ROOM: GRAND B

Session-Digital/Social Media

Twitter: Building your audience one tweet at a time

Instagram. Reddit. Snapchat. So many social media channels have started up since Twitter, yet this platform dominates, especially among news lovers. In this session, Nina Nolan Rouse will look at where this platform has been, where it is now, and what we’ve learned about tweeting along the way. If you’re looking to connect with your audience in ways that they will engage your content more, you will want to be sure to sit in on this session from a seasoned, veteran social media professional.

Nina Nolan Rouse is in her tenth year with the Office of Communications at St. Norbert College in De Pere, WI, and is currently the senior web and social media specialist. In her role, Nina is primarily responsible for developing the web content strategy and architecture for the college web properties. She works with departments and units across the college to develop their web content and provides the general oversight and on-going maintenance of web properties to ensure the adherence to brand standards.

Nina provides the strategic direction and management of all college social media initiatives, including institutional presences on Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, Instagram, Flickr, LinkedIn and YouTube. She is responsible for the general oversight of all campus social media presences and for the guidance and best practice training of campus departments using social media.

Her social media efforts for the college have garnered both regional and national recognition for St. Norbert College.

ROOM: GRAND B

Session-Digital/Social Media

Using Photos on Social Media to Engage your Audience: Social Media Journalism with a Smart Phone

From news to portraits, still lifes to videos images are the first thing our readers are drawn to in print or on a smartphone.
With social media having the potential to reach new readers and engage them to out content we need to be sure our images are powerful and persuasive.

We will use our phones and apps to learn about:
–       Planning our photos to tell a story or capture a scene
–       Mobile photo composition
–       Using photos to drive traffic
–       Choosing the right platform for the message
–       Managing our captions, hashtags and links
–       Tips for improving our images
–       Other apps we should try

Maximizing storage and battery life

In 1993, Matt left The Tablet to work for a Catholic school in the Archdiocese of Newark, NJ, managing their marketing, development and business operations.

Matt joined Catholic New York, newspaper of the Archdiocese of New York, in 2006 as Advertising and Business Manager and took an active role in the Catholic Press Association. Matt is the 2017 St. Frances de Sales award recipient.

From working with advertising clients and marketing circulation and to developing student enrollment and fund-raising Matt has specialized in growing revenue while building a professional image for Catholic organizations.

Matt has used his photography to capture everyday moments and tell stories. Bringing this experience to social media platforms is another opportunity to share our faith through evangelization.

ROOM: GRAND A

Session-Parish School

Parish/School Communicators Roundtable

This participant-driven session is a valuable opportunity to share ideas and best practices, discuss the joys and challenges of your day-to-day ministry, and network with fellow parish communicators from around the U.S. and Canada.

Joe Towalski is the director of communications for the Diocese of St. Cloud, Minn., and editor of its biweekly newspaper, The Visitor. Joe has won individual Catholic press awards for editorial, news and feature writing. He began working in his current position in St. Cloud in 2014 and is focused on strategic projects to bolster the diocese’s communications outreach via its print, web and social media resources. The newspaper garnered a second place CPA award for general excellence in 2015.

Joe has served on the Catholic Press Association board of directors as the Midwest regional representative since 2012 and is currently serving a two-year term as the association’s president.

ROOM: GRAND F

Session-Editorial

The Screen Generation: Understanding an Audience That’s Plugged in but Disconnected

The session will review the research that helps editors to better understand their Catholic audience , especially the younger generation.

Dr. Bill Thorn began his journalism career in Minneapolis as a reporter and editor, where he earned is PhD before becoming  a professor and chairman in the Department of Journalism at Marquette University.  In addition to teaching as a visiting professor in Rome at the Gregorian University and Salesian University, he serves as a member of the board of the communications apostolate of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee.  In 2016 he spoke to the World Congress of Families in Budapest on the role of media in contemporary families, one of his research and teaching  interests.  His most recent book was Dorothy Day and the Catholic Worker Movement.  He and his wife, Vicki have 6 children and 11 grandchildren.

ROOM: GRAND H

Session-Communication

Making the Most of Media Buys

As with any marketing focus, media planning and buying begins with a RACE from start to finish: research, action, communication and evaluation. We’ll explore practical tips on how to achieve success: identifying your target market; exploring the types of media; evaluating media benefits and features; purchasing/negotiating your media buy; and evaluating the results.

