ROOM: GRAND F

Session-Editorial Panel

Best Practices for Writing Editorials

It seems that fewer Catholic newspapers are publishing editorials on a regular basis. Why is this happening? Why should Catholic newspapers consider publishing editorials on local and national/international issues? How do editors determine topics to consider? On this panel, editors who have won Catholic Press Awards for editorial writing will talk about why they write editorials and how they decide what their editorials will address. We will show copies of some award-winning editorials and talk about why these pieces are good examples of editorial writing. We will encourage discussion among the session attendees about editorial writing and how to encourage it in the Catholic press.

Patricia Kasten is currently associate editor of The Compass in Green Bay, Wis.  She has been writing for The Compass since 1985. She won her first CPA editorial award in 1997 and has won over 10 awards since then.

She has authored four books – on the Rosary, on how saints become saints in the Church, and on the Magi, as well as a co-authored puzzle book. She is also the author of “Scripture Search” and “Cross Word” puzzles, which are printed in several Catholic papers and many parish bulletins around the country.

Mike Krokos has been editor of The Criterion, the award-winning newspaper of the Archdiocese of Indianapolis, since 2006. During that time, he has been honored with a number of best editorial writing awards.

His experience with the Catholic Press Association goes back 22 years. He began his career in the Catholic press as editor of The Catholic News & Herald, newspaper of the Diocese of Charlotte and then was editor of The Catholic Spirit, newspaper of the Archdiocese of St. Paul Minneapolis.

He is a former member of the Catholic Press Association’s board of directors and also served as the chairman of the Catholic Press Association’s Awards Committee.

He is a graduate of Indiana University in Bloomington with a Bachelor of Arts degree in journalism and minor in Spanish.

He is married and has two children.

Mary Uhler has been editor of the Catholic Herald-Diocese of Madison in Wisconsin since 1986. She joined the diocesan newspaper’s staff in 1973 and was the news editor and associate editor before assuming the position of editor. The Madison paper is part of the Wisconsin Catholic Media Apostolate, which also publishes diocesan newspapers in Milwaukee and Superior.

During her years at the Catholic Herald, Mary has won numerous awards from the Catholic Press Association, including awards for editorials she has written on local and national/international issues. She is especially proud of earning several General Excellence awards for the paper. She has been involved in a number of CPA committees over the years, including serving on the CPA-CNS Liaison Committee, Awards Committee, External Communications Committee, Bylaws Committee, and the CPA National Planning Committee.

She received the Cross Pro Ecclesia et Pontifice from St. John Paul II and is a member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre of Jerusalem. Catholic Charities of the Diocese of Madison presented her with a Leadership Award in 2015 for her involvement in church and community activities.

She holds a master’s degree in English from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. She is married and has two children and three grandchildren.

ROOM: GRAND G

Session-Business

Managing An Ad Department

Sales Representatives – what do I do with these people?

Tim Mayer will present a workshop for non-sales managers who have to manage sales people. The session will provide the nuts and bolts of hiring and developing a winning sales representative.

As a thirty-year veteran of niche media and radio advertising, I understand the need to keep things simple and under budget. During my 22 years with The Catholic Telegraph, I have served as a sales representative, Sales Manager and Interim-Business Manager.  I was tasked with the transition from a weekly to a monthly publication, without losing sight of The Catholic Telegraph’s mission, while sustaining advertising revenue. In addition to my responsibilities at the paper, I further serve the Archdiocese as the Committee Chair for the Lay Employee Pension Plan.

As a member of the Catholic Press Association, I served as a Catholic Advertising Network board member 2004-2010 and as Chair 2008-2010.  I have attended many of the national and regional conferences and presented on a variety topics important to my Catholic press colleagues. I am always willing to share my experience and counsel with others in the Catholic press.

ROOM: GRAND H

Session-Communication

Pitch Perfect

Our daily media consumption is shaped by disappearing Snaps, visually captivating Instagram posts, and Facebook feeds that are endless. Fortunately, a significant portion of conversation still involves storytelling and everyone has a story to share. The same holds true for businesses. Every business has a story to tell but not all have 24/7/365 resources in place, ready to best tell their story to the media. Yet demand for stories exist. TV stations are adding more and more shows which mean they need more and more content to fill those shows. Newspapers don’t have the resources they once did. How can you assist them in getting your story told? This is where you come in, especially if you don’t have a PR staff at your place of business. How can this gap in story supply and demand best be filled? Mike Counter, director of media relations at St. Norbert College, will explain how to get the media’s attention by making the “perfect pitch.” Learn how to how to contribute to your company’s storytelling. Learn how to leverage the media by getting your business’s story out to the general public. As Mike will explain, working with local, regional and national media is a partnership that can provide immeasurable gains.

