Unity 2012: Get your panel proposal noticed

Unity 2008: Photo courtesy NAHJ

How many times have you been at a conference and thought “I have an idea for a panel.”  Well if you have one, now is the time to propose that idea to the Unity 2012 organizers. The deadline is November 18.

Unity got more than 700 panel proposals for the conference in 2008.  I took part in a workshop put on by the Poynter Institute and was also part of a panel on “TV Live Shots.”  

I’ve been fortunate enough to lead or be part of a panel at every Unity conference since they started.  So how can you get your panel or workshop idea chosen” How can you be selected to be on a panel?

TIPS IN CHOOSING PANEL TOPICS AND SPEAKERS

Here are some tips on how to make your idea stand out.

Panel Topic:  Come up with a topic idea that would be of interest to all journalists of different experience levels and media platforms.   For example reporters for newspapers, online, radio and television news can all learn from the following panels: Finding Stories and Sources, Covering Breaking News,  Doing Two Jobs: Journalist & Blogger, Owning a Beat, Freelance Work: Making the Connections.

Specific Panel Topics:  Unity is also looking for specific topics for each platform.  Do you have a fresh idea for television, radio, online or print journalism?   Techy topics are very popular; it’s also good to stick to the basics: Doing better live shots, Writing for the web, (Radio) Telling Stories with Sound, Using Twitter on the Job.  Unity is also looking for panels to be done in Spanish. 

Panelists: Choose panelists who are good public speakers—dynamic, interesting with lots of know-how.  Remember in some cases your audience will be more than 100 people.  A good panelist will keep them interested and off their smartphones.  

Show and Tell:  Do you plan to show samples of work on video?  Are you planning to pull up a website to get your point across?  Members  love to see examples of work on the big screen: video or audio reports. You can even pull up a website that is a good source of information.

Choose Panelist Now:  Start calling your friends to see if they’re planning to go to Unity.  It helps organizers know that you already have some names to go with your panel.  Also try to find panelists from each of the organizations participating in Unity: NAHJ, NAJA, AAJA, NLGJA .

GET ON A PANEL

Let the Unity organizers and NAHJ board members know that you’re interested in being on a panel.  List your areas of expertise.  Register for the conference.  That shows you’re committed in going.  Toot your horn!

SUBMIT YOUR PANEL PROPOSAL TODAY

I think my ideas for a panel have been chosen in the past, because of the interesting topic and because I also make sure it’s not going to cost Unity a cent.  I find people who are already planning to go to the conference.

If I can offer my knowledge and save Unity money—that’s fine with me.  In the end, it’s about paying it forward.

Let’s start sharing.  Now get your proposals in by November 18^th. 

Good Luck!

Rebecca Aguilar is the NAHJ Officer-At Large. She’s also a board member with the Society of Professional Journalists/ Fort Worth Chapter and a member of the National SPJ Diversity Committee. Currently, she’s  a freelance digital journalist based in Dallas, TX.

Straight Talk from the Executive Editor at The Dallas Morning News

Bob Mong loves news.  He loves news so much that the Executive Editor of The Dallas Morning News was willing to share his knowledge about the industry on a Saturday morning in Dallas. 

Mong is full of passion, know-how and wisdom when it comes to running one of the largest newspapers in the country.  He’s been the newspaper’s Executive Editor for the past 10 years.   Mong’s also honest about the Dallas Morning News when it comes to its shrinking revenue, shrinking staff and even its lack of diversity in leadership roles.

On August 20, Mong shared much of his experience with the members of the Hispanic Communicators DFW.  That’s the local chapter of the National Association of Hispanic Journalists.  Mong was only supposed to talk to us for 30 minutes, but he stayed for almost an hour and a half.

Mong’s insight was interesting, his honesty refreshing and his advice inspirational.  Here’s a video glimpse of Bob Mong’s visit with the Hispanic Communicators DFW.

An Inside Look into The Dallas Morning News from Rebecca Aguilar on Vimeo.

I hope other news executives can take a thing or two from Mong’s insight.  He knows the Dallas Morning News lacks in diversity in leadership roles, and he knows he needs to change that at the newspaper.   Kudos to him for hiring a veteran Latino journalist for the Editorial Board.  Mong is right, he could have left that position empty and saved money, but he didn’t.

I also applaud Mong for being committed to Al Dia, the Spanish Language counterpart to the Dallas Morning News.   He realized the Spanish language community in North Texas needed a newspaper, and he made it happen.   He’s given it time to grow in readers and now it’s bringing in revenue.   Why several other major newspapers in the U.S. don’t have their Spanish language spin-off baffles me. 

Mong also gives us journalist’s hope that jobs are still out there.  He says we just have to find them and make sure that we’re on top of our game.  We have to learn all the latest multimedia tools and keep our journalism interesting.   As Mong put it “manage yourself to success.”