NPPA executive director Jim Straight has written an open letter to the membership:
Dear Members,
Are you all excited for the greatest week in Visual Journalism? I am, and let me tell you why: During the last week in May three of the biggest events in the industry will all converge on the Gateway to the South, in Louisville, Kentucky.
I know a lot of you are anxious to learn some new skills, to improve your business dealings, to be inspired by some of this year’s award-winning visual journalists, and in general to get a grasp on our rapidly changing professional environment.
We've brought all of these elements together for you in one great place, at the Downtown Marriott in Louisville.
The week kicks off with the NPPA’s critically acclaimed Multimedia Immersion from May 27 through May 30. This is four days of learning audio, video, editing, and Web presentation from the best in the business. And thanks to our sponsors Apple and Canon, NPPA will put the latest state-of-the-art equipment right in your hands. Where else are you going to find a 2:1 student-to-trainer ratio? Where else can you learn from the likes of Meredith Birkett, Scott Anger, Regina McCombs, Joe Weiss, Scott Utterback, and Seth Gitner, all in the same room? From what I saw last year in Portland, it's going to be intense. You are going to work. And you're going to walk out of that Immersion workshop with a few extra clubs to throw in your professional bag, skills that are in high demand right now. Do you know of anyone hiring people with multimedia experience right now? I do.
By the way, if you want to sign up for the NPPA Multimedia Immersion do it now. There is still some room, but our space is limited and it's filling up quickly. (In fact pause here, go register, then come back and read the rest of the article.)
Next up on the schedule, on May 30 and 31, is Convergence '08. Because of the new name let me explain a bit here. Convergence ’08 is NPPA's annual meeting, formerly called The Summit. We thought Convergence was a more apt name for this event and let me tell you why: there is no more "still" track, no more "video" track, no more "multimedia" track. Now it's all intertwined. The schedule has been set for you to get a bit of of everything because honestly, how many of you see yourself only needing one skill set these days to be on top of your game? (And this year, if you sign up for the Immersion you can attend the last day of our annual meeting at no extra charge.)
At Convergence '08 for two days we're going to put you in front of the very best in every aspect of our industry. There are going to be legal presentations, ethics discussions, lighting demonstrations, and audio seminars. We're going to hold sessions on independent contractor business dealings, presentations for students, presentations for veteran journalists, presentations for people looking to switch media, and discussions on how to work with your online team.
There will be photography, videography, multimedia, and lot's more.
Do you want to hear from both the Large Market and Small Market 2008 Best Of Photojournalism contest's Photojournalists of the Year? Then sign up because John Moore of Getty Images and Denny Simmons of the Evansville Courier & Press will be there. Do you want to hear from the 2008 Ernie Crisp Television News Photographer of the Year, and the Television Video Editor of the Year? Fantastic, register now, because Scott Jensen of KTUU-TV in Anchorage and Shawn Montano, recently of KCNC-TV in Denver, will be there. Do you need to learn audio from the folks at NPR (really, who does it better than them?) That's why we asked Rob Rosenthal from National Public Radio to speak. Do you want hear from a 2008 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service winner? Michel du Cille, assistant managing editor for photography for The Washington Post, and a previous winner of two photography Pulitzer prizes, will be there to give a multimedia presentation that will both inspire and inform.
To wrap up the week we're going to celebrate the very best in visual journalism at NPPA's annual awards banquet to honor the winners in this year's Best Of Photojournalism competition, and to present the organization's yearly honors and recognitions for service to photojournalism. The dinner will be held at 7 p.m. on Saturday May 31st, and the winners of NPPA's highest honors, the Joseph A. Sprague Award and the Joseph Costa Award, will be announced. Dinner, drinks, and socializing with photojournalism's most inspiring individuals of 2008 is a fitting way to close out the event of the year.
Maybe I should have waited until now to ask that first question. So are you excited for the greatest week in Visual Journalism now?
See you in Louisville, and thanks for being an NPPA member!
Sincerely,
Jim Straight
Executive director
