2013 Conference Program and Speaker Bios

Inaugural Convention

Los Angeles, California

Oct. 24 – 27, 2013

PROGRAM

Thursday, Oct. 24

8:30 a.m: Shacharit at Bnai David-Judea

9 – 10 a.m. Registration and submission of contest entries

THURS 10:00 – 10:50 A.M.  Session 1 – choice of 3 workshops

           Basic dos and don’ts of news and feature page design, and how to spice them up. Being able to use the tools in InDesign is only half the layout battle. No matter what page you’re working on, laying out a paper requires some knowledge of design fundamentals — learn the basic dos and don’ts to make your good newspaper great. Rachel Lester

         Freedom of the press in religious high schools: A primer on privacy, libel, censorship, student press shields, Hazelwood, FOIA, FERPA and more — and what to do when you’re not sure what applies. Joseph Lipner

           Can journalism be used to unite the Jewish people? David Suissa

  THURS 11 – 11:50 A.M.   Session 2 – choice of 3 workshops

           Obama, Sex, Murder and Rock ‘n Roll: ‘Can We Use This Picture’ and Other Fulminations about Fair Use for Journalists.

David Nimmer

Interview technique. Ever wondered how to get your subject to talk? Susan will discuss ways to frame your questions and techniques to get the most out of even a very short time for an interview. Susan Freudenheim

                 Photography for Print and Online Journalism: What makes great photos? Looking at lots of examples of student photograph, we’ll talk about photo composition basics and how to use your most important photographer’s tool: your feet! Other topics include photo resolution for print and digital, photo ethics and copyright, as well as best practices for digital photo file management.

Jen Bladen

  12 – 1:30  Lunch – Students on their own on Pico (location of many kosher restaurants)

THURS 1:30 – 2:20 P.M.  Session 3

Swap shop – Students holding similar positions at different schools will compare notes, stories, challenges, success stories, etc., along with their newspapers. Bring plenty of copies to share.

THURS 2:30 – 3:30  Session 4 – choice of 2 workshops

      Having the courage to cover sensitive or controversial news about your own community. Kathleen Neumeyer

     Covering Israel and Jewish Issues in the College Press. As Israel and anti-Zionism become more newsworthy on campus, college papers can help explain the issues, but student journalists covering these topics have been accused of bias and often face conflicting interests. Learn how to write the stories, how to avoid bias and know when to recuse yourself from writing a story. Zev Hurwitz

THURS 3:30 – 4:20 P.M.  Session 5 – choice of 2 workshops

      Principles in Practice: Life as a Religious Journalist at the New York Times. Keeping true to religious traditions and beliefs can be a challenge in the high-pressure culture of a daily newspaper. Jenny Medina, a national correspondent for the Times, will offer candid insights from her experiences working as a reporter for more than a decade. Jennifer Medina

    Inspiring Visuals for Print Newspapers. Starting with the front page and working our way through, we’ll look at what makes newspapers look great. Several professional publications now demand that their writers turn in some visual element – a photo, an infographic, an illustration or other art – with every story. Let’s look a lots of options for your newspaper and how to find or create them yourself. Jen Bladen

THURS  7:00 PM

Keynote Address: 

DANA ERLICH, Director of Public Diplomacy for Israeli Consulate in Los Angeles

will answer prepared questions as well as questions from the students, offering students ideas for

stories about Israeli life, as well as how to contact Israeli officials, how to cover school alumni in the IDF, and more.

This event will take place at the home of the Gill family in Beverlywood.

Friday, Oct. 25

 Friday 9 a.m: Shacharit at Bnai David-Judea

  FRI 9:30 – 10:20 A.M. Session 6 – choice of 2 workshops

       Multimedia journalism: How to find your readers where they are – online – and what to give them there. Kathleen Neumeyer + Harvard-Westlake student panel

     The Torah Section: How to find news in Tanach, Halacha and morning davening. They say nothing’s older than yesterday’s news, but as old as it is, the Torah is new whenever it’s applied to modern life. From shomer negiah to kashrut to the role of women and girls, Judaism always has something to say. Learn how to bring this to life for your readers. Joelle Keene

   FRI 10:20 – 11:20 a.m.  Session 7 – choice of 2 workshops

         PANEL DISCUSSION – What is Jewish journalism? Who is its audience, what are its goals, how is it defined, and do we need to re-define it? 

