The 2017 NEWS Conference

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The NEWS  Conference (National Editors Workshop and Skillshare Conference) is a two-day event presented by Express Media for students editors, publishers and contributors across Australia.

Over two days, Express Media presents a jam-packed line-up of workshops, panels, presentations about everything it takes to put a student publication together. Participants learn the nitty-gritty of publishing and editing from the best in the business, including journalists, writers, media professionals and former editors, and have the chance to network with student editors from around Australia. It is the only formal professional development opportunity for newly-appointed student media editors, and equips new editors and writers for their year ahead.

The 2017 NEWS Conference will be presented from 9am – 6pm, Monday January 30 and Tuesday January 31 at RMIT University, Melbourne.

 

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9.00AM – 9.45am: REGISTRATION

 

10.00AM – 11.00AM: OPENING ADDRESS BY JACK LATIMORE

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What will Australian  media look like in 15, 30, and 50 years? How can it reflect a country’s people, culture, and values? Join journalist and writer Jack Latimore as we kickstart The 2017 NEWS Conference. Get ready to interrogate the flaws in current media structures, systems, and practices, before we imagine an equitable and ethical future industry, from the individual journalist to the the organisational empire.

 

11.00AM – 12.00PM: WHAT THE HELL IS A STUDENT EDITOR?

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You’ve got your own chair, desk and computer but have been puzzled about where to start ever since you were appointed. Join Express Media to uncover what it means to be an editor, meet your network of peers and publications, and set your goals for 2017.

 

11.00AM – 12.00PM: LUNCH

 

1.00PM – 3.00PM: #BREAKING: REPORTING FOR STUDENT MEDIA FOR BEGINNERS & OLD HATS

Journalism is the bread and butter of many student publications, but are your skills up to scratch? We’ve got two jam-packed masterclasses led by Broede Carmody and Alana Schetzer to upskill your reporting. So if you’ve never written a lead, or have more by-lines than fingers, there’s a crash-course for finding, writing, and dealing with the important stories for your publication.

For journalism beginners with Broede Carmody head to 9.3.06A&B.

For experienced journalists with Alana Schetzer, head to 9.3.05A&B

 

3.00PM – 3.30PM: AFTERNOON TEA

Atelier Space, Level 2

 

3.30PM – 4.30PM: MEDIA LAW AND ETHICS

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From defamation, to copyright, to the ethics of being a good journalist, Gordon Farrer gives you a rundown on how to not get sued, fired, or assassinated by student politicians and your readers.

 

4.30PM – 5.30PM: #FEELPINIONS

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Everyone’s got an opinion and a mighty pen to wield, but how do you avoid #feelpinions? Amy Gray will give you the inside scoop on how op-eds and commentary should be presented by covering representation, voice and what to consider during the editing process.

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4.30PM – 5.30PM : EDITING & ARTS COVERAGE

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Rave review or just raving? Rose Johnstone will guide you through how to commission and edit arts and culture articles and discern the insightful from the inarticulate.

 

5.30PM: HI THERE – DINNER AND DRINKS @ 1000 POUND BEND

361 Little Lonsdale Street

Grab a bite and beverage to celebrate the end of the first day of The 2017 NEWS Conference.  

 

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9.15AM – 10.00AM: OPENING ADDRESS BY AMY MIDDLETON

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Since its first issue in November 2013, Archer Magazine has been making waves within LGBTQIA+ communities in Australia and beyond. Dubbed ‘the world’s most progressive magazine about sexuality, gender and identity’, Archer Magazine’s Founding Editor and Publisher, Amy Middleton, explores how editing a publication can be a powerful act of curation to project marginalised voices and build community.

 

10.00AM – 11.00AM: MANAGING A PUBLICATION

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Join Lucy Adams and Sam Cooney to look at the basics of editorial cycles and project management for print and online production. You’ll learn everything from scheduling and deadlines, to following a style-guide, managing a team of editors and writers, and dealing with a printer..

