SND/Update

SND Vegas: Annual workshop

Sun, September 7, 2008 — Wed, September 10, 2008

REGISTER HERE

SNDVegas is the best bargain for your training money. We will have nearly three days of sessions with some of the best minds in the business. We’ve posted a list of speakers — about 85% complete — and will start adding session titles shortly.

The event happens Sept. 7-9 in beautiful Las Vegas. And we’ve got a lot planned for you — as would be expected for a milestone workshop in a city that knows how to create an experience.

Our partners — the Associated Press Managing Editors and Associated Press Photo Managers — are moving along in their plans as well. If you didn’t know, we are meeting in conjunction with those two outstanding journalism organizations. While each of us will have our own sessions, we will program two general sessions for everyone on the Tuesday of our workshop. (Remember, we’re meeting Sunday-Monday-Tuesday this year.)

This will be a unique opportunity to network and seriously discuss issues with those who run our photo departments and our newsrooms. Ever been to a workshop and said, “I wish my boss were here.” This year, they will be.

At this point, about 90% of our professional program is set, although we still have many details to work out with our 50+ speakers and trainers. We will have the usual full schedule of design sessions, but we’ll also have aggressive programming in web, multimedia, interactive and graphics. The workshop’s tag line is “Rethink yourself. Rethink everything.” True to that, we will have sessions that focus on where the business is going and some that focus on you (becoming a more effective leader, a better art director, what to do when faced with the latest buyout offer and even what you can do with your skills outside of newspapers).

We’ll have hands-on sessions to sharpen your skills in different software programs, such as Flash, Illustrator, Lightwave, Photoshop, Final Cut and Motion.

This will truly be an international event, with speakers from Mexico, Argentina, Canada, Scotland, Spain, Portugal, Egypt, United Arab Emirates, Russia, Germany, the Netherlands and, hopefully, China. There’s a lot of innovation happening worldwide and there will be plenty of opportunities to learn about it.

Beginning this month, we will post brief topic descriptions and the names of speakers we have confirmed. Click on the program tab on the upper left of this page. Over the next three months, we’ll add details to those descriptions as well as speaker bios as we work through those with our presenters. And as quickly as we can we’ll begin to arrange those sessions and speakers into days and time slots to better help you plan.

My best advice is to come early and stay late. We have sessions beginning mid-afternoon on Sunday and ending late Tuesday afternoon. Plus we have a few hands-on sessions on Wednesday and your SND registration gets you into a full day of APME/APPM sessions on Wednesday as well.

Watch this space for updates. If you have any questions, check out our FAQ section. If you don’t find an answer in there, drop me an e-mail at if it’s an individual question or use the comment box to the right or the feedback tab up top for questions about general issues.

Workshop registration and hotel registration are both available online. Don’t wait… this is the best training bargain of the year!

Bill Gaspard, 2008 Site Chair

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SND President Gayle Grin’s message of thanks as she leaves office
SND President Gayle Grin’s message of thanks as she leaves office

SND friends,

I want to thank all of you for your support over the past year while I was president of the Society. When I reflect on the Society I am amazed at the resilience, the adaptability, and the talent that is present. Everyone is so incredibly busy and short-staffed. There are so many challenges through the industry that took a toll on many of you. You have given so much to the Society through time, energy, perseverance and creativity. I am so very grateful to you.

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Johnson named new editor for next The Best of Newspaper Design™
Johnson named new editor for next The Best of Newspaper Design™

Lance C. Johnson, right, a Waterford, Conn., freelance editor and designer, has been named the new editor of the 30th Edition of The Best of Newspaper Design™, SND’s annual winners’ book, according to Marshall Matlock, director of the Society’s annual creative competition, which is co-sponsored by the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University.

