Schedule – Friday, April 11, 2025

8:00 am – 4:45 pm Plaza Mall | On-Site Registration

8:00 am – 4:45 pm Garden Court | Career and College Fair
Recruit and network with media professionals and journalism students from across the six-state region.
Hosted in partnership with the Upper Midwest Emmy Awards Chapter.

9:00 am – 3:00 pm Garden Court | Professional Headshots
On Friday only, get your professional headshot for your resume or website. For a minimum donation of $20 (larger donations gratefully accepted) you’ll get your portrait taken by a professional photographer.
Sponsored by Story North Productions.

8:15 am – 9:30 am Plaza 5/6 | Main Session:
What psychologists wish journalists knew about mental health
Mental health is finally getting the attention it deserves in journalism. Like so many other important issues, it’s also the focus of significant misunderstanding and misinformation. Dr. Dan Reidenberg, a clinical psychologist; Dr. Joan Chemarum, Psy.D.; and Sue Abderholden, executive director of NAMI Minnesota (the National Alliance on Mental Illness) will join news director Joe Radske and moderator Scott Libin to sort fact from fiction. The session will open with an examination of the way journalists manage their own mental health and maintain a healthy newsroom environment. After a break, the focus will shift to newsgathering and reporting, with an emphasis on other stakeholders, including the subjects of coverage and the audience. Bring questions, concerns and an open mind. Some of what you learn may contradict what you thought you knew.
Moderator: Scott Libin
Presenters: Dr. Dan Reidenberg, National Council for Suicide Prevention; Dr. Joan Chemarum, Psychologist; Sue Abderholden, National Alliance on Mental Illness-Minnesota; Joe Radske, WEAU-TV Eau Claire
Sponsored by the University of Minnesota Hubbard School of Journalism

9:30 – 9:45 am Garden Court | Break to visit Career and College Fair booths

9:45 am – 11:00 am Plaza 5/6 | What psychologists wish journalists knew about mental health
We’ll continue the main session by examining mental health aspects of reporting for interview subjects and audiences as well as work-life balance and more.
Sponsored by Gray Television

11:00 – 11:15 am Garden Court | Break to visit Career and College Fair booths

11:15 am – 12:30 pm Garden Court | SPJ Mark of Excellence Awards Luncheon
Sponsored by the Society of Professional Journalists and the Kiplinger Program

12:15 – 12:30 pm Garden Court | Break to visit Career and College Fair booths

12:30 – 1:45 pm Breakout Sessions

• Breakout 1A Plaza 1 | Cultivating contacts
  For any journalist entering a new market or taking over a new beat, building a list of contacts is key to improving the speed and depth of your reporting. We’ll take a close look at how to create a strong list of sources and interview subjects you can count on.
  Presenter: Lou Raguse, KARE-TV
  Sponsored by South Dakota News Watch
  

• Breakout 1B Plaza 2 | The state of student media
  In colleges across the country, student media outlets are facing challenges with funding, student involvement, and editorial independence. We’ll talk with educators and students about those challenges and how they address them.
  Moderator: Rocky Dailey, South Dakota State Univ.
  Panelists: Brayden Byers, South Dakota State University; Sydney Kolln, University of South Dakota; Spencer White, University of Minnesota; Kristian Anderson, University of Nebraska-Lincoln

Sponsored by South Dakota State University and the University of Nebraska-Lincoln

1:45 – 2:00 pm Garden Court | Break to visit Career and College Fair booths

2:00 – 3:15 pm Breakout Sessions

• Breakout 2A Plaza 1 | The Power of Podcasts: Reaching New Audiences
  Podcasting has become huge, both for independent content creators and for newsrooms working in other media who are finding new audiences, especially for longer-form projects. We’ll look at best practices and learn about how to get a new podcast up and running. One example will be the podcast “Short Walk” by Lee Strubinger. Short Walk is a podcast that’s part true-crime, party political odyssey, which follows the events surrounding a fatal crash involving the state’s Republican attorney general. The crash leads to the state’s first impeachment—testing the constitution, party loyalty and the resolve of political leaders. We’ll also hear from longtime broadcaster Kaci Richter about best practices to make your podcast stand out from the crowd.
  Presenters: Lee Strubinger, South Dakota Public Broadcasting, Rapid City; Kaci Richter, University of Nebraska–Lincoln
  Sponsored by the Nebraska Broadcasters Association

