NEWS Student Editor Conference

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Taking place at The Wheeler Centre on January 28 and 29, Express Media’s NEWS Conference (National Editors Workshop and Skillshare Conference) provides the only formal professional development opportunity for newly-appointed student media editors from across Australia.  It features two days of panels, workshops and discussions covering everything it takes to run a student publication, in print and online, presented by some of Australia’s top publishing and media professionals.

Physical programme PDF here.

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9:30am–10am: Registration and Meet & Greet

10am–11am: What The Hell Is A Student Editor?

You’ve got your own chair, desk and computer but have been puzzled about where to start ever since the editor results were announced. Join Lynley Eavis, Allison Worrall and Broede Carmody as they ask ‘What the hell is a student editor? What are your responsibilities and what can you achieve in a year?’

11am–12pm: Managing a Publication

Elizabeth Flux and Sam Cooney look at the basics of editing a publication, from scheduling and deadlines, following a style-guide, managing a team of editors and writers, and dealing with a printer.

12pm–1pm: Common Mistakes You Shouldn’t Be Making At Your Age

If you make a mistake in print, it’s there forever. Elizabeth Flux shares her top tips for how to master the English language in a fun, accessible format. She’ll explain the different stages of editing, why proofreaders are your saviours, and guide you through best practice for editing new writers.

1pm–2pm: Lunch

2pm–2:45pm: Graphic Design for Publication (Theory for Student Publications)

Kerning, CMYK, left justified…lost? Alan Weedon will guide you through the very basics of layout and design, and give you practical advice for linking design ideas into the unique needs of your publication and audience.

3pm–3:45pm: Getting New Writers and Readers

Seeing the same boring pitches and mediocre writing in your inbox? Feel like you only reach five people on campus? Kevin Hawkins will show you how to extend your impact on campus, taking you through the basics of reaching out to new writers and readers.

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3pm–3:45pm: Graphic Design in Practice (Workshop)

Eyeing off the computer in fear of InDesign? Join Alan Weedon as they take you through InDesign step by step.

3:45pm–4pm: Afternoon Tea

4pm–5pm: Digital Strategy and Coverage

So, you’ve got a website and a Twitter account, but how are you going to use them? Connor Tomas O’Brien outlines the opportunities, possibilities and benefits of online publishing, implementing a digital strategy, and how to effectively use multimedia content for your publication.

6pm–7pm: Keynote Address

The 2016 NEWS Conference Keynote Address will be an exciting double bill featuring writer, critic, and social commentator Van Badham, alongside Ben Eltham, journalist and National Affairs Correspondent of New Matilda.

Hosted by journalist Broede Carmody, the Keynote Address will feature presentations from both speakers as they reflect on their writing careers, which have seen them become leaders and role models in media and writing, followed by a panel discussion. Across the hour they’ll explore the intertwined relationship of media and politics, responsible reporting, and the importance of young people in journalism and the arts.

Please book your ticket to The 2016 Keynote Address here.

Program Draft 3 Banners Revised3-10am–11am: Journalism 101

Journalism is the bread and butter of many student publications, but are your skills up to scratch? Ben Eltham gives you a crash course in finding, writing, and dealing with the important stories.

11am–12pm: Media Law and Ethics

Josie Vine gives you a rundown on how to not get sued, fired, or assassinated by student politicians and your readers. Everything from defamation to copyright will be covered.

12pm–12:30pm: The Under Age Meet and Greet

Worlds collide as Australia’s student media editors and our journalists from The Under Age come together for this fast-paced Meet and Greet.

12:30pm–1pm: Lunch

1pm–2pm: The Great Debate

Six student media editors face off in the Great Debate over a key issue in student media, with the audience picking the winning team.

2pm–3pm: Cultural Coverage and Reviewing

Meg Watson, Rose Johnstone and Bhakthi Puvanenthiran guide you through how to commission and edit arts and culture articles, and discern the insightful from the inarticulate.