Featuring Rob Eshman, Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of Los Angeles’ Jewish Journal; Marshall Weiss, president of the American Jewish Press Association and Editor and Publisher, Dayton Jewish Observer; and Jacob Kamaras, Editor-in-Chief, JNS News Service

       Life in a college newsroom: High School journalism is important for getting started, and soon you’re in college where the newsroom is a faster-paced and higher-profile enterprise. With the decline of print newspapers, learn how college print and websites are meeting a changing market, get tips on what college editors are looking for in new writers, and find out how a university’s social and cultural scene affects the paper. Zev Hurwitz

 FR 11:45 a.m. – 12:45 pm: Session 8 – choice of 2 workshops

   Rabbi Kanefsky shiur: Lashon harah vs. lashon harah b’shem toelet  Looking through the lens of Jewish law, an exploration of journalism and the conflicting halachic imperatives of avoiding lashon harah and protecting others from harm, which journalism can often uniquely do.  Prepared in conjunction with Jennifer Medina, New York Times.

   Making it sing – Center spreads are the highlight of any paper, but they usually incorporate so many different design elements that it’s hard to know where to start. This workshop will get you comfortable with designing a double truck that’s just as organized and twice as creative as the rest of your paper. Rachel Lester

FRIDAY EVENING – EREV SHABBAT PROGRAM

Shabbat begins at 5:51 pm Mincha and Kabbalat Shabbat at Bnai David followed by catered dinner and speaker at the synagogue.

KEYNOTE ADDRESS

GARY ROSENBLATT, Editor and Publisher, New York Jewish Week,

will speak about journalism ethics as he’s lived it in New York over the past decades.

SATURDAY Oct. 26

    Shacharit and Musaf at Bnai David

    Lunch at Bnai David followed by discussion of an ethical dilemma led by Joelle Keene

