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Region 7 Spring Conference Details
April 9-10, 2010
Register | General Details | Saturday Schedule | Speaker Information

Register Online Registration for SPJ's Region 7 Spring Conference is now open, so sign up today!

Spend the day with fellow journalists in Omaha! Meet new people, network and hear some of the industry’s best and brightest on topics ranging from Freedom of Information to emerging technologies.

The event will kick off on Friday, April 9 with an Ethics Hold’em Poker event. You won’t want to miss this opportunity to meet conference participants and start networking in advance of Saturday’s professional development sessions.

The Doubletree Omaha Downtown will set the stage for Saturday’s professional development programming.

On Saturday, Joe Jordan, founder of NebraskaWatchdog.org, will deliver the keynote address during the Mark of Excellence Awards Luncheon. After lunch is served, we’ll honor the 2009 Region 7 Mark of Excellence Awards winners. The day will be filled with professional development programs to strengthen your career and reboot your skills. Please contact Heather Porter with any questions about the event.

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General Details
Schedule at a glance | Fees/Registration | Hotel Information

Schedule at a glance

Fees  Register Online
Fee includes Friday night reception and continental breakfast & lunch on Saturday.

Hotel Information
A small block of rooms has been reserved at the Doubletree Hotel & Executive Meeting Center (1616 Dodge Street, Omaha, NE 68102).

The room rate is $109/night, plus any local taxes and fees. Please call 402-346-7600 to book your stay and reference Society of Professional Journalists to receive the special rate. Reservations must be made by March 19 to qualify for the conference rate.

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Detailed Saturday Schedule

8:00 a.m. | Check-in and Continental Breakfast

8:30 a.m. | Region 7 Business Meeting
Meet Regional Director Holly Edgell and discuss Society business taking place in Region 7, made up of Iowa, Kansas, Missouri and Nebraska.

9-10:15 a.m. | Sessions
Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About FOI, But Were Afraid to Ask: Story ideas, how-to's and practical advice from a couple of FOI veterans. Randy Brown, executive director of the Kansas Sunshine Coalition, and Charles Davis, executive director of the National Freedom of Information Coalition, know their FOI law, but more importantly, they know FOI strategy. Come talk records and learn some new tricks! Carol Zuegner, associate professor, Creighton University will serve as moderator.

How I Got My First Job: In a competitive job market, it's good to hear how working journalists broke into the business. Learn tips about where to find opportunities and receive advice about how to be a great employee. Presented by Carla Kimbrough, University of Nebraska at Lincoln; Ryan Luby, KETV Omaha; Adam Jacobs, WOWT Omaha and Marie Oliver, Meredith Corporation.

10:30-11:45 a.m. | Sessions
Diversity From the Ground Up: Most managers get it: Diversity in hiring is vital. But covering your community goes beyond who you have in the newsroom. Learn about how you can integrate diversity into coverage and newsroom culture to provide readers, viewers, and listeners with a more accurate, more compelling picture of your community. The session will be moderated by Holly Edgell, University of Missouri. Panelists include Pueng Vongs, Pacific News Service/New America Media and Gail Baker, University of Nebraska, Omaha.

Entrepreneurship for Journalists: The spirit of entrepreneurship is something that will become increasingly important in the media industry. Whether you work in a traditional newsroom or want to strike out on your own, become the person who can see and seize opportunities. Learn about the resources available to you to change your mindset from worker bee to entrepreneur and hear from those who've taken the leap into the world of entrepreneurship. Presented by Carla Kimbrough, University of Nebraska at Lincoln.

Noon-2 p.m. | Mark of Excellence Awards Luncheon
Keynote Speaker: Joe Jordan, founder, NebraskaWatchdog.org Read Bio

2:15-3:30 p.m. | Session
Fitting Multimedia into the Workday: Today's journalists are being asked to do everything: get the sources, set up the interviews, write the story, oh, and take a few pictures, grab some video and audio clips, and yes, edit them, too, and fight for a few open records along the way. How do you fit this into your work day? It's not easy. Ron Sylvester got tired of always being late for dinner, or even bedtime. He'll show you how he works it all into a day that won't be stretching you into unapproved OT. He's worked the long hours so you don't have to. Presented by Ron Sylvester, Wichita Eagle. Carol Zuegner, associate professor, Creighton University will serve as moderator.

Resume Reboot: During the resume clinic, news managers will critique and provide suggestions to both students and professionals. Be sure to sign up for a time-slot when you check-in at the registration desk in the morning. Bring a hard copy of your resume.

3:45-5:00 p.m. | Session
Showdown in Dodge City: A Kansas journalist finds herself defending her decision to keep her word to a confidential source. What happens when journalistic ethics collide with the law? Charles Davis (executive director, National Freedom of Information Coalition) has a conversation with Claire O'Brien, formerly of the Dodge City Daily Globe, about her case.



