Published on January 25, 2010
Speakers, seminars
top agenda in Reno
The eigthth annual NATJA conference, scheduled for Reno in May, will provide a forum for both travel journalists and destination marketing organizations (DMOs) to exchange ideas and information.
This year’s annual meeting will give both sides a chance to “Win Big in Reno,” known as The Biggest Little City in the World.
The 2010 conference, to be held at the Atlantis Casino Spa Resort, will feature professional development seminars in the morning, local sightseeing in the afternoon, and social networking each evening. That was the format followed in all seven previous conventions.
Helen Hernandez, NATJA’s CEO, said both travel journalists and DMOs will find plenty of material to mine in the Sierra Nevada setting.
“The conference will focus on professional development panels that address winning big through getting promoted, getting published, and getting paid,” she said. “For travel professionals, we’ll provide workshops on successful social media compaigns, how to attract the right writers, measuring the value of public relations and marketing, plus our popular marketplace.”
She said the organization is thrilled to be coming to the Reno/Tahoe area – the first western venue chosen by NATJA for its conference – and to share its beauty with both members and guests.
The conference begins with an opening night dinner on Tuesday, May 11, ends with a farewell dinner on Thursday, May 13, and features a travel media marketplace and a half-dozen prominent speakers of interest to both writers and publicists.
The list includes Peter C. Yesawich, chairman and CEO of the Orlando-based Ypartnership, known worldwide for its leadership in predicting travel trends; Jeffrey Lehman, Emmy-winning host of Weekend Explorer on PBS; guidebook writer Christopher P. Baker, winner of the 2008 Lowell Thomas Travel Journalist of the Year award; writer/photographer Lee Foster, who will address the new concept of travel apps; and award-winning travel journalist Peter Rose, a writer, editor, lecturer, college professor, and long-time NATJA member.
Workshops are scheduled for both travel journalists and DMOs. Because some seminars overlap, conference participants will have to decide which to attend.
Special panels for organization members (CVBs, PR firms, DMOs, and other suppliers) will include Successful Use of Social Media, Measuring the Value of PR and Marketing, and Successful E-Press Kits, Media Trips, and Choosing Qualified Writers.
For media members, the theme is “Get published. Get promoted. Get paid.” Panels pertaining to those themes will include:
1. Making Money with New Media: E-pubs, Apps, and Web Video
2. Blogging and Social Networking: Build Your Brand, Grow Your Audience
3. The Big Payback: Using the New NATJA Web Tools to Build Your Business
4. Integrating Photography and Video to Triple the Value of Your Submission
5. Specialty Publishing: What is Out There and How to Submit
6. Editor’s Pitch Slam: Tips and Trials
All panels are open to all conference participants.
Details of pre and post-conference FAMs are still pending.
Previous NATJA conferences have been held in Newport, RI; Chicago; Santa Fe; Stowe, VT; Little Rock, AR; Oklahoma City; and Cleveland.
For further information, see www.natja.org, e.mail helen@natja.org, or call 626-376-9754.
