention registration, but we do allow substitutions.

PLEASE PAY ON TIME
Most people coming to Portland have already paid. Help us avoid a lot of invoices and reminders by sending in your payment or bringing a check to the convention. It really does help!

QUESTIONS?
Give us a call at (612) 625-1857 or send e-mail to info(at)studentpress(dot)org and we’ll do our best to get you an answer.

See who’s coming to Portland

Published
by
studentpress
on March 29, 2010
in registration
. Closed

For a list of the publications, schools, individuals and exhibitors registered (so far) for the Portland convention, visit the following link:

http://nspa.studentpress.org/whoscoming.html

Convention program, sessions-at-a-glance available

Published
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studentpress
on March 22, 2010
in events
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View the convention program with session descriptions below via Issuu.com:

And below are the at-a-glance tables showing rooms, times and session titles on two-page spreads:

Downloading from Issuu.com is enabled for either of the above files, and you can download a single PDF with the information from both files here. Download a map of the convention center rooms we’ll be using.

Airline discounts to Portland

Published
by
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 website 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 NM4LN. 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
by
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
by
logan
on February 5, 2010
in Uncategorized
. Closed

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
by
logan
on January 26, 2010
in Uncategorized
. Closed

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