About the Speakers

Joseph Jordan  Mark of Excellence Luncheon | Keynote Speaker
Longtime Omaha investigative journalist Joe Jordan is the Managing Editor and Investigative Reporter for Nebraska Watchdog. Jordan has spent the past 36 years as a political and investigative reporter on both radio and television. He has worked in Illinois, Indiana, Iowa and for the past 29 years in Nebraska (KMTV Omaha, CBS). Having interviewed top newsmakers, including U.S. Presidents from Gerald Ford to Barack Obama, Jordan has the unique experience and qualifications to uncover, reveal and inform the public about important governmental issues. Expand bio


Joe has covered several national political conventions, along with seven Nebraska Governors and 10 Omaha Mayors. Jordan has received numerous journalism awards including the Walter Cronkite Award for Political Journalism on Television and Columbia University’s Dupont Award for Investigations.

The Cronkite Award recognized Joe’s work in exposing a nationwide political scam. One of the country’s leading pharmaceutical companies, Pfizer, teamed up with several members of Congress to produce what was billed as a series of public service announcements for patients seeking prescription drugs at reduced prices. Realistically the ads, with on-camera appearances by the Congressmen, were nothing more than a campaign commercial and therefore a potentially illegal campaign contribution by Pfizer. The prestigious Dupont Award recognized Joe’s work that uncovered extensive abuse of patients inside an Omaha area home for the physically and mentally handicapped. Compact Bio

Dr. Gail Baker
Dr. Gail Baker teaches public relations and serves as dean of the College of Communication, Fine Arts, and Media at the University of Nebraska, Omaha. She holds a Bachelor of Science in Journalism from Northwestern University, a Master of Science from Roosevelt University and a Ph.D from the University of Missouri. Her research interests include multicultural communication, reputation management, and crisis management. Her publications include "Public Relations from the Ivory Tower,” "Diversity and Media in the 21st Century: Mission Impossible?" and “Advertising and Marketing to the New Majority: A Case Study Approach.”

Randy Brown
Brown has 37 years of professional experience, almost 21 of them at The Wichita Eagle, including five years as editorial page editor and six years as executive sports editor. He was The Eagle's 1999 nominee for the John S. Knight Gold Medal for Excellence. Brown spent most of the 1980s at KAKE-TV, first as senior reporter, then as managing editor and Live at Five anchor. At KAKE, he won state, regional and national awards for reporting and/or producing, including the 1986 UPI award for investigative & documentary work. At the Omaha Sun, he was a member of the writing/reporting team that produced the investigative report that won the Pulitzer Prize for Special Local Reporting. He's married to Linda Parks, a lawyer. He has two sons (Chris and Chad) and a daughter (Keisha). Brown is also the proud parent of three cats of questionable heritage (Nicki, Nora and Lillian).

Charles Davis
Charles Davis serves as executive director for the National Freedom of Information Coalition (NFOIC), headquartered at the School. Davis' scholarly research focuses on access to governmental information and media law. He has published in law reviews and scholarly journals on issues ranging from federal and state freedom of information laws to libel law, privacy and broadcast regulation. He has earned a Sunshine Award from the Society of Professional Journalists for his work in furthering freedom of information and the University of Missouri-Columbia Provost's Award for Outstanding Junior Faculty Teaching, as well as the Faculty-Alumni Award. In 2009, Davis was named the Scripps Howard Foundation National Journalism Teacher of the Year. Expand bio


Davis has been a primary investigator for a research grant from the James S. and John L. Knight Foundation for NFOIC and another from the Rockefeller Family Fund for the study of homeland security and freedom of information issues. He was a co-investigator for an award from the U.S. Department of State for a curriculum reform project for Moscow State University in Russia.

Davis worked for newspapers and as a national correspondent for Lafferty Publications, a Dublin-based news wire service for financial publications, Davis reported on banking, e-commerce and regulatory issues for seven years before leaving full-time journalism in 1993. He completed a master's degree from the University of Georgia's Henry W. Grady School of Journalism and Mass Communication and earned a doctorate in mass communication from the University of Florida in 1995. He received his bachelor's degree from North Georgia College.

Davis participates in numerous professional organizations, including the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication, the Society of Professional Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors. Compact Bio

Holly Edgell
Holly Edgell is Region 7 Director of the Society of Professional Journalists. She works as an assistant professor and executive producer at KOMU and serves as the adviser for the Missouri School of Journalism student chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists. Expand bio


She comes to the School with experience in television news and academia. She worked as a newscast producer in Youngstown, Ohio, at WFMJ-TV and in Pittsburgh, Pa., at WTAE-TV. Edgell's career later took her to Cleveland, Ohio, where she worked as medical news producer at duopoly WOIO-TV and WUAB-TV, and to Detroit's WDIV-TV, where she worked as consumer news producer.

