Gather at the River

Terry Anderson and creativity whiz Doug Hall the headline speakers at Cincinnati's Mega-Regional SPJ Conference

Former journalist Terry Anderson (R, with Cincinnati journalists Cliff Peale and Jeff Tindall), who endured seven years of captivity in the Middle East, is the opening night keynote speaker, while Doug Hall, whose book Jump Start Your Brain was a best-seller, will lead a luncheon program on infusing creativity into your work.

Other program highlights include:

· Panel discussions on writing for the Web, featuring Wired and MTV Online columnist David Pescovitz and Gil Kaufman (Sonic.Net)

· Investigative journalism in the wake of Chiquita, with SPJ National First Amendment attorney David Marburger

· New media horizons, focusing on Scripps Howard's successes with HGTV

· How regional editorial cartoonists have covered President Clinton's impeachment travails

· Freelancing opportunities in print and on the Internet

· Feature writing vs. news writing, with former Writer's Digest Editor Tom Clark, who will provide personalized writing critiques for interested attendees.

The conference, co-hosted by the Cincinnati and Lexington SPJ chapters, serves as the annual convention for both Region 4 (Ohio, Michigan, West Virginia and western Pennsylvania) and Region 5 (Kentucky, Indiana and Illinois). The two chapters collaborated on a similar conference in 1994.

Programs will be held on Friday from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m., followed by a cocktail reception and dinner (with Anderson as the keynote speaker). Programs continue Saturday from 9 a.m. to noon, followed by lunch and Hall's creativity session. The conference continues with programs from 2:30 to 4 p.m. and finishes with the two regions' Mark of Excellence student awards.

The 1999 Mega-Regional Conference will be held at the Riverview Hotel (formerly the Quality Inn) just off I-75 near the Covington riverfront. Registration fees for "early bird signups" are $65 for SPJ members, $55 for students and $80 for non-SPJ attendees - with March 15 as the "early bird" deadline.

Registration fees after March 15 and on-site are $85 for SPJ members, $75 for students and $100 for non-SPJ attendees.

Registration brochures are being mailed to approximately 3,000 SPJ members throughout the regions' seven states. If you have not received a brochure by the second week of February - or if you have questions - please email Registration Chair Sacha DeVroomen at sachadev@aol.com.

The Riverview Hotel is offering conference attendees a special rate of $85 for rooms, regardless of single, double, triple or quad occupancy. Please call the hotel toll-free at 800-292-2079 to make reservations (refer to group # 4211).

Keep an eye on the Cincinnati Chapter's Web site for updates on speakers and programs.

Sponsors are Cincinnati Bell Long-Distance, Scripps-Howard Foundation, and The Lexington Herald-Leader.

DATES for local contest: Feb 26, 5 pm. Entries can be dropped off or mailed to Tim Bonfield (tbonfield@cincinnati-spj.org) at the Enquirer. Awards for calendar year 1998. For brochure contact Tim.