Information Needs of Communities in a Democracy

March 1, 2010

10 a.m. – Welcome

• Alberto Ibargüen – President and CEO, John S. and James L. Knight Foundation

10:15 a.m. – 11:45 a.m.

Plenary Session: The Changing Media Ecosystem

• Speakers: Eric Newton, Vice President/Journalism – Knight Foundation

• Terry Mazany, President and CEO, The Chicago Community Trust

11:45 a.m. – Noon - BREAK

Noon: Luncheon

• Introduction: Paul Grogan, CEO, The Boston Foundation

• Featured Speaker: Bob Schieffer, Chief Washington Correspondent, CBS News

BREAK – 1:30 – 1:45 p.m.

1:45 - 3:30 p.m. Breakout Sessions – First Round

BREAKOUT SESSIONS:

1. New models for professional journalism:  Day 1 Report | Day 2 Report

Explore how journalism professionals are providing community news through non-profit news organizations and other new structures going beyond traditional media of daily newspapers and local broadcasting.

• Facilitator: Anders Gyllenhaal, Executive Editor, The Miami Herald

2. Citizen and volunteer journalism  Day 1 Report | Day 2 Report

Learn how community residents are taking journalism into their own hands by starting web sites, blogs and other new forms of digital media.

• Facilitator: Susan Mernit, Consultant/Entrepreneur

3. Universal digital access: building the new public square  Day 1 Report | Day 2 Report

Provide access and engage your community members in open debates and discussions around important local issues. Explore how to ensure that all segments of the community are included and comfortable with new tools for community conversations.

• Facilitator: Kim Marcille Romaner, Founder, Possibilities Amplified, Inc.

4. Government web sites, libraries and other nonprofit hubs  Day 1 Report | Day 2 Report

Develop partnerships with local institutions that already are information providers but simply aren’t engaging enough people to have real impact.

• Facilitator: Jerry Wareham, President & CEO WVIZ/PBS & 90.3 WCPN ideastream

5. Information as a catalyst for action  Day 1 Report | Day 2 Report

Go beyond the information itself to see how and why people and communities engage with it to accomplish things.

• Facilitator: Carolyn Lukensmeyer, Founder and President, AmericaSpeaks

6. Mapping and understanding your community’s media ecosystem  Day 1 Report | Day 2 Report

Do you really know what you need to know to start new media projects in your community? Here’s a tour of the many different “media plants and animals” that make up a news ecosystem.

• Facilitator: Esther Thorson, University of Missouri School of Journalism

7. News literacy, media literacy, digital literacy, civic literacy  Day 1 Report | Day 2 Report

How improvements in education and training are at the heart of increasing public demand for both excellent journalism and civic engagement.

• Facilitator: Diana Mitsu Klos, Sr. Project Director, American Society of News Editors

8. Broadening your pool of donors and ideas to include the information arena  Day 1 Report | Day 2 Report

Using masterful sales tools and techniques learn how to expand your organization’s potential in the information arena.

• Facilitator: Dirk Beveridge, President, 4thGeneration Systems

BREAK – 3:30 – 3:45 p.m.

3:45 – 5:30 p.m. Plenary Session

“Staying Current and on Top of the Future”

• Moderator: Gary Kebbel, Journalism Program Director, Knight Foundation

• Speaker: Warren Webster, President of Patch Media

• Speaker: Amy Webb, Webbmedia Group

BREAK – 5:30- 6:30 p.m.

6:30 – 9:00 p.m. RECEPTION & DINNER

Dinner Panel: “Gaming for Engagement”

• Moderator: Trabian Shorters, Vice President, Communities, Knight Foundation

• Speakers: Jenna Dorn, CEO -National Academy of Public Administration

• Frank Lantz, Co-Founder -Area/Code

• Colleen Macklin, Associate Professor and Director – PETLab at Parsons, the New School for Design

March 2, 2010

Breakfast 7:30 - 8:30 a.m.

8:30 – 10:00 a.m. – Plenary Session

Developing Strength: Doing Something in Your Community

• Moderator: Steve Gunderson, President and CEO – Council on Foundations

• Speakers: Josie Heath, President, Community Foundation Serving Boulder County

• Leslie Lilly, President and CEO, Community Foundation for Palm Beach and Martin County

• JoAnn Turnquist, President, Central Carolina Community Foundation

• Mayur Patel, Director, Strategic Assessment and Impact, Knight Foundation

BREAK – 10:00 – 10:15 a.m.

10:15 – Noon BREAKOUT SESSIONS – 2nd Round

BREAK Noon – 12:15 p.m.

12:15 – 2:00 p.m. Closing Remarks

• Alberto Ibargüen