'Skill Swap' Conference Teaches Online Communication

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – Working journalists, would-be bloggers and others who want to learn to communicate more effectively online are invited to a “Skill Swap” conference from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Jan. 22, at the Walter J. Lemke department of journalism at the University of Arkansas.

The conference is sponsored by the department of journalism in the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences, and the northwest Arkansas and university chapters of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Chad Lorenz, home page editor of the online magazine Slate, is the featured speaker for the event. He is based in Slate’s Washington, D.C., office and previously worked as managing editor at The Washingtonian magazine and copy editor for The Washington Post.

Cost for the conference is $10 in advance and $15 at the door. Advance registration is available at http://skillswap.eventbrite.com/. The early registration deadline is Friday, Jan. 21, at noon.

Online communication has evolved into a hybrid of print and broadcast communication, with its own unique style and rules. The “Skill Swap” in the conference will offer print and blog writers ways to learn more about audio and video skills, while broadcasters can pick up tips for writing online.

The program for the day will begin with concurrent sessions:

 9-10:45 a.m.: “Grammar You Thought You Knew but Didn’t,” presented by Katherine Shurlds, instructor, journalism department; and “Good Leads for the Web,” by Bret Schulte, assistant professor, journalism department.

9-10:45 a.m.: “Multimedia for Beginners and Others,” presented by Marci Manley, a reporter with KNWA and Robyn Starling-Ledbetter, instructor in the journalism department. The session will cover how to use a flip video camera and produce professional quality audio and video.

11 a.m. – noon: “Toward a Free Press: An Online Journalism Toolkit.” Ozarks Unbound publisher Christopher Spencer will introduce participants to free software and applications for online news reporting and blogging.

Noon to 1 p.m.: Lunch, or an optional hands-on session using the free software that Spencer has discussed.

Chad Lorenz will present for the afternoon sessions. He will discuss tips to improve online writing, search engine optimization and other topics online writers need to know.

For more information, e-mail kshurlds@uark.edu. For directions to the journalism department and advice on where to park, go to the Northwest Arkansas chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists’ website, http://nwaspj.com.