SPJ 23 Journalism Conference • Sept. 28-30, 2023



2014: Nashville


September 7th, 2014 • 2014: Nashville
Excellence in Journalism 2014 – That's a Wrap

With Excellence in Journalism 2014 in the books, find out what attendees thought about the event and what they expect of next year’s conference in Orlando. Also check out noteworthy statistics from this year’s conference. The 950 journalist who attended Excellence in Journalism 2014 were able to choose from more than 50 workshops and breakout sessions.


September 7th, 2014 • 2014: Nashville
SPJ President's Installation Banquet Photos

The Society of Professional Journalists President’s Installation Banquet rounded out the 2014 Excellence in Journalism Conference on Saturday evening. Members, volunteers and staff gathered to celebrate the end of the conference and honor members and journalists for their efforts within SPJ and the media industry.


September 7th, 2014 • 2014: Nashville
In 10 Years From Now, The State Of Journalism Will Look Like…

We asked a collection of attendees of the Excellence of Journalism 2014 conference to finish the following sentence, “In 10 years from now, the state of journalism will look like ___ .” Here’s what they said:


September 6th, 2014 • 2014: Nashville
Kevin Smith Awarded Wells Memorial Key Award

The Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) honored outgoing ethics committee chairman Kevin Smith with the Wells Memorial Key award Saturday evening at the Excellence in Journalism 2014 conference.


September 6th, 2014 • 2014: Nashville
Global News Relay: Students Connect Through Media

College students from 10 universities in eight countries participated in last year’s inaugural Global News Relay, a project that delivered 12 hours of continuous broadcast news worldwide.


September 6th, 2014 • 2014: Nashville
What's In A Name? The Debate Behind the SPJ Name Change

The fight for an amended preposition and noun will trudge on for one more year. For the fourth time, a proposed name change from the Society of Professional Journalists to the Society of Professional Journalism, an idea spearheaded by SPJ Region 3 Director Michael Koretzky, failed during the SPJ Closing Business Session at Excellence in Journalism 2014.


September 6th, 2014 • 2014: Nashville
'The Dirty Dozen': Top Apps for Journos

Attendees headed to the App Store Saturday afternoon to pick up apps highlighted for their usefulness to journalists by Kevin Smith and Doug Haddix. Smith and Haddix, both from the Kiplinger Program, ran down the top tools they chose to represent different tasks in the reporting process.


September 6th, 2014 • 2014: Nashville
News Staff Picks: Top 5 Moments of EIJ14

Now that Excellence in Journalism 2014 is officially a wrap, the EIJ News staff compiled these top 5 moments of the conference: SPJ Ethics Code Revisions Pass. After much discussion and revision, the new Code of Ethics was passed at the closing business session.


September 6th, 2014 • 2014: Nashville
Minority Reporters: How Race And The Media Should Interact

Michele Norris, host and special correspondent at NPR, asserts that race only gets airtime during monumental events. “People think racism is a problem of the past. It’s not,” said Bob Butler, president of the National Association of Black Journalists during Saturday’s session of “Race Coverage: 50 Years of Change.”


September 6th, 2014 • 2014: Nashville
Exceptional Service: It’s Not Just Journalism

Let’s have a conversation about race. Journalist Michele Norris will be there to listen. At least, she was during a panel at the Society of Professional Journalists’ Excellence in Journalism Conference to discuss her initiative, The Race Card Project. It’s all about point of view, she said.


September 6th, 2014 • 2014: Nashville
SPJ Election Results

Attendees and registered SPJ members were able to vote for the upcoming year’s directors and representatives since Thursday when the Excellence in Journalism conference began. And doing so in appropriate fashion for the digital age; for the first time members were able to cast their votes via an online voting system.


September 6th, 2014 • 2014: Nashville
Practicing Journalism: The Ethics Of Daily Journalism

“Where does valid news come from over time as the industry is changing?” This is the question posed by Paul Steinle, Excellence In Journalism 2014 speaker and professor emeritus of Southern Oregon, adjunct professor at Quinnipiac University and President of Valid Sources.


September 6th, 2014 • 2014: Nashville
Panel Discussion on Media Entrepreneurship with Industry Heavyweights

In recent years, journalism has undergone a profound, all-encompassing change. Old hierarchy structures, job prospects, linear career steps and ways to make money have been disrupted by new jobs, new methods to self brand and new revenue streams. One of the most important issues in this new era in journalism, which is something many journalists still dread, is how to monetize stories.


September 6th, 2014 • 2014: Nashville
How Wearable Tech Can Help Journalism

“OK, Glass.” It’s the phrase that you may be hearing a lot more of in the very near future, and it’s the phrase that’s influencing the next technological generation. The “Google Glass and Wearables: What All Journalists and Newsrooms Should Know (And Test)” session took place Saturday morning, and presenters demonstrated the upcoming Google Glass device along with a few other gadgets.


September 6th, 2014 • 2014: Nashville
The Experts Break Down New Media Entrepreneurship

[View the story “The New Media Entrepreneur ” on Storify]


September 6th, 2014 • 2014: Nashville
A Freelance Chapter?: SPJ’s First Virtual Community Have Already Made a Motion

For the first time in its 105 years, SPJ members are in talks for possibly creating their first ever virtual chapter. The Freelance Community, the first non-geographic community recognized by SPJ, has made a motion at EIJ14 for the Bylaw Committee to consider making a chapter for the future.


September 6th, 2014 • 2014: Nashville
File your FOIA in Five Easy Steps

Saturday morning held a solution to one of a reporter’s most common problems – filing a FOIA request. Gregg Leslie, a representative with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, explained to attendees of the “Simplifying FOIA” session how to utilize iFOIA, an online tool for filing and organizing requests.


September 6th, 2014 • 2014: Nashville
Getting Creative with Google Maps

Media Outreach Coordinator Vanessa Schneider led the breakout session “Storytelling with Google Maps.” The Googler said she enjoyed the conference. “Excellence in Journalism is a great opportunity to meet with journalists, see what challenges they have and how they want to use these geo-tools in their work.”


September 6th, 2014 • 2014: Nashville
Covering Ferguson: NPR’s Elise Hu

Fighting for more access means covering more than just riots, NPR’s Elise Hu said during today’s Excellence in Journalism panel, “Lessons From Ferguson,” in the Gaylord Opryland Resort and Convention Center in Nashville. “How many of us have covered crime scenes and had to duck under crime scene tape to get better footage?


September 5th, 2014 • 2014: Nashville
Let Freedom Sing

From rocking out Helen Reddy’s “I am Woman” to crooning the sensual Black Eyed Peas’ “My Humps” a la the folksy 70s, the First Amendment was exercised with a melody on Thursday night. Freedom Sings, a program of musicians, perform songs that were once censored by the government for provocative lyrics.



The SPJ News