3pm–3:15pm: Afternoon Tea

3:15pm–4pm: Roundtable Discussion

Do you have a burning question? Something you need to get off your chest? This roundtable discussion will be an opportunity to chat about any issues not raised in the previous panels, and for editors to ask questions of other publications.

4pm–5pm: How to Survive and Life After Student Media

Editing a student magazine may be one of the most rewarding things to do at uni, but it sure does come with some health risks! From scurvy, Vitamin D deficiencies, stress and insomnia, former editors Sally Whyte, Connor Tomas O’Brien and Steph Walker will share their horror stories and share what they wished they knew to help you survive the year ahead.

 

Program Draft 3 Banners Revised4-EMNEWS2016 Alan WeedonAlan Weedon / @alnwdn

Alan Weedon is a writer and photographer brought up in the badlands of Melbourne’s West. He’s keen on urbanism, architecture and other things explored in VICE, Broadsheet Melbourne, and The Quietus, among others. He does a few more things, which you can find at alnwdn.com

 

EMNEWS2016 Allison Worrall

Allison Worrall / @allisonworrall

Allison Worrall is a reporter with The Age and a radio producer at Melbourne news station, 3AW 693. She studied journalism at RMIT University and graduated in 2014. In her final year of study, Allison was one of three editors of the university’s student magazine, Catalyst. She was also nominated for the Young Walkley’s Student Journalist of the Year.

 

EMNEWS2016 Ben Eltham

Ben Eltham / @beneltham

Ben Eltham is a Melbourne-based journalist and essayist. He writes regularly for a range of Australian publications about politics, culture and the environment. Ben is the National Affairs Correspondent at New Matilda and a Research Fellow at Deakin University’s Faculty of Arts and Education.

 

EMNEWS2016 Ben Riley

Benjamin Riley / @bencriley

Benjamin Riley is a Melbourne-based freelance journalist writing about culture and politics, with a focus on HIV and other issues affecting queer communities. He has been the coordinator of Express Media’s journalism program The Under Age for the past two years.

 

EMNEWS2016 Bhakthi Puvanenthiran

Bhakthi Puvanenthiran / @bhakthi

Bhakthi Puvanenthiran is digital entertainment editor for The Age and The Sydney Morning Herald. Her many and varied jobs have included working as a broadcaster at 3RRR, a producer for ABC radio, a publishing assistant at Penguin, artist liaison at the Melbourne Writers Festival and co-director of the National Young Writers Festival.

 

EMNEWS2016 Broede Carmody

Broede Carmody / @BroedeCarmody

Broede Carmody is a journalist for SmartCompany where he covers small business. In 2014 he was the co-editor of Catalyst. Broede has been on the Voiceworks editorial committee and last year was part of the Melbourne Writers Festival’s 30 Under 30 program.

 

EMNEWS2016 Connor Tomas O'Brien

Connor Tomas O’Brien / @mrconnorobrien

Connor Tomas O’Brien is the Wheeler Centre‘s Digital Content Producer. Formerly, he was the inaugural director of the Digital Writers’ Festival and Digital Programs director at the Emerging Writers’ Festival. He is also the designer of Voiceworks magazine, and co-founder of ebookstore platform Tomely.

 

EMNEWS2016 Elizabeth FluxElizabeth Flux / @ElizabethFlux

Elizabeth Flux is the editor of Voiceworks magazine, and is a freelance writer who has been published in Kill Your Darlings, Film Ink, Metro, Junkee, and Spook Magazine.

 

EMNEWS2016 Josie VineJosie Vine

Dr Josie Vine teaches into the Journalism Program at RMIT University. Her areas of expertise centre on journalism’s professional values and beliefs, including its ethics and regulations. Prior to joining academia, Josie worked in provincial newsrooms as a journalist, and in media liaison for a Public Relations consultancy. She continues writing features for an Indonesian-based NGO.

