2007 NATJA Conference & Marketplace Little Rock, AR May 6 - May 9
Professional Development Programs
NATJA has put together an educational and entertaining schedule for the Stowe 2007 Conference & Marketplace.
SPEAKERS
Special Guest Speaker
Milo Hamilton, Radio Voice for the Houston Astros
Milo Hamilton, radio voice of the Houston Astros since 1985, has worked more than 9,000 professional games since starting his broadcast career 61 years ago. Best-known for his WSB radio call of Hank Aaron's record-breaking 715th home run in 1974, Milo is a member of four Halls of Fame, including the Broadcast Hall of Fame and the Baseball Hall of Fame. The Fairfield, Iowa native has worked for the Chicago Cubs (twice), Chicago White Sox, Pittsburgh Pirates, Atlanta Braves, St. Louis Cardinals, and St. Louis Browns and has partnered with Harry Caray, Jack Buck, Bob Elson, Jack Brickhouse, and other broadcast legends. His career is profiled in Making Airwaves: 60 Years at Milo's Microphone, written with NATJA president Dan Schlossberg. Milo will sign copies of the book after his talk in Little Rock.
Keynote Speaker
Georgia I. Hesse
As the Travel Editor of the San Francisco Sunday Examiner & Chronicle for 20 years, Georgia I. Hesse has seen a good deal of the world. Specifically she has visited 199 countries (many of them more than once), and crossed the Atlantic 174 times. She is the author of scores of travel guides that cover destinations from California to France, and focus on topics such as cruising and National Parks. Currently she freelances for several national magazines and is working on some special programs with Fugazi Travel in San Francisco.
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT SEMINARS
Seminar 1 - New Media Marketing for Writers
Penny C. Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc.
Penny C. Sansevieri, CEO and founder of Author Marketing Experts, Inc., is a best-selling author and internationally recognized book marketing and media relations expert. Her company is one of the leaders in the publishing industry and has developed some of the most cutting-edge book marketing campaigns. Her company researched, developed and implemented the first comprehensive internet publicity campaign called The Virtual Author Tour™. Penny's innovative marketing strategies have been featured in Writer's Digest Magazine, Book Marketing Update, The Publicity Hound, The San Diego Union Tribune and many more. She is also Editor for the e-newsletter "The Book Marketing Expert," which has a subscriber base in excess of 4,000. You can visit her web site at www.amarketingexpert.com.
Seminar 2 - Writing for the Web- And Getting Paid for It
Christopher Elliott
Christopher Elliott has written for the Web since there's been a Web to write for. He founded Biztravel.com, one of the first business travel Web sites, in 1995 and was its first editor. He wrote the first regular online travel commentary column for a major news site, The Crabby Traveler, for ABCNews.com in 1997. He founded one of the first travel gripe sites, Ticked.com (now Tripso.com) in 1999. He started a travel news blog, Travel Notes (now ellipses.elliott.org) in 2003. His work has appeared on almost every major news site, including CNN.com, MSN, AOL, Marketwatch.com and MSNBC.com.
Seminar 3 - Crafting A Killer Query
Jacqueline Harmon Butler
Jacqueline Harmon Butler is an international award winning writer. She co-authored the 6th Edition of The Travel Writers Handbook, (October 2006). Her work can be found in many newspapers, magazines, books and e-zines all across the USA, Canada and Europe. She is a founding member of the Wild Writing Women and contributing editor to the anthology, Wild Writing Women: Stories of World Travel, (Globe Pequot Press, April 2002) which won NATJA award for best travel book of 2002. The Wild Writing Women ezine won the 2004 NATJA first place award for online magazine and received the 2005 SATW Lowell Thomas gold award for their website.
Seminar 4 - Shooting Photos That Sell Again and Again
Learn what kind of travel photos editors are looking for and find out how to consistently shoot them. This seminar will feature critiques of members' photographs along with examples of good, better and best photos from our co-presenters' extensive portfolios. Find out how to -turn a good photograph into one that sells over and over again.
Seminar 5 - What Editors Really Want
This panel discussion focuses on the changing face of print media and the demand for travel articles. Our editorial experts discuss trends, demand and the market for freelance stories in their publications and in the industry as a whole.
Dan Patrell, Maryland Life
Lisa Lenoir, Chicago Sun-Times
Seminar 6 - Working with the Media - Only offered Monday, May 7th, Second Session
Learn what works and what doesn't work when it comes to working with the travel media. This informative session will be co-presented by a seasoned travel writer and a Public Relations professional who is well versed in working with the travel media. Topics will include pitching journalists, how and when to send press releases, how to handle press trip invitations and how to find qualified journalists who can pitch your destination to their editors. Although this will be a fairly structured presentation, there will be plenty of time for questions and feedback.
Seminar 7 - Planning the Perfect Press Trip- Only offered Tuesday, May 8th First Session
Why do some press trips run smoothly while others end up being a disaster? The key lies in the planning. This seminar covers everything from qualifying prospective attendees and itinerary planning to dealing with the unexpected and working with the Prima Donnas. Should you plan a group press tip or encourage individual visits? Do you need clips and assignment letters? What do you do if your group doesn't get along? This seminar will help you answer those questions and give you tips, tricks and strategies to make it all work.