*Times and dates are subject to change
7:30–8:30 a.m.
Breakfast in the Town Square
8:30 a.m.
GENERAL SESSION (Stemmons Ballroom)
And, the Winner is ... Mega-Innovation Award
The two finalists for this year's Mega-Innovation Award will talk about their entries and how your organization can learn and benefit from their innovations. Award to be announced by Jason Taylor, president, Ventures, Gannett Media
FINALIST: Honolulu Star-Advertiser / Oahu Publications, Inc.
Entry presented by Aaron J. Kotarek, senior vice president, audience and operations
FINALIST: Richner Communications
Entry presented by Zachary Richner, director, and Stuart Richner, CEO
9:00 a.m.
Modernize Your Recruiting to Deliver Top Talent
Noted recruitment expert Julian Placino will lead this session on how newspapers can get creative and ignite their recruitment culture now. In a competitive job market, it’s critical for newspapers to modernize how they recruit employees by focusing on people first (the who) and then focus on what they’re trying to accomplish. You’ll leave this session with a practical and actionable roadmap on how to energize your recruitment efforts.
9:45 a.m.
Coffee break in the Town Square
10:15-11:00 a.m.
Concurrent sessions
Buy or sell. What is your newspaper worth? (Stemmons Ballroom)
Mike Blinder, publisher of Editor & Publisher Magazine, will host a panel of some of the industry’s most respected media brokers who will offer the latest insights into the current buy/sell environment. With Sara April, partner at Dirks, Van Essen & April, and John Thomas Cribb, director of Cribb, Cope & Potts
WHAT YOU CAN LEARN FROM FT STRATEGIES AND THE GNI SUBSCRIPTIONS LAB (Carpenter Ballroom)
Join Daisy Donald, principal at FT Strategies, to learn about the North Star Framework, the methodology the Financial Times uses to set ambitious goals and achieve them. Gain first-hand insight into how their clients, publishers like you, have implemented this framework and started their transformation journey.
Following her presentation, we will hear from the Google News Initiative participants of America’s Newspapers on how they utilized the North Star Framework and their success stories as part of the digital subscriptions lab.
11:00 a.m.
Break to change sessions
11:15 a.m. - 12:15 p.m.
Digital Transformation Strategies to Future-Proof Your Business Model (Stemmons Ballroom)
Digital engagement experts discuss strategies, tactics and philosophies that yield tangible results. Case studies and proof of concepts will be explored that detail how to increase digital audiences, revenue, retention levels and overall engagement and identify key performance indicators to scrutinize potential barriers to success.
Panelists:
Pete Doucette, senior managing director, strategy, Mather Economics
Conan Gallaty, president and CEO, Tampa Bay Times
Lon Haenel, vice president, chief client officer, Newspapers Subscription Services
Andy Pennington, publisher, Anchorage Daily News
Jonas Rideout, senior vice president, solutions engineering, Piano
Moderator: Aaron Kotarek, senior vice president, audience and operations, Oahu Publications, Inc.
12:15-1:15 p.m.
Lunch in the Town Square
Sponsored by A Marketing Resource - AMR
1:15–2:30 p.m.
Idea Exchange Roundtables (Stemmons Ballroom)
Exchange ideas directly with other attendees and come away with as many ideas as possible.
Tables/Topics include:
2:30–3:00 p.m.
Advocating for Newspapers
Learn about the latest advocacy efforts to protect local journalism, what the future holds for legislation and how publishers can get involved to help protect local journalism.
Dean Ridings, CEO, America’s Newspapers
Danielle Coffey, executive vice president and general counsel, News/Media Alliance
3:00–3:30 p.m.
Refreshment break in the Town Square
3:30 p.m.
Buses depart for The Dallas Morning News
Meet at the hotel’s Grand Entrance off the Grand Atrium
4:00–5:30 p.m.
Dallas Morning News Sessions:
Reenergizing Your Newsroom to Reach New Readers with Audience-Focused Data
Katrice Hardy, executive editor, The Dallas Morning News
Pete Doucette, senior managing director, strategy, Mather Economics
Unlocking Revenue Through Cause Marketing
Gillian Breidenbach, partner + chief community officer, Medium Giant
5:30-6:30 p.m.
Closing Mega Reception hosted by The Dallas Morning News
6:30 p.m.
Conference Adjourns
Dinner on your own in Downtown Dallas!