 

EMNEWS2016 Kevin HawkinsKevin Hawkins / @Hawkins_Kevin

Kevin Hawkins is the Head of Live Below the Line at Oaktree. This annual fundraising campaign aims to change the way Australians think about extreme poverty by inviting them to eat on $2 a day for five days during May. Kevin is a Media and Communications graduate from The University of Melbourne, where he edited Farrago in 2014 and was heavily involved in student media, including youth radio station SYN. He writes film reviews for Film Blerg, and has previously been published by The Guardian, The Age, and The Footy Almanac. He is passionate about creating social change through effective and creative communications.

EMNEWS2016 Lynley EavisLynley Eavis / @lynleyclare

Lynley Eavis edits visual art at Voiceworks and was previously an editor of Farrago. Her illustrations have been published by The Canary PressThe Wheeler CentreVoiceworks and Maggie Journal.

 

 

EMNEWS2016 Meg WatsonMeg Watson / @msmegwatson

Meg Watson is the staff writer at pop culture and comment site Junkee. Before she lived completely inside the internet, she was the Melbourne Arts & Culture Editor at Concrete Playground and 2013 co-editor of Farrago.

 

EMNEWS2016 Rose Johnstone

Rose Johnstone / @RoFloJohnstone

Rose Johnstone’s interest in writing about arts and culture began at the University of Melbourne, where she wrote articles for Union House Theatre while studying a Master of Creative Writing, Publishing and Editing. She moved from working in the book publishing industry into journalism via a sub-editing position at Farrago, then an internship at Time Out Melbourne. In 2014 Rose became Lifestyle Editor at Time Out, then Editor at the start of 2015. These days she spends most of her time reporting on Melbourne’s arts and culture landscape, commissioning and editing work and seeing as much theatre as possible.

EMNEWS2016 Sally WhyteSally Whyte / @sallywhyte

Sally Whyte is a journalist at crikey.com.au, which covers politics, media and business news. She was an editor of Farrago in 2013. She was a volunteer at SYN for 4 years, and is currently President of the SYN Board. Her radio work has also appeared on All The Best, Girls to the Mic and the BBC. Her favourite things are feminism, AFL and coffee.

 

EMNEWS2016 Sam Cooney

Sam Cooney / @SamuelCooney

Sam Cooney is publisher at The Lifted Brow. He’s worked with several publications and publishers to bring new work to fruition, and his own writing has featured in places like The Guardian, The Saturday Paper, The Age, The Australian, Meanjin, Island, and wsa part of founding he McSweeney’s Silent History geofiction project. He teaches at various universities in Melbourne, and was a judge of the 2013 Victorian Premier’s Unpublished Manuscript Award, the 2015 Victorian Premier’s Non-Fiction Prize, and the 2015 Lord Mayor’s Narrative Non-Fiction Prize. He is currently working on assembling a multi-authored essay collection for Scribe to be published in 2017, and is excited about the very first novel The Lifted Brow will be publishing soon.

EMNEWS2016 Steph WalkerSteph Walker / @stephywalker

Steph Walker was involved with On Dit from 2006-2009. She travelled to Toronto and wrote for student mags there. Returning home, she wrote a guidebook for student editors as her thesis, covering the things she wished she knew, in the order that she…didn’t know them. Steph started work at Flinders University in 2013 and re-launched the student publication Empire Times, and recently wrote a textbook chapter in ‘A Companion to the Australian Media’.

 

EMNEWS2016 Van BadhamVan Badham / @vanbadham

Van Badham is a Melbourne-based writer, critic, trade unionist, feminist, activist and occasional broadcaster, an internationally award-winning theatremaker and one of Australia’s most controversial social commentators. She is currently employed as a weekly columnist for Guardian Australia and is Vice-President of MEAA Victoria, with her work published by the UK Guardian, UK Telegraph, Vice Magazine, Australian Cosmopolitan, Fairfax, Daily Life, the Hoopla, Southerly, Hardie Grant and PanMacmillan, amongst many others, and featuring in regular guest appearances with Radio National and Q and A. She is a proud alumnus of the University of Wollongong and has a Masters from Melbourne.

 

The NEWS Conference is generously supported by the Copyright Agency.