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Q+A: The Baltimore Sun’s new editor
Q+A: The Baltimore Sun’s new editor

We caught up with Monty Cook, who was named the next editor of The Baltimore Sun on Monday. Cook takes over on Jan. 1 from Tim Franklin, who will start a sports journalism center at Indiana University, his alma mater, and hold an endowed chair. Cook talked with us about what it’s like to be a top newsroom leader with a visual journalism history, how that positions him for what’s ahead, and how things may look in Baltimore next year as the paper starts sharing content with The Washington Post. Full interview follows…

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Visual journalist Monty Cook named to top editor spot at The Baltimore Sun
Visual journalist Monty Cook named to top editor spot at The Baltimore Sun

Longtime visual journalism leader Monty Cook has been named to the top editor spot at The Baltimore Sun. Cook has also worked at the Orlando Sentinel and The Washington Post. He was the mastermind behind The Sun’s recent redesign and has taken on several other high profile readership projects.

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Chicago Trib shuffles design leaders

The Chicago Tribune has shaken up its top visual staff. There are new roles for Steve Cavendish, Stephan Benzkofer, Jonathon Berlin, Chuck Burke and others in a memo sent this afternoon by Joe Knowles, AME/Presentation at the Trib. Cavendish moves to the role of Presentation Editor. Benzkofer is the Senior News Editor. Berlin becomes the Design and Graphics Editor. Burke takes the position of Features Design Editor. Full memo with all the changes follows.

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An interview with IDEO’s Tim Brown

The design firm IDEO has been the subject of a lot of talk in the last week because of its involvement with the changes in Detroit. BusinessWeek posed questions to Tim Brown, IDEO’s CEO, in a video posted today. The questions are about the company’s overall philosophy, not the work it’s been doing in Detroit. Check it out, though, to learn more about IDEO and the design thinking approach.

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New regional director for Northeast: Scott Griffin, the Republican-American
New regional director for Northeast: Scott Griffin, the Republican-American

Society President Gayle Grin announced this week that Scott Griffin will be the new regional director for the Northeast region in the United States. Griffin is the Design Editor of the Republican-American in Waterbury, Conn. “Scott has already proven himself as a dedicated member of the Society, having chaired a Quick Course this past spring and written for the small paper issue of Design magazine,” Grin said in making the appointment.

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Chris Courtney’s leaving RedEye: Catching up on what lies ahead
Chris Courtney’s leaving RedEye: Catching up on what lies ahead

Chris Courtney is leaving his job as design director for RedEye, the successful free Tribune tabloid in Chicago that he’s helped build into one of the country’s design standouts. Courtney will make the leap to interactive design, taking on a new gig at Tribune Interactive as a senior designer. He’ll also be an editorial consultant for Tribune Niche Products, which is the group that includes Hoy, Metromix and TribLocal, as well as RedEye. Update caught up with him over the weekend to ask a few questions about what it’s like to move away from print.

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Do your graphics need a tune up? Check out our workshop at Ball State

A new two-day graphics workshop, organized by Jeff Goertzen of The Denver Post, is slated for Feb. 27 and 28 in Muncie, Ind. Check out what’s happening at Ball State in February. With the emergence of multimedia software, it’s easy to get caught up with all the latest gadgetry. Animation and interactivity can do some amazing things. But when it comes to informational graphics, the fundamental principles of journalism cannot be forgotten — research, writing, editing and design. Whether you’re a beginner, intermediate or advanced graphics reporter, this workshop will help you improve your journalistic and artistic skills. Register now.

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The Free Press publishes front page editorial on automakers’ bailout plea
The Free Press publishes front page editorial on automakers’ bailout plea

The Detroit Free Press published a rare front page editorial about the bailout of the ailing U.S. auto industry. The editorial, a direct plea to the lawmakers considering the plan, carries the headline “Invest in America” and makes a visual statement as a single-subject front. The page, designed by Robert Huschka and illustrated by Eric Millikin, harkens to old-time newspaper advocacy, when papers would take up causes important to their cities. Obviously, the loan to the troubled auto giants appears crucial to Detroit’s very survival. The plan has lasting nationwide effects, as well. Was this bold treatment too much or does it feel right given the severity of the situation? The first two sentences of the Free Press’ special “Message to Washington” editorial read: “You don’t want an economic disaster on your hands. Not when you could have prevented it.”

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