Former U.S. Rep. Bustos, awards, educational sessions to highlight INBA Spring Convention
A jam-packed weekend full of education, celebration and networking is planned for the INBA’s Spring Convention, April 28-30, in Springfield.
(Ticket sales to the event ended April 20.)
The convention will be headlined by a conversation on Saturday evening with former U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos, who will talk about her past careers as a journalist and lawmaker and her new role with a public strategy firm.
The INBA also will honor several student journalists on Saturday night, with the annual scholarship presentations and the SINBA Awards.
The convention kicks off at 7 p.m. Friday, April 28 with the traditional Opening Reception, sponsored by the University of Illinois Springfield’s College of Public Affairs and Education, at Buzz Bomb Brewing, 406 E. Adams St., just a five-minute walk from the Wyndham. INBA has booked the upper floor of the popular downtown brewery. If you’re rolling into town Friday, please join us!
Meanwhile, the schedule for the event’s educational sessions is set. Journalists, professors and other experts will teach on emerging and important topics in journalism, including the use of artificial intelligence, education in Illinois, reporter safety in the field and fostering an inclusive newsroom.
Here is the schedule for our weekend in Springfield.
Friday
Noon: INBA Board Meeting, Innovate Springfield, 15 S. Old State Capitol Plaza
7-9 p.m.: Opening Reception. Join us for drinks and conversation at Buzz Bomb Brewing Co., 406 E. Adams St., in downtown Springfield just three blocks from the hotel.
Saturday
All events at Wyndham City Centre, 700 E. Adams St.
9:15 a.m.: Opening remarks
9:30 to 10:45 a.m.: Knowing your First Amendment rights and exercising them safely. Learn best practices for maintaining situational awareness in field reporting. Panelists: Matt Topic, Loevy and Loevy; Colin Pereira, Committee to Protect Journalists; Illinois Emergency Management Agency. Moderator: Jennifer Fuller, WSIU.
11 a.m. to 12:15 p.m.: The State of Education in Illinois. Teachers’ Lounge podcast host Peter Medlin from WNIJ will moderate a panel discussing hot topics in education policy in Illinois. Panelists: Samantha Smylie, Chalkbeat; Drs. Paul Bruno and Cara Gutzmer, University of Illinois College of Education.
12:15 to 1:45 p.m.: Lunch (choice of turkey and ham club or grilled portabella) and business meeting.
2 to 3:15 p.m. GPT-3/AI and News. Don’t fear the robots! One of the developers behind the YESEO app will walk through how it can help newsrooms better apply SEO best practices. The app was developed as part of the Reynolds Journalism Institute fellowship program with the ability to analyze published stories as well as unpublished stories. It features GPT-3 generated data for use in your workflows. In addition, a U of I professor will join the conversation to talk about the ethics of AI technology. Panelists: Margaret Yee Man Ng, University of Illinois; Ryan Restivo, Newsday. Moderator: Rachel Lippmann, St. Louis Public Radio.
3:15 p.m.: Student critique session. Students, bring your reel and portfolio work to be looked at by a professional for feedback.
3:30 to 4 p.m.: Illinois Public Radio breakout meeting
4-4:30 p.m.: INBA Foundation breakout meeting
6 p.m.: Cocktail reception
6:30 p.m.: Dinner (chicken bruschetta and buffet)
6:50 p.m.: Scholarship presentations
7 p.m.: A conversation with former U.S. Rep. Cheri Bustos
8 p.m.: SINBA awards presentation
Sunday
9:30 a.m.: Breakfast (horseshoe buffet)
10 to 11 a.m.: Creating an inclusive newsroom. A discussion about how newsrooms can incorporate best practices that allow every team member to be empowered to do their jobs in a respectful and safe environment. Panelists: Brandon Pope, president of National Association of Black Journalists-Chicago Chapter; Garry Moore, retired journalists from WEEK-TV in Peoria; Redrick Terry, KWQC-TV in the Quad Cities.
11:15 to 11:45 a.m.: Capitol News Illinois broadcast expansion update with Jeff Rogers, executive director of the Illinois Press Foundation.
Noon: Final resolution and farewell.