Pat Szpekowski, APR, is president of PR Strategies & Communications, a full service advertising agency and public relations firm, in Elgin, IL, which she founded in 1987. She is an author and award-winning writer, who has won first place recognitions from the National Federation of Press Women, Illinois Woman’s Press Association, Northern Illinois Newspaper Association, and the Catholic Press Association.  She is also a freelance writer/correspondent for The Observer, the weekly newspaper of the Diocese of Rockford, IL.

Pat is an accredited public relations professional (APR) member of the Public Relations Society of America (PRSA) and former president of the Suburban Chicagoland Chapter PRSA. She has received numerous awards including: Lifetime Achievement Award from the Suburban Chicagoland Chapter PRSA; Sam Walton Business Leader Award; Chamber Business of the Year; and the Elgin IL Area YWCA Marguerite Henry Award for Communications. She is board chair of Presence Saint Joseph Hospital Elgin and a board member of the Northern Illinois Newspaper Association, Northern Kane County Chamber of Commerce and Summit School.

ROOM: GRAND G

Session-Business

Campaigns for Increasing Circulation

Want new subscribers? Need to broaden your advertising base? Looking to evangelize and make your newspaper more relevant? Then look no further because this workshop is for you!

Discover how the editorial and marketing teams at The Michigan Catholic joined forces to accomplish these things and more.

Learn the techniques, which helped us launch: #liveyourbestlent, The Michigan Catholic in Schools, Unleash the Gospel, The Sistine Chapel Choir Ticket Contest and the beatification Mass of Blessed Solanus Casey campaigns….which increased subscriptions and donations while evangelizing our readers.

You’ll walk away with ideas which you can easily translate into your own success. In fact, we created The Michigan Catholic in Schools program in part from what we learned from a workshop at the 2017 Catholic Media Conference in Quebec City and it brought in $30k from the Archdiocesan office of schools and more subscribers and ad revenue.

Join us as we share the concepts we used to create successful campaigns by the opening windows of opportunity in Detroit. We know we can help you learn to do the same in your city!

Michelle St. Pierre is a multimedia professional who has more than 30 years of communication experience.   She is a former ABC Radio Network journalist, where she worked with famed sportscaster Howard Cosell and covered four Olympics for the network.   St. Pierre has freelanced with USA Today and has produced local radio and TV newscasts as well as features on EWTN and Ave Maria Radio.  She specializes in media training and is a frequent guest on media programs in the Detroit market.   Her most recent work history has been in leading non-profits to achieve success in fund raising and brand awareness through award winning integrated marketing campaigns.  She has lead marketing teams at The Salvation Army, St. Vincent de Paul and The Michigan Catholic newspaper, where she currently works as head of marketing.

Mike Stechschulte is managing editor of The Michigan Catholic newspaper, the official publication of the Archdiocese of Detroit, a position he’s held since 2012. His work has also appeared in the Times Herald newspaper of Port Huron, Mich., the Knights of Columbus’ Columbia magazine and The Chesterton Review, a quarterly journal of the G.K. Chesterton Institute for Faith & Culture. In his spare time, Mike enjoys playing ice hockey, golf and spending time with his wife, Christine.

ROOM: RIVERVIEW 2

Movie Panel Discussion

Courageous Conversations: A SIGNIS North America presentation

A panel of video, film, and journalism practitioners presents examples of the way media have been used productively to facilitate discussions of subjects that can require courage to address in today’s religious and political environment, with emphasis on the international dimensions.

Fr. Edward (Eddie) Siebert, S.J. is founder and president of Loyola Productions, Inc. in Los Angeles, CA. Siebert’s extensive experience both in secular and Catholic circles includes everything from newsroom stints at WDIV NBC Detroit, WWL CBS New Orleans, to chronicling Pope Francis in Rome, Philadelphia, and Washington, DC. Siebert received an MFA in film production from Loyola Marymount University (LMU), and Masters Degrees from USF and the Jesuit School of Theology at Berkeley. He is a member of the Producers Guild of America and is on the part-time faculty for the school of film and television at LMU.