TODAY'S SCHEDULE

SATURDAY, AUG. 23

Breakfast
9:30AM-10:45AM

Breakout Sessions
9:30AM-10:45AM

Breakout Sessions
11:00AM-12:15AM

Lunch Plenary
12:30PM-2:00PM

Breakout Sessions
2:15PM-3:30PM

Closing Session
3:45PM-5:15PM

Authors' Café
3:45PM-5:45PM

Not-So-Silent Auction
6:45PM-8:45PM

View the full schedule here

TODAY'S WEATHER

WHAT IS NLGJA?

Find out more about NLGJA at the official website.

MENTORS

A big thanks to our mentors:

Brett Zongker
The Associated Press

Caroline K. Hauser
The Washington Post

Mark S. Luckie
Entertainment Weekly

Larry M. Shaw
ABC

Dennis M. Powell
ABC

Doug Mitchell
NPR

Convention reflects changes in industry

by Laura Simmons

It felt like any other Tuesday when Zamná Ávila walked into his office last March.

It wasn't.

Ávila entered the building in Long Beach, Calif., as the editor of Clout magazine, a product of the Long Beach Press-Telegram, but left unemployed.

"I understood it as a business decision," he said. "It's sad how many people are getting laid off left and right. What do you do other than network and try to see if somebody knows of somebody?"

Ávila, who's attending the 2008 NLGJA convention, is one of many journalists across the country being affected by layoffs, buyouts and down-sizing.

Deputy executive director NLGJA Thomas Cashman Avila said the convention had no choice but to deal with the industry changes. Branching out of traditional media is one way many people are coping with the challenging job market, he said, and the convention needed to reflect that.

In particular, sessions in the program labeled "New Media" will offer workshops ranging from blogging to Web video. Sessions labeled "Survival Skills" will focus on how to transition into a new career.

"Obviously our goal is not to convince everyone at the convention that they need to move out of the newsroom, but we think it's important to be able to show people that there are options on the table that let you continue to use the skills you developed towards making some kind of change," Avila said. "People are actually going to be able to leave the convention and be able to put these skills into practice."

NLGJA executive director David Barre called the emphasis on dealing with or avoiding layoffs a "natural transition" for this year's convention.

"It's our responsibility to help our members in their careers, and right now it's pretty challenging for folks," he said.

Avila said another new addition will be a financial planning session called "About the Benjamins" to help members prepare for any career changes.

"How do I start preparing now if I know my company is going to cut 50 newsroom jobs in the next month?" he said. "How do I start getting ready or what should I have been doing three months ago to get ready?"

The Tribune Company, which owns multiple newspapers including the Chicago Tribune and the Los Angeles Times, is one of many that have cut jobs.

"I think that the newspaper industry right now is very challenged," Gary Weitman, senior vice president of corporate relations for the Tribune Company, said. "We are going to be printing fewer pages and with fewer pages we need fewer people."

The more you can do as a journalist, the more competitive you'll make yourself, the more attractive you'll make yourself as a potential hire," he said.

With that, for those on the job hunt, Barre said there are actually more recruiters at this year's job fair, 44, compared to 38 last year. The Tribune Company is not on the list.

Barre couldn't explain the increased interest but guessed it might have something to with newsrooms wanting to diversify their staffs.

Zamná Ávila is not sure he'll be able to stay in journalism, but said he's planning on attending the job fair.

"The situation in the industry, with so many people laid off, with much better reporters out there - I'll do whatever I need to, to make a living, but I'll continue to write," he said.

"That's my plan for now."