TENTATIVE PROGRAM (SUBJECT TO CHANGE)
(Application details)
JUNE 23
10 a.m. top 6:30 p.m. – Conference Registration
12:30 p.m. — Depart for Pentagon
1:30-5 p.m. – Pentagon Tour and Briefings
6:30 p.m. -8 p.m. – Reception and Discussion of the New Military Approach Toward Stability Operations (at hotel)
Hotel — Morrison Clark Inn, 1015 L St. NW
JUNE 24
8 am – Continental Breakfast
8:30 am – Welcome
8:45 am – 10:15 am — When the War Comes Home: Finding Stories about Wounded Warriors, Veterans and Their Families
10:30 am – 11:15 am –FOIA and DOD — Tips for Effective FOIA Requests
11:15 a.m. – noon — DOD Contractors — A Gold Mine for Stories
12:15-1:15 p.m. LUNCH AND KEYNOTE SPEAKER
1:30 – 2:45 pm — Reporting on National Security Law
3 –4 pm — The Role of Cyber Command and the U.S. Cyber Warfare Strategy
4 pm – CONCLUSION
OPTIONAL DAY
Note: This is a separate program by IRE-NICAR and by the National Security Journalism Initiative. Additional hotel accommodations are not included. There is a $50 registration fee.
June 25
National Security Watchdog Workshop
9 am – 3 pm
At Medill News Service
1325 G St. NW
$50 registration fee
To register, please e-mail Josh Meyer.
Planned sessions include:
- Hands-on training in Excel. Learn to build your own spreadsheet from paper records. Learn basic but powerful functions including putting information in order, filtering out just what you need from a national or statewide data set, and doing math calculations such as change and percent change with large data sets. National security data will be used in the training, focusing on U.S. government weapons sales to foreign countries.
- Effective use of the Internet: What reporters and editors need to know. From better search techniques to the invisible Web, how to find documents and databases on deadline on the national security front and where to find reliable Web sites for enterprise stories. The craft of better searching and not wasting time. Handling issues of credibility and ethics online.
- National security data and documents. Move beyond anecdotes and he-said, she-said journalism with data and documents. Advice on developing a documents state of mind, navigating public records, using new technologies, exploring key records on a variety of related topics, and becoming familiar with key data sets to produce high-impact stories.