 

11.00AM – 12.00PM: THE NUTS AND BOLTS OF EDITING

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If you make a mistake in print, it’s there forever. Join Sam Cooney as he shares his top tips for how to master the English language for publication, outline the different stages of editing, explain why proofreaders are your saviours, and guide you through best practice for editing new writers.

 

11.00AM – 12.00PM: GROWING YOUR AUDIENCE AND COMMUNITY

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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 and take you through the basics of reaching out to new writers and readers.

 

12.00PM – 1.00PM: LUNCH WITH THE EX-EDITORS

Atelier Space, Level 2

Do you have a burning question? Something you need to get off your chest? Join the Ex-Editors to chat about any issues not raised in the previous panels, pick the experienced brains, and ask questions of other publications.

With Connor Tomas O’Brien (ex-On Dit), Bhakthi Puvanenthiran (ex-Farrago), Elizabeth Flux (ex-On Dit), Broede Carmody (ex-Catalyst), Meg Watson (ex-Farrago), Sally Whyte (ex-Farrago) and Fiona Dunne (ex-Vertigo).

 

1.00PM – 2.00PM: GRAPHIC DESIGN FOR PUBLICATION

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Kerning, CMYK, left justified…lost yet? Alan Weedon guides you through the basics of graphic design for print and online publications, and gives you practical advice for working with those mythical creatures: graphic designers.

 

2.00PM – 3.00PM: GRAPHIC DESIGN IN PRACTICE – FOR BEGINNERS AND OLD HATS

Need to layout a magazine, edit artwork, input changes, or export a file for the printer? If you’re taking your first steps into design and are mildly terrified, join Connor Tomas O’Brien to learn the basics and get familiar with InDesign. For experienced users of InDesign, or if you’re in charge of your magazine’s design, join Alan Weedon to level-up to the next stage and get your publication ready for distribution.

For design beginners with Connor Tomas O’Brien head to Computer Laboratory 9.3.03

For experienced designers with Alan Weedon, head to Bowen Street Press on Level 2

OR

2.00PM – 3.00PM: MANAGING TEAMS (HOW TO KEEP FRIENDS AND INFLUENCE PEOPLE)

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On a team with your best mate or complete stranger? Asking your talented friends to contribute? Running a publication can involve managing a lot of people, agendas and aspirations. Learn how to constructively manage and work with a team of editors and writers with Express Media’s CEO Pippa Bainbridge and keep your editorship conflict-free.

 

3.00PM – 3.30PM: AFTERNOON TEA

Atelier Space, Level 2

 

3.30PM – 4.30PM: STRESS & SELF-CARE

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Editing student media may be one of the most rewarding things to do at uni, but it can also be a pretty stressful time. From scurvy and vitamin D deficiencies, to insomnia and panic attacks, the tales from former editors can be mildly terrifying. In this important session, Connie Ogan, Bradley Ebden, and Broede Carmody outline strategies and coping techniques to  keep your health and enjoyment levels up in the year ahead.  

 

4.30PM – 5.30PM: LIFE AFTER STUDENT MEDIA

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Whether you’re taking part because it’s fun or because it’s a practice run for heading up a media empire, editing student media gives you a lot of practical real-world skills. Claudia Long chats to Bhakthi Puvanenthiran and Meg Watson about how they translated their skills into the work they wanted and what they wish they had known when editing student media.

 

ARTISTS

Alan Weedon - edited

Alan Weedon 

Alan Weedon is Melbourne-based a writer and photographer. His work has previously been published across the VICE, i-D, Men In This Town, and The Quietus, among others and has exhibited across Melbourne and Sydney. Currently, he’s the creative director of Swampland—a new publication for longform Australian music journalism and photography. See Alan’s work online at cargocollective.com/alanweedon. 

Alana Schetzer - editedAlana Schetzer | @schetzer

Alana Schetzer is a Melbourne-based journalist, writer and editor. She worked at The Age for five years, covering social justice, health, crime and wrote television reviews for Green Guide. She teaches media and writing at The University of Melbourne and been a panelist at National Young Writers Festival and Storyology. Alana is the co-founder of Women in Media and is a trustee of the Media Safety and Solidarity Trust. She has been published in Good Weekend, Huffington Post, Peppermint and more.

