Schedule – Friday, April 11, 2025

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

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

8:15 am – 9:30 am Plaza 5/6 | Main Session: TBA
Our main session will kick off the conference.
Moderator: TBA

9:30 – 9:45 am Plaza Mall | Break to visit Career and College Fair booths

9:45 am – 11:00 am Plaza 5/6 | Main Session Continues
We’ll continue the main session.
Moderator: TBA
Panelists: TBA


11:00 – 11:15 am Plaza Mall | Break to visit Career and College Fair booths

11:15 am – 12:30 pm Garden Court | SPJ Mark of Excellence Awards Luncheon
Speaker TBA
Sponsored by SPJ.

12:15 – 12:30 pm Plaza Mall | Break to visit Career and College Fair booths

1:00 – 5:00 pm Plaza 3 | Critique Sessions
Here’s your chance to have your resume, video, audio, and/or writing critiqued by newsroom managers from around the Midwest. Please provide your reel on a flash drive, CD, or simply bring along links to your work online. This is an open session, so come and go when it works for your schedule.

12:30 – 1:45 pm Breakout Sessions

• Breakout 1A Plaza 1 | TBA
  Topic TBA.
  Moderator: TBA
  Panelists: TBA
  

• Breakout 1B Plaza 2 | TBA.
  Topic TBA.
  Presenter: TBA
  

• Breakout 1C Plaza 4 | TBA
  Topic TBA.
  Presenter: TBA
  

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

2:00 – 3:15 pm Breakout Sessions

• Breakout 2A Plaza 1 | Is TBA
  Topic TBA.
  Presenter: TBA

• Breakout 2B Plaza 2 | TBA
  Topic TBA.
  Moderator: TBA
  Panelists: TBA

• Breakout 2C Plaza 4 | TBA
  Topic TBA.
  Moderators: TBA
  Panelists: TBA

3:15 – 3:30 pm Plaza Mall | Break to visit Career and College Fair booths

3:30 – 4:30 pm Focus Sessions

• Breakout 3A Plaza 1 | TBA
  Topic TBA.
  Presenter: TBA
  

• Breakout 3B Plaza 2 | TBA
  Topic TBA.
  Moderator: TBA
  Panelists: TBA

• Breakout 3CPlaza 4 | TBA
  Topic TBA.
  Moderator: TBA
  Panelists: TBA

6:00 pm Ballroom Foyer | Upper Midwest Emmy® Student Awards Reception and Career Fair

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

Schedule – Saturday, April 12, 2025

7:30 am Plaza 3 | MBJA Educators Breakfast

8:30 am – 4:45 pm Plaza Mall | On-Site Registration

9:00 am – 10:15 am Plaza 5/6 | Main Session: TBA
Topic for Saturday’s main session is TBA.
Presenter: TBA

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 Continues
The main session will continue.

11:45 – Noon Plaza Mall | Break to visit Career and College Fair booths

Noon – 1:15 pm Garden Court | RTDNA Luncheon and MBJA Business Meeting

• • Buffet Lunch
 
• • MBJA Business Meeting and Elections
 
• • Remarks from RTDNA Executive Director Dan Shelley
 
• • Guest Speaker: TBA
 

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

1:00 – 5:00 pm Plaza 3 | Critique Sessions
Here’s your chance to have your resume, video, audio, and/or writing critiqued by newsroom managers from around the Midwest. Please provide your reel on a flash drive, CD, or simply bring along links to your work online. This is an open session, so come and go when it works for your schedule.

1:30 – 2:45 pm Breakout Sessions

• Breakout 4A Plaza 1 | TBA
  Topic TBA.
  Moderator: TBA
  Panelists: TBA

• Breakout 4B Plaza 2 | TBA
  Topic TBA.
  Moderator: TBA
  Panelists: TBA

• Breakout 4C Plaza 4 | TBA
  Topic TBA.
  Presenter: TBA

2:45 – 3:15 pm Plaza Mall | Break to visit Career and College Fair booths

3:15 – 4:15 pm Plaza 5/6 | Closing Session: TBA
Topic TBA.

4:15 pm Plaza Mall | Open time for networking

6:00 pm Plaza Mall | Reception and MBJF Online Auction with cash bar

7:00 pm Garden Court | 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