CAMP 2017: Learn in-demand skills with tech training

By Marina Villeneuve, JAWS member

What’s your superpower?

A 2016 report by the Tow-Knight Center for Entrepreneurial Journalism found that news organizations count visual storytelling, social media, coding and audience development skills among their most sought after hiring priorities.

That’s along with reporting, writing and editing chops.

This year, the Journalism and Women Symposium’s Conference and Mentoring Project (CAMP) in Hot Springs, Ark. has you covered on all those fronts. Few of us can be a pro at it all, but it’s important to know the basics and gain expertise in one or two areas.

On Saturday, our line-up of tech sessions begins with independent photojournalist Hilary Sloane’s session on the cost-effective, highly sought-after skill of mobile photojournalism. Sloane will share how much you need to know to take good photos, how to organize, process and upload photos and how to use photo transfer apps. Her session will also cover magazine and newspaper requirements for photos, and how to size, send and show your work.

Then, we’re offering back-to-back sessions on social media and social video with CNN’s Renee Ernst and Tiara Chiaramonte.

Renee will