ANA Convention Features Cronkite Speakers

Tim McGuire, the Frank Russell Chair in the Business of Journalism at the Cronkite School, will be the keynote speaker for the Arizona Newspapers Association annual meeting and fall convention.
Other Cronkite faculty will lead sessions and participate in panel discussions on topics ranging from computer-assisted reporting to managing a newsroom.

The convention brings together hundreds of editors and publishers from around the state each year for a professional development program and to recognize outstanding journalism work. The focus of this year’s convention, to be held Sept. 20-22, is “Today’s New Media.”

McGuire, former editor and senior vice president of the Minneapolis Star Tribune who now teaches at the Cronkite School, will open the conference on Sept. 22 with a speech on the financial climate for newspapers and how smaller newspapers are faring better than most. The title of his talk is “Whales & Little Fish: A Deep Water Phenomenon.”

Other Cronkite speakers include:

• Steve Elliott, a former top editor for The Associated Press who directs the Cronkite News Service, leading a group of students each semester who report on public policy issues in Arizona. Elliott will conduct a session for editors on how to get the most out of inexperienced reporters.
• Steve Doig, professor and Knight Chair in Journalism and a nationally recognized expert in computer-assisted reporting. Doig will lead a workshop on using technology to improve news reporting.
• Kristin Gilger, assistant dean of the Cronkite School and a former editor at The Arizona Republic. Gilger will lead a session on “How to Manage Your Boss.”
• Assistant Professor Carol Schwalbe, a former editor at National Geographic who teaches magazine writing and online media. Schwalbe will be part of a panel discussion on video reporting, blogging and using the Web in reporting.

The conference will be held at the Chaparral Suites Resort in Scottsdale.