    Afternoon: Free

    Saturday night: Optional city outing – destination TBA

Sunday, Oct. 27

    10 AM: Presentation of awards; Filling out of conference evaluations

    12 noon: Conference adjourns

~~~~

SPEAKERS

Jen Bladen has been a yearbook professional since 1998: first as a high school adviser, then as a sales representative for one of the nation’s largest yearbook publishers and now teaching at Harvard-Westlake School in Los Angeles, Calif. She is also the department head for the Middle School Communications Departmentm which includes speech, debate, journalism and student government.

Dana Erlich, Consul for Public Diplomacy, Consulate of the State of Israel, Los Angeles, assumed her position in August 2012. Most recently, she served in her first diplomatic capacity as Deputy Chief of Mission and Consul at the Israeli Embassy in Costa Rica.

     Ms. Erlich served in the Intelligence Force in the IDF and represented Israel at the Millennium Village in Epcot Center, Disney World, following her release from service. She worked as a project manager at the Consulate General of Israel in New York from 2007 to 2010.

     A native Israeli with Argentinean origins, Ms. Erlich holds a B.F.A degree from Bezalel Art Academy in Jerusalem. In her role as Consul for Public Diplomacy, she is responsible for culture, media, public affairs and economy.

Rob Eshman is Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of TRIBE Media, a niche multimedia company based in Los Angeles that produces The Jewish Journal, Tribe magazine, jewishjournal.com and hollywoodjournal.com.   Both The Jewish Journal and Rob have won numerous local and national awards for writing, design and community leadership. His work has also appeared in the Jerusalem Post, Los Angeles Times and Huffington Post.  

     A frequent commentator on Los Angeles-area radio and television, Mr. Eshman serves on the board of the Media Policy Center and is a founding  board member of the Daniel Pearl Journalism Institute in Herzliya, Israel.

Susan Freudenheim has been executive editor of the Jewish Journal since 2011 and served as managing editor from 2006-2011. She oversees day-to-day management of the newspaper’s editorial staff as well as its online edition, assigning and editing news, features, arts and editorial columnists, and she also occasionally writes columns.

     From 1990 until 2003 she worked as an assigning editor and writer at the Los Angeles Times, most of it as arts editor in The Times’ Calendar Section. She also has written art criticism and freelance articles for the New York Times and many arts and general interest magazines and newspapers.

Zev Hurwitz is a junior at UC San Diego studying Political Science. Currently the Managing Editor of the campus newspaper, The Guardian, Zev has previously written for The Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles and Israel Campus Beat and will intern for U.S. Sen. Dianne Feinstein this winter. He also serves as president of United Jewish Observance at UCSD.

     Zev was Editor-in-Chief of The Boiling Point and www.shalhevetboilingpoint.com for the 2010-11 school year.

Jacob Kamaras is editor of JNS.org, a newswire service providing content to more than 70 Jewish-themed publications. He has worked for AOL’s hyperlocal news venture, Patch.com; The Jewish State, a weekly newspaper in New Jersey; and The Jersey Journal daily newspaper. He also was editor of the student newspaper at Brandeis University.

Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky is rabbi of Bnai David-Judea Congregation in Los Angeles. He was ordained in 1989 at Yeshiva University, from where he also received a Master’s Degree in Jewish History.  Since assuming leadership of Bnai David in 1996, he has helped it emerge as a voice of creativity and innovation within Orthodoxy, and as a vital link between the Orthodox community and the larger Jewish community of Los Angeles. He also has introduced changes in synagogue ritual and leadership intended to enhance the role of women in Orthodox life, and has established social action as a central dimension of the congregation’s activity.

     Rabbi Kanefsky is a frequent contributor to Morethodoxy blog, past president of the Board of Rabbis of Southern California, and a regular contributor to the Jewish Journal of Greater Los Angeles. He also is president of International Rabbinic Fellowship.

Joelle Keene, JSPA’s founding director, teaches music and journalism at Shalhevet High School in Los Angeles, where she advises the school’s nationally award-winning newspaper and website, The Boiling Point and shalhevetboilingpoint.com.

    A graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism, Mrs. Keene worked for the Tacoma News-Tribune, Seattle Times and Los Angeles Herald-Examiner, winning national, state and local awards for education coverage and investigative reporting. She later served as Associate Editor of OLAM Magazine and her work has appeared in the Los Angeles Times, chabad.org, Reform Judaism, and Conversations: The Journal of the Institute for Jewish Ideas and Ideals, among other publications.

Rachel Lester is a sophomore at the University of Southern California. She was Managing Editor of the Shalhevet Boiling Point in 2011-2012, when it won the CSPA Gold Crown Award and was a finalist for the NSPA Pacemaker, both in the large newspaper broadsheet category. She also has won multiple national awards for newspaper and yearbook design.

Joseph M. Lipner is a partner in the Los Angeles office of Irell & Manella LLP, where he is a member of the firm’s intellectual property and litigation groups and chair of the firm’s appellate practice group. He has litigated in the superior and appellate courts of California, federal district courts, the Second, Ninth and Federal Circuit Courts of Appeal, and the United States Supreme Court. He also is the co-author, with his wife Abigail Yasgur, of the children’s book Max Said Yes: The Woodstock Story.

Jennifer Medina is a national correspondent for The New York Times based in Los Angeles, covering Southern California and Nevada. Since joining the bureau in late 2010, Ms. Medina has focused on the uneven economic recovery, immigration, prisons and education. Since joining the Times a decade ago, Ms. Medina has also covered state politics in New York and Connecticut and spent several years writing about New York City public schools.

Kathleen Neumeyer has written hundreds of newspaper and magazine articles as a staff writer for United Press International, a contributing editor of Los Angeles Magazine, and as a freelancer for The Economist, the Los Angeles Times, Emmy Magazine, Ladies’ Home Journal and others. She has taught journalism at California State University Northridge, and has advised the Harvard-Westlake Chronicle for more than 20 years.

   The Columbia Scholastic Press Association has honored Ms. Neumeyer with its Gold Key and she has been named a Dow Jones News Fund Distinguished Adviser.

David Nimmer is of counsel to Irell & Manella LLP in Los Angeles, California and current author of Nimmer on Copyright. His many articles on copyright and developing intellectual property law have been gathered into two anthologies: Copyright Illuminated (2008) and Sacred Text, Technology, and the DMCA (2003). Next year, Oxford University Press will publish his new book (with co-author Neil Netanel), entitled:  From Maimonides To Microsoft: The Jewish Law Of Copyright Since The Birth Of Print.

     Mr. Nimmer has served as a visiting professor at UCLA Law School and Distinguished Scholar at the Berkeley Center for Law and Technology. In 2000, he was elected to the American Law Institute.

Gary Rosenblatt has been editor and publisher of The Jewish Week of New York, the largest Jewish newspaper in America, since the summer of 1993. He has won numerous journalism awards from both the Jewish and secular press for his writing, and was a finalist for a Pulitzer Prize in 1985 — the first time an article in the Jewish media was cited in the competition.

     His series of articles in 2000 on a rabbi accused of abusing teenagers for three decades won several national awards and has been cited as a landmark in Jewish investigative reporting. The rabbi was arrested, convicted and served a prison term.

     Mr. Rosenblatt is also founder and chairman of The Conversation, an annual retreat for American Jewish leaders and emerging leaders; founder of The Jewish Week Investigative Journalism Fund; and founder and chairman of Write On For Israel, an enagaement and educational program for Israel — through journalism — for high school students.

David Suissa is a columnist and president of Tribe Media Corporation, which owns the Jewish Journal, Tribe magazine, Hollywood Journal, JJ Branding and the popular news site Jewishjournal.com. He founded and was CEO of SuissaMiller Advertising, a $300 million marketing firm that was named Agency of the Year by USA Today. He is also the founder and editor of the award-winning OLAM Magazine, which promotes Jewish unity and tikkun olam, and a consultant to numerous nonprofits. A member of the Forward 50, he has published a collection of his columns and is currently working on his second book, titled The Zionist Spring: A Vision of Israel as a Model for the Arab Spring.

Marshall Weiss, President of the American Jewish Press Association, is editor and publisher of The Dayton Jewish Observer, which he founded in 1996. He is the recipient of two first-place awards from the Ohio Society of Professional Journalists and four first-place awards from AJPA, including the first Jacob Rader Marcus Award for Journalistic Excellence in American Jewish History for his 2012 series on Jewish connections to the Titanic. This series was picked up in Jewish newspapers across North America and by The Times of Israel.

     In 2013, Mr. Weiss received honorable mention from the Religion Newswriters Association in its Religion Reporter of the Year Award.  For more than decade, he has hosted Dayton’s The Jewish News Hour for Radio Reading Service, which broadcasts readings of printed publications for the visually impaired.