• Breakout 2B Plaza 2 | The Good, the Bad and AI
  As artificial intelligence tools go mainstream, how can journalists take advantage of the technology to make their jobs easier in a transparent and ethical way? We’ll look at how AI is finding a place in newsrooms, with application to reporting, data analysis and sports data.
  Presenter: Matthew Waite, Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln

3:15 – 3:30 pm Garden Court | Break to visit Career and College Fair booths

3:30 – 4:45 pm Breakout Sessions

• Breakout 3A Plaza 1 | Covering courts with livestream rules and restrictions
  While cameras and microphones are being allowed in more courtrooms, questions are being raised by judges and attorneys about whether livestreaming video and audio should be allowed or if proceedings can only be recorded for later use. Also a subject of debate are live blogging and social media posting from courtrooms. We’ll dig into the issues.
  Moderator: Leita Walker, Ballard Spahr – Minneapolis
  Panelists: Toddrick Barnette, Community Safety Commissioner for the City of Minneapolis; Jessica Laszewski, WMTV, Madison
  Sponsored by the University of South Dakota
  

• Breakout 3B Plaza 2 | Growing Your Ag Reporting
  Living in the upper Midwest, agriculture is a large, economically important industry deserves appropriate coverage. This session will detail what reporters should look for ag stories, what topics are important. How to cultivate, pun intended, sources and how to bring important ag issues to listeners and viewers.
  Moderator: Jennifer Lewerenz, KNSI-FM St. Cloud, MN
  Panelists: Jody Heemstra, KGFX Pierre, SD; Susan Littlefield, KRVN, Surprise, NE; Brian Winnekins, WRDN, Durand, WI

Sponsored by the South Dakota Broadcasters Association

4:45 – 6:00 pm Plaza Mall and Garden Court | Open time for networking

6:00 pm Garden Court | Upper Midwest Emmy® Student Awards Reception and Career Fair

7:00 pm Garden Court | Upper Midwest Emmy® Foundation Student Production Awards Ceremony
This event requires separate registration – visit midwestemmys.org to register.

Schedule – Saturday, April 12, 2025

7:30 – 8:45 am Plaza 3 | MBJA Educators Breakfast
8:30 am – 4:15 pm Plaza Mall | On-Site Registration

8:30 am – 4:15 pm Plaza Mall | Career and College Fair
Recruit and network with media professionals and journalism students from across the six-state region.
Hosted in partnership with the Upper Midwest Emmy Awards Chapter.

9:00 am – 10:15 am Plaza 5/6 | Main Session: Visual storytelling
The growing need for compelling video across multiple platforms requires some skills behind the camera, whether traditional television cameras, DSLRs or smartphones. In our Saturday opening session, we’ll take a close look at video techniques to make your content jump off any screen.
Presenter: Devin Krinke, KARE-TV
Sponsored by University of South Dakota

10:15 – 10:30 am Plaza Mall | Break to visit Career and College Fair booths

10:30 am – 11:45 am Plaza 5/6 | Main Session: Three stories, three storytelling lessons with Boyd Huppert
One of our most popular sessions returns, with award-winning KARE-TV reporter and TEGNA National Storytelling Coach Boyd Huppert. He’ll share three storytelling examples from his favorite stories packed with tips to help make your stories shine.
Moderator: Barney McCoy, Univ. of Nebraska-Lincoln
Sponsored by the Minnesota Broadcasters Association

11:45 am – 12:00 pm Plaza Mall | Break to visit Career and College Fair booths

Noon – 1:15 pm Plaza 3 | RTDNA Luncheon and MBJA Business Meeting

•  Lunch
 
•  MBJA Business Meeting and Elections
 
•  Remarks from RTDNA President and CEO Dan Shelley
 
•  Guest Speaker: Colin Benedict, Morgan Murphy Media-Madison, WI, RTDNA Chair-elect
 

