ONACamp Toronto will provide attendees with practical tips on how to better engage their communities online and on mobile devices with sessions on creating video for web, using analytics to inform editorial decisions, managing breaking news and user-generated content and more.
ONACamps are free intensive digital journalism training sessions from the Online News Association. The ONACamp sessions are tailored specifically to the needs of local journalists, responding to community feedback on which training sessions would be most useful in the area.
ONACamp Toronto Agenda
Please note, the agenda may change in advance of the event. We will be adding more presenters to the program.
9 – 9:30 a.m. Registration and light breakfast
9:30 – 10:30 a.m. Opening Session: The Rise of the Engagement Editor
Annemarie Dooling, Racked
Lindsey Wiebe, Rogers Media
What does an Engagement Editor do? How can editors structure their team, and why do we actually need these people? We’ll spend time exploring what this position actually entails, from content strategy to metrics to UGC and everything between, as well as focusing on specific aspects of the job that short-staffed newsrooms can take on themselves.
10:30 – 11:30 a.m. How not to break the bank with video
Angela Pacienza & Patrick Dell, The Globe and Mail
In an age where newsrooms are watching every penny, how do you make video work? Is it really possible to have a video strategy that doesn’t break the bank? We’ll run through some money-guzzling project examples and how we learned from those experiences to make video work better for us. We’ll also share best video practices from our newsroom, and explain our workflow, from idea to shooting to editing and publishing/promoting.
11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. Targeting social messages by platform
Neil Solanky, NowThis
Social media gives you the unique opportunity to reach your audience where they are. Get tips on what plays well on different platforms and how you can tailor your messaging to resonate with users, based on where they’re seeing your content.
12:30 – 1:30 p.m. Lunch
1:30 – 2:30 p.m. Managing Breaking News and User-Generated Content
Craig Silverman, BuzzFeed Canada
In breaking news situations, journalists often look to witnesses on the scene to provide photos and videos. This session will provide you with tips to verify information on social media and best practices for managing user-generated content.
2:30 – 3:30 p.m. Using Analytics to Inform Editorial Decisions
Kenny Yum, Huffington Post Canada
Find out how you can use metrics to better guide your editorial strategy and get clear insights on how your newsrooms should be measuring successes. This session will dive into what analytics you should be watching to get a powerful picture of what your readers want and how they engage with your content, with a special focus on distributed platforms and video.
3:45 – 4:45 p.m. Google News Lab Research Tools for Journalists
Samaruddin Kassim Stewart, Verified Pixel Project
Get an overview of how Google’s tools can help you research stories, fact-check figures, find what’s trending, and locate and visualize useful datasets. The workshop will highlight: advanced Google Search techniques and refinements, Google Trends, Google Public Data Explorer, Google Earth and more to ensure you’re fully covered on how to fully uncover things.
5 p.m. Closing Remarks from ONA
Thanks to the Gannet Foundation for supporting ONACamps since 2009.