During this session, we’ll dig into some of the foundations of journalism:

• We’ll take a comprehensive look at ledes and what makes them jump. And while we’re at it, how can we take a story, and start preparing for a follow-up or bigger story?
• Getting sources and maintaining them is half the job. This session will discuss how to approach the people you need to know on your beat and how to build mutually rewarding connections with sources.
• How do you make the most out of every meeting, including a better attack on print and digital, and a bona fide roster of enterprise stories in the future? We’ll look at proactive tactics to keep meeting coverage relevant.

Presenter: Tim Schmitt
Tim has spent decades in various newsrooms — some print, and some broadcast. He was a sports reporter, news reporter, and then managing editor of his hometown paper, the Tonawanda News in New York, where he led an award-winning editorial page. He has worked as an editor, staffer and longtime contributor with the Arizona Daily Sun, the Mesa Tribune, the Arizona Republic, the Buffalo Current, and the Niagara Falls Gazette, where he was executive sports editor over four dailies.