Apr 09 Flier A

Mid-America Press Institute presents

Covering natural disasters Friday, April 17 6 p.m. Seminar registration (Radisson Quad City Plaza Hotel)

10 a.m. Break 10:15 a.m. Newsroom and personal disaster planning Mizell Stewart III, Christine Martin, Southwest Indiana Disaster Resistant Community Corp. From power outages to disruption of infrastructure, advance planning is necessary before disaster disrupts your newsroom's normal ways of communicating and doing business.

8 p.m. Keynote address Mizell Stewart III, Evansville (Ind.) Courier & Press Stories everywhere but no power, no fuel and no phones: The aftermath of Hurricane Katrina on the Mississippi Gulf Coast

SEGMENT 2: When disaster strikes

Saturday, April 18

12:15 p.m. Table talk and lunch

8 a.m. Coffee & rolls with newspapers courtesy of the Quad City Times

1:15-2:45 p.m. Your Web site as a lifeline Steve Buttry Why: In the first hours and days after a disaster, your Web site may be the only way that people outside of the disaster zone will have any idea what happened. What you need to be prepared for and what people expect you to deliver.

8:30 a.m. Welcome & introduction Steve Buttry, The Gazette (Cedar Rapids, Iowa); Mark Ridolfi, Quad City Times (Davenport, Iowa); Mizell Stewart III

SEGMENT 1: Before disaster strikes 9 a.m. Front-line flood fighters Co. Robert Sinkler, commander of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Rock Island District; Dee Bruemmer, former public works director, Davenport, Iowa, and U.S. Corps of Engineers; Mark Ridolfi Experienced flood responders explain the public records, tools and techniques you can use to improve flood stories.

noon The first crucial hours Nancy Newhoff, Waterloo (Iowa) Courier What your newsroom does in the first crucial hours following a disaster can make all the difference to your community--and people all over the country.

2:45 p.m. Break SEGMENT 3: Dealing with the aftermath 3-4:30 p.m. Using databases & interactive storytelling to help your community recover James Wilkerson, Des Moines Register; Zack Kucharski, The Gazette and GazetteOnline How your newsroom can use databases, online forums and other tools to help the community recover after disaster strikes.

4:30-6:15 p.m. Standing up for your community Mary Sharp, flood team editor, The Gazette, and other speakers to be announced Disasters bring out the best in communities and the worst in some individuals. What you need to know to be an effective watchdog for your readers in the wake of the storm. Sunday, April 19 8 a.m. Coffee & rolls with newspapers courtesy of the Quad City Times 8:30 a.m. Stories from the front David Purdy, former (Biloxi, Miss.) Sun Herald photographer; Cecelia Hanley, The Gazette Panelists who have experienced and covered disasters in their communities discuss the challenges and rewards. 10 a.m. You need to recover, too Bruce Shapiro, Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma Why: Journalists are so busy trying to help their communities recover following disasters that they often forget to take care of themselves. Here is practical advice for journalists and editors on dealing with traumatic events. 11 a.m. The conclusion of the matter Steve Buttry, Mark Ridolfi, Mizell Stewart III Taking the lessons home, feedback and goodbye.

Registration form for

Covering natural disasters a Mid-America Press Institute seminar

April 17-19, 2009, Davenport Radisson Quad City Plaza Hotel

REGISTRATION FEE: $50/$40 (1st, 2nd registrant/members) $75/$65 (non-members) Newspaper _________________________________ Participants _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ Address _________________________________ City ____________________________ State ________ Zip________________ E-mail__________________________ Phone __________________________ Make HOTEL reservations with: Radisson Quad City Plaza Hotel 111 E. Second St., Davenport, Iowa 52801 (563.322.2200) (For $106 rate, mention MPI and make reservations by March 18.) Seminar co-chairs: Mark Ridolfi, Quad City Times (Davenport),;W. Mizell Stewart, Evansville (Ind.) Courier & Press, Steve Buttry, The Gazette (Cedar Rapids)

CONFERENCE REGISTRATION: Via e-mail: [email protected] Call it in: 217.273.5812 Fax the form: 217.581.2923 Mail the form: Mid-America Press Institute Department of Journalism Eastern Illinois University Charleston, Ill. 61920 REMAINING MPI SEMINARS in 2009 June 28-30 Addressing critical sports issues (coincides w/Cardinals v. Giants game) Sports staffers play a critical role in building readership. This seminar will explore new ideas for drawing readers other than hardcore fans, addressing the new realities of the Web, evaluating the role of special sections and moving lively stories and resourceful coverage to the newspaper at large. Sept. 18-20 Design/presentation (and a little copy editing) The role of designers and copy editors changes daily as newspapers continue to evolve into 24-7 print and online platforms, adding video and audio and addressing a multitude of other issues. New tasks require new skills, especiallyat smaller papers. Oct. 28-30 MPI Partnership: 2009 APME Convention Programming MPI will partner with the Associated Press Managing Editors to offer MPI members from non-APME papers a chance to attend programming sessions at the annual APME convention at MPI rates. Watch APME's web site for program details.

Mid-America Press Institute presents

A how-to-do-it seminar for reporters, editors and other journalists

Covering natural disasters April 17-19, 2009 in Davenport, Iowa A seminar designed to prepare newspaper, online and other journalists for bringing to their communities the critical breaking news they’ll need to cope with natural disaster. Sessions will emphasize adapting skills to multimedia platforms and offer practical advice that journlaists can use on the job right away. Participants may attend the entire program or any part of it.

Other sponsors: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Dart Center for Journalism & Trauma Lee Newspapers Scripps Howard Foundation Illinois Press Foundation