Mike Counter joined St. Norbert College in 2003. As director of media relations, his responsibilities include local, state and national media relations, helping to share stories about St. Norbert College students, faculty, staff and alumni.

Mike also manages the multimedia projects for the college including videos that showcase the talents of students, faculty and staff at St. Norbert.

Also, Mike is teaching a media course in the Master of Business Administration program through the Donald J. Schneider School of Business and Economics at St. Norbert.

Before joining St. Norbert College’s communications team, Mike spent 21 years in both television and radio broadcasting. Mike has his bachelor’s degree in communications from the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay and a master’s of arts in liberal studies (M.L.S.) degree from St. Norbert College.

ROOM: GRAND C

Session-Design

Modern Composition and Design of Advertising – Print and Digital Platforms

This session will cover creative advertising design for print and web media from start to finish!

This will include, but not be limited to:

• Setting-up presets for ad sizes in InDesign
• Understanding resolution of images for print and web
• Photo adjustment for quality b/w and color print
• Composing eye catching designs with provided materials and stock images
• Optimizing ad images for web
• Preparing print pages for press from editorial to plate!
  • Ad placement on pages
  • Set-up actions for print-ready images and photos in Photoshop

Sue Simoens is a freelance graphic artist serving The Compass, official newspaper for the Diocese of Green Bay and many other clients throughout Northeast WI. She has over 35 years of experience and is an independent owner of a graphic design and photography business specializing in print advertising and web graphics.

For over 13 years, she has been a part-time graphic design instructor of Adobe Photoshop, Illustrator and InDesign classes at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College. Sue provides corporations in the Green Bay area with graphics or Adobe software training and consulting. She also teaches art at Sacred Heart Catholic Elementary School in Shawano, Wis., where she enjoys working with preschool through eighth grade students.

Sue is a published artist and photographer. She is married with 2 children.

ROOM: GRAND B

Session-Digital/Social Media

Using Analytics to Support Content Evangelization

Behind most digital content is a wellspring of information that can enlighten us about how effective our content is, how people used it, what people want to learn more about, and how people use technology. Most organizations, however, spend an overwhelming amount of their time creating and distributing content, but very little time analyzing it. Whether through Google Analytics, Facebook Insights, third-party monitoring tools, or a diocesan communications survey, there are options to learn more about those we serve (and those that we need to serve). Metrics and data can serve as a major component of a content plan and should inform the future of Catholic communications.

Billy Atwell

In August 2017, Billy joined the Catholic Diocese of Arlington as Chief Communications Officer. In this role, he serves as spokesman for Bishop Michael F. Burbidge and the Diocese, and oversees both the Office of Communications—which manages the diocesan website, social media, media relations, internal communications, and podcast and video production—and the Arlington Catholic Herald newspaper.

After graduating from East Carolina University with undergraduate degrees in political science and philosophy, Billy worked in Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia as a public policy advisor and communications manager. From there, he served as Director of Communications for the Diocese of Venice and then as the Director of Communications for Bishop Burbidge in the Diocese of Raleigh from 2014-2017. While in Raleigh, he chaired the Communications Committee for the Holy Name of Jesus Cathedral construction project, overseeing the marketing and communications of the project and the design and construction of the audio, AV, IT, telecom, and security systems.

ROOM: GRAND D

Session-General Interest

Drones for Photography and Videography, An Overview

They’ve become a very commonplace topic of discussion in our culture, our homes, workplaces and social networks. The news is frequently covering some story, positive and negative, about this technology that has captured our attention and fascination. Drones are here, and can be very useful with some practice and understanding of how the technology works. In this session, we will look at the basics of drone law and how it has changed over the last few years, who some of the major manufacturers are and what products they offer, and how these products are being used across industries, especially in journalism for photography and videography.

Brandon Mueller has spent his career primarily in video production, producing a wide range of content across many industries. Ever the student of technology, especially as it relates to cameras, the idea of putting a camera in the air in spots previously inaccessible caused an immediate curiosity, and thus started his fascination with drones. Brandon teaches Digital Media Technology, as well as leads the Drone Certificate program at Northeast Wisconsin Technical College in Green Bay, WI. He also produces corporate video content, with or without drones, through his business, Shoot. Edit. Deliver.