AmyGray - EditedAmy Gray | @_AmyGray_
Amy Gray is a freelance writer whose work has appeared in The Age, Sydney Morning Herald, ABC, SBS, Elle, The Lifted Brow and other publications. Her written work focuses on feminism and digital culture, often using memoir as a device.

 

Amy Middleton - EditedAmy Middleton | @Moodleton

Amy is a Melbourne-based journalist and founding editor of Archer Magazine a UN-award-winning publication curating diverse perspectives on sexuality and gender. Amy has written and edited for Australian Geographic, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, Daily Life, The Big Issue, The Bulletin, Junkee, Meanjin, The Lifted Brow and more. She is a mentor with the Out For Australia program and teaches business writing at RMIT. In 2014 she was named among Gay News Network’s Top 25 People To Watch, and Melbourne Writers Festival’s 30 Under 30. In 2016 she was nominated for Young Australian of the Year. In her spare time, she plays AFL footy and collects interesting editions of Alice in Wonderland.

Bhakthi PuvanenthiranBhakthi Puvanenthiran | @bhakthi
Bhakthi Puvanenthiran is  the My Small Business editor for The Age and 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.

 

Bradley Ebden - edited

Bradley Ebden

Bradley Ebden is a Holistic Therapist with over 18 years experience within various modalities including Psychotherapy, Bodywork and Breathwork. Bradley has been trained within a Shamanistic approach and specializes in Mind/Body attunement, the Law of Attraction, and Transformational Therapy. Bradley is a qualified Transpersonal Counsellor, Massage Therapist, and Breathwork Therapist. He is a member of the Australian Association of Holistic and Transpersonal Counsellors and operates a private practice in Bentleigh VIC, as well as a successful Mobile Massage service throughout Melbourne.


Broede Carmody

Broede Carmody | @BroedeCarmody

Broede Carmody is a journalist at The Age. In 2014 he was the co-editor of RMIT’s student magazine Catalyst. His first book, Flat Exit, will be published by Cordite Books this year.

 

Claudia Long - EditedClaudia Long | @ClaudiaLongsays

Claudia Long is a journalist based in Melbourne. Currently working for ABC and editing RMIT university’s Catalyst magazine, she is also the news director at community radio station SYN. When she isn’t talking too much about politics or watching Doctor Who, you can find her tweeting at @claudialongsays.

Connie Ogan - edited

Connie Ogan

Connie Ogan is a holistic counsellor with a special interest in trauma, grief and bereavement. Connie holds an Advanced Diploma in Transpersonal Counselling, a Bachelor of Arts in Visual Arts, and a Graduate Certificate in Grief and Bereavement Counselling. She has completed Emergency and Critical Incident Stress Training, and is a member of the Australian Counselling Association, the Australian Association of Holistic and Transpersonal Counsellors and the Loss and Grief Practitioners Association. Connie runs a private practice in Fitzroy and works part-time as a grief and trauma counsellor for Road Trauma Support Services Victoria.


Connor Tomas O'Brien - edited

Connor Tomas O’Brien | @mrconnorobrien

Connor Tomas O’Brien is a Melbourne-based writer, web designer, and co-founder of ebookstore platform Tomely. In 2014, he created and directed the inaugural Digital Writers’ Festival. Day-to-day, he runs Studio Sometimes, a design studio focussed on non-profits and literary organisations.

 

Elizabeth Flux

Elizabeth Flux | @ElizabethFlux

Elizabeth Flux is a writer and editor whose work has appeared in Metro, The Lifted Brow, Kill Your Darlings, Broadsheet, Junkee and others. She is a past editor of Voiceworks and On Dit. In 2016 she attended the Hong Kong International Film Festival funded by the UNESCO City of Literature Travel Fund.