Before coming to the University of Missouri, Edgell spent four years as an assistant professor in Florida A&M University's journalism school. Early in her career, Edgell was the first news director for Great Belize Television in Belize, Central America. She helped launch News 5, which was the first independent (non-government) news program to air in that country.

Edgell earned a master's degree in journalism with a concentration in media management at Kent State University in Ohio. She holds a bachelor's degree in journalism from Michigan State University. Edgell is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists, the Society of Professional Journalists and the Radio-Television Digital News Association (RTDNA). She has traveled extensively overseas and speaks Spanish. Compact Bio

Adam Jacobs
Jacobs is a producer for WOWT-TV’s “Live at Daybreak” News. He is a 2006 graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism. A Omaha native, Jacobs joined WOWT-TV in 2006 as a web producer and editor.

Carla Kimbrough
Before joining academe, Kimbrough was associate editor/staff development at The Denver Post; regional editor at the Dayton (Ohio) Daily News for nearly five years; held various assignment editor jobs at the Cincinnati Enquirer, the Marietta (Ohio) Times, and the Jackson (Tenn.) Sun; was a reporter and a copy editor at the former Arkansas Gazette; began her reporting career at the Lincoln (Neb.) Journal. She is a member of a number of journalism organizations, including the Society of Professional Journalists, for which she writes a career development column for Quill.

Ryan Luby
Ryan Luby is a reporter at KETV in Omaha. He joined the station in February 2009 after working at sister station KCCI in Des Moines. Luby is a 2008 graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism. As a college student and reporter at KOMU-TV in Columbia, MO Luby was part of the team that won a Regional Edward R. Murrow in April 2008. The story exposed weaknesses in the military’s protection of billion-dollar B-2 bombers on airbases around the country.

Marie Elizabeth Oliver
Oliver is Food Editor for Parents.com, a Meredith Corp. web site based in Des Moines. She earned her bachelor’s degree in journalism at University of Louisiana at Lafayette in 2005 and her master’s degree in publishing at Rosemont University in 2007. She joined Meredith in 2007 as an associate editor for Better Homes and Gardens Network. Oliver is a founding member of the Society of Professional Journalists Iowa Pro Chapter.

Ron Sylvester
Ron Sylvester is the author of has covered courts and legal affairs for the Wichita Eagle since 2000. In 2008 he launched the paper’s legal affairs blog, “Common Law,” which incorporates traditional and multimedia elements to provide the public with insight into legal system. Expand bio


Sylvester also founded the Society of Professional Journalists “Technology-J” blog and was one of the first reporters in the nation to use Twitter to report during trials. Sylvester is a long-time member of SPJ and a former Region 7 director.

Sylvester’s past coverage has included the Carr Brothers’ murder trial, court confession of Dennis Rader as the BTK serial killer and other stories that give him, and his readers, nightmares. During a journalism career spanning three decades, Ron has covered beats ranging from sports to arts and entertainment, interviewing personalities such as George Brett and Johnny Cash along the way. Ron is married to an attorney and “recuses” himself from reporting, when her cases make the news. Compact Bio

Pueng Vongs
Pueng Vongs is the Chair of SPJ’s Diversity Committee and has more than 14 years experience as a journalist. She began her career in financial journalism working for Money magazine and CBS.Marketwatch.com. Expand bio


She also reported from her native Thailand working for Bangkok-based Manager magazine and contributed articles to the Asian Wall Street Journal. Today she is an associate editor at Pacific News Service/New America Media in San Francisco, which produces original, youth and ethnic media content covering the nation’s growing ethnic communities.

Her writing has appeared in the San Francisco Chronicle, Audubon magazine, Chicago Sun Times, Oakland Tribune, California magazine among others. She also works as an associate producer for the UpFront on KALW 91.7 FM in San Francisco. She has contributed radio pieces to KQED’s Pacific Time and NPR’s the Travis Smiley Show.

Among her SPJ posts Vongs serves as vice president for the Nor Cal board in 2006, was a member of the planning committee for the chapter’s multi-cultural writers conference, and was a national diversity leader fellow in 2005.

Compact Bio

Carol Zuegner
Carol Zuegner worked for 10 years as an editor and reporter for The Associated Press in Des Moines, Iowa and Omaha and Lincoln, Neb. Part of her work for the wire service included covering the Nebraska Legislature, politics and sports. She also worked for the Fremont Daily Tribune, the Omaha Sun Newspapers and the Terre Haute (Ind.) Tribune-Star. She currently works part-time for the Omaha World-Herald as a copy editor. Expand bio


A journalism graduate of Creighton University, Zuegner was one of 10 fellows in the Kiplinger Investigative Reporting program at Ohio State University in 1990-91, where she earned a master's degree. She earned a doctorate in communications from the University of Tennessee in 1999 with an emphasis in science writing. Compact Bio