Notes from Monroe NewsTrain in 2015

This NewsTrain was a one-day workshop on digital journalism and social media Oct. 15-16 in Monroe, La. Three pros presented six hour-or-so talks on ethics, tools and uses of social media. The workshop was made possible by the American Society of Media Editors. Admission cost $75, including all meals, thanks to underwriting.
A friend of David Bailey at Shreveport had prepaid for more people than wound up attending (someone died) and he offered us a slot. I was standing next to Kim when David suggested she pick somebody.
You'll be happy to know that Gavin is too advanced to need to attend a workshop like this.

Daniel Victor

The presenters included:
• Daniel Victor, a New York Times senior staff editor who got out of school in 2006 and came up through several hyperlocal journalism jobs and ProPublica to be NYT's social media editor. He now leads reporting projects. He's lively and fun.
• Manuel Torres, enterprise editor at Nola.com — he focused on the wonders of Excel and data-driven blockbuster stories. Although he had a cold and although his was the last presentation, it was inspiring, and it made me appreciate what Chad Day has been doing for us on cityside. I want to learn to use Excel and make charts.
• Deb Halpern Wenger, a broadcaster turned multimedia instructor and author, who helped write SPJ's Newsroom Training Program. Mostly she showed off a few social camera apps and some gear — similar to what Val showed us back before we tried Arasma ("arasma B draggin"). The catered lunch arrived very late; all the afternoon sessions were time-pinched, and so we didn't do any hands-on with her. But the other track of attendees reportedly got a wingding hands-on.
The coordinator was Linda Austin, who recently returned from a four-month stint in Burma (she says Burma) teaching journalism as a Fulbright teaching fellow. She used to direct the Reynolds center for business journalism at Arizona State.
I'm guesstimating about 50 mostly collegiate people and their teachers came, also a few broadcasters and at least one ruefully, recently jobless copyeditor from El Paso, Texas. Pretty much anyone my age was either a teacher or a local host. That might be inaccurate, but it was my impression. I talked to a few working reporters and listened to several who sounded mighty with-it, but they were a third my age.
The grownups all evaporated as soon as we disbanded, so there was no going out to dinner with merry middle-agers on Friday night. So in addition to learning things I did not know, my bennies were pretty much limited to $5 worth of soba noodles at the Pecanland Mall, the chance to spend six hours listening to NPR in a Ford Focus and two nights in a convenient and not excessively noisy business hotel. I finally got to watch Snow White and the Huntsman with commentary/ads every 10 minutes or so. Score!
I'm writing this now because, over the next week or two, I'll be posting about the tips I remembered to scribble in my notebook, when I wasn't shivering. There is no cold more unexpectedly cold than the cold of a conference room in a Southern city on a sweltering summer day. It's not summer, but forget that and remember this: I bitch because I care. Please at least scan my blog.