~~~~~~~~

THE JEWISH SCHOLASTIC PRESS ASSOCIATION

Joelle Keene, Founding Director

Marshall Weiss, AJPA President

Susan Freudenheim, AJPA Conference Liaison

and its sponsors

SHALHEVET HIGH SCHOOL

Rabbi Ari Segal, Head of School

Robyn Lewis, Executive Director . Noam Weissman, Principal

and the

AMERICAN JEWISH PRESS ASSOCIATION

Marshall Weiss, President

and

BNAI DAVID-JUDEA CONGREGATION

Rabbi Yosef Kanefsky . Amram Hassan, Executive Director

gratefully acknowledge

our speakers, who are serving without compensation

and the assistance both intangible and tangible of our friends:

RAIZIE WEISSMAN . LISA NORTON . MOLLY KEENE

THE JEWISH JOURNAL OF GREATER LOS ANGELES

NAOMI DAVIS

THE FISHMAN FAMILY

LARRY AND ANDREA GILL

JEFF & AMY RABIN

THE LEVIN FAMILY FOUNDATION

 without whom this conference would not have been possible. 

Thank you, and may you go from strength to strength.

“The basis of our governments being the opinion of the people, the very first object should be to keep that right; and were it left to me to decide whether we should have a government without newspapers or newspapers without a government, I should not hesitate a moment to prefer the latter.  But I should mean that every man should receive those papers and be capable of reading them.”

-Thomas Jefferson

A cynical, mercenary, demagogic press will produce in time a people as base as itself.”

-Joseph Pulitzer