 

03 claudia in presser

Fiona Dunne | @ffgeorgie

Fiona Dunne is the Creative Producer of Express Media. She holds a Bachelor or Communications (Writing and Cultural Studies) from the University of Technology Sydney, and was an Editor of Vertigo in 2013. She’s previously worked with Seizure, The Emerging Writers’ Festival, Art+Australia, and Belvoir Street Theatre. In 2016 she was selected to take part in Footscray Community Arts Centre’s Emerging Cultural Leaders program, and was a delegate on the Australia Council’s India Literature Exploratory supported by  UNESCO Melbourne City of Literature.

 

Gordon Farrer - edited

Gordon Farrar | @post_fact
Gordon Farrer was a journalist for more than 20 years, including nearly 13 years at The Age newspaper where he held a number of editing and writing positions. He currently teaches journalism at RMIT University where he is also completing a PhD on the professional motivation of fact-checking operations in Australia.

Jack LatimoreJack Latimore | @LatimoreJack
Birpai man Jack Latimore is a journalist and writer living in Melbourne. His journalism appears in Koori Mail, The Guardian Australia, IndigenousX, and Overland. His short fiction has appeared in various anthologies and periodicals. Currently he is a PhD candidate at the University of Melbourne.

Kevin Hawkins - edited

Kevin Hawkins | @Hawkins_Kevin

Kevin Hawkins works as an events coordinator for WaterAid, where he runs their annual ‘Water Challenge‘ fundraising campaign. Prior to this, he was the Head of Live Below the Line at Oaktree and one of the editors of Farrago Magazine. Kevin is a Media and Communications graduate from The University of Melbourne, where he was heavily involved in student media, including youth radio station SYN.

 

Lucy Adams - edited

Lucy Adams | @VoiceworksMag

Lucy Adams is the editor of youth literary journal Voiceworks. She has previously edited Buzzcuts and produced podcasts for the Melbourne International Film Festival. She hails from Perth, where she was a neuroscience writer and brain mapper.

 

14639765_10209126624017684_7258147177066341615_nMeg Watson |  @msmegwatson
Meg Watson is the Editor of pop culture and comment site Junkee. She writes about TV, film, feminism and regional Elvis festivals and has previously worked as the Melbourne Arts & Culture Editor at Concrete Playground and 2013 co-editor of Farrago.

 

Pippa Bainbridge - editedPippa Bainbridge

Pippa Bainbridge is a cultural leader whose work encompasses both arts management and creative practice. Pippa has been engaged as General Manager/CEO at Express Media since 2015 and has been involved in arts organisations including La Mama, Barking Gecko Theatre Company and Artrage.

 

Rose Johnstone - edited

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.

 

Sally WhyteSally Whyte | @sallywhyte

Sally Whyte is deputy editor at crikey.com.au, where she’s been a journalist for almost three years and writes the new Crikey Worm newsletter.  She was a volunteer at SYN for 4 years, and is currently President of the SYN Board. She was an editor of Farrago in 2013.

 

Sam Cooney - edited

Sam Cooney | @SamuelCooney

Sam Cooney runs The Lifted Brow, where he is publisher and also books editor. In the past he’s worked with several publications and publishers to bring new work to fruition, and his own writing has featured in places like The Sydney Morning Herald, The Saturday Paper, The Age, The Australian, Meanjin, Island, and as a founding contribution to the McSweeney’s Silent History geofiction project. He teaches at universities in Melbourne, and was a judge of the 2013 Victorian Premier’s Unpublished Manuscript Award, the 2015 Victorian Premier’s Nonfiction Prize, and the 2015 Lord Mayor’s Narrative Nonfiction Prize. In 2017 he is the official ‘publisher-in-residence’ at RMIT University, and is spending the year taking part in the Australia Council’s ‘Future Leaders’ professional development program.

 

The 2017 NEWS Conference is FREE to attend, and registrations are now open. Book your place now. 

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Presented by Express Media with the generous support of RMIT University

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