1:15 – 1:30 pm Plaza Mall | Break to visit Career and College Fair booths

1:30 – 2:45 pm Breakout Sessions

• Breakout 4A Plaza 1 | Sharpen Your Sports Coverage
  What makes for great sports stories for local audiences? Learn about some approaches to daily sports coverage that mean the most for audiences by cultivating local contacts and becoming a more effective storyteller.
  Moderator: TBA
  Panelists: Marielle Mohs, WCCO-TV; Breanna Reinhart, Asst. GM of the Arena League football team the Eau Claire Axemen

• Breakout 4B Plaza 2 | Google News Initiative
  Issues that impact our world, like the global struggle with COVID-19, have highlighted the importance of reliable reporting and trustworthiness of news organizations. But news organizations are facing persistent challenges — from the spread of misinformation to shifting audience habits — as they work to stabilize their businesses and map their futures. That’s why, along with other companies and civic institutions, we’re doing our part to help the news industry succeed.
  Presenter: Frank Bi, Minneapolis Star Tribune

• Breakout 4C Plaza 4 | Negotiating for what you need from sources
  Politicians, public information officers, communications directors and public relations staffers are all people journalists encounter while trying to tell a story. How can you work with potential sources and interview subjects to get the most from them? Learn about strategies to improve those relationships before a big breaking story happens.
  Moderator: Jessica Laszewski, WMTV – Madison, WI
  Panelists: Matt Christensen, KWQC-TV – Davenport, IA; Traci Klein, Gillette Children’s St. Paul

2:45 – 3:00 pm Plaza Mall | Break to visit Career and College Fair booths

3:00 – 4:15 pm Breakout Sessions

• Breakout 5A Plaza 1 | Incorporating Scientific Evidence Into Your Local Reporting
  Science stories are always happening, from coverage of extreme weather events, to disease outbreaks, to the latest artificial intelligence developments. Even stories that aren’t about science — on topics like sports betting, school cell phone policies, or rising grocery prices — can be strengthened with scientific evidence. But covering science can feel daunting. This hands-on workshop will help you gain the skills and confidence to include scientific perspectives in your local reporting. We’ll cover the basics of reporting on science, do an activity to help you find scientific angles on a local issue, and share resources to help you add research-backed depth to stories you’re already working on.
  Presenters: Emily Mueller and Sara Brinda, SciLine

• Breakout 5B Plaza 2 | How to excel at digital news in our digital future
  No matter your medium, off-platform content is a big part of attracting audiences and the world of digital is ever-changing. Learn what newsrooms and reporters need to know about getting the most out of social media, vertical videos, streaming, and SEO. Hear from digital professionals about the latest trends to get your audience to read what you write, and watch what you create.
  Moderator: Felicity Dachel, KARE 11 Minneapolis
  Panelists: Jeremiah Jacobsen, KARE 11 Minneapolis

• Breakout 5C Plaza 4 | Fast Feedback
  This workshop offers both students and professionals the chance to get feedback on their work from newsroom leaders. Participants, split into groups, will rotate through different stations allowing for quick critiques from industry experts. Participants should have examples of their work available to evaluate (links to stories posted online is preferred). The focus is on improving skills, refining techniques, and understanding what industry professionals are looking for in their candidates, along with making critical connections in the broadcast journalism field.
  Sponsored by the Knight Foundation

4:15 – 6:00 pm Plaza Mall | Open time for networking

6:00 pm Plaza Mall | Reception with cash bar

7:00 pm Plaza 5/6 | Midwest Broadcast Journalists Association Eric Sevareid Awards Banquet – Join us for the annual Eric Sevareid Awards ceremony, which honors the best in radio and television, and meet this year’s recipient of the Mitchell V. Charnley Award for outstanding contributions to broadcast journalism. Sponsored by Gray Television.

•  Dinner
 
•  MBJF Diversity Scholarship
 
•  Jack Shelley Scholarship
 
•  Mitchell V. Charnley Award
 
•  Eric Sevareid Awards ceremony
 
•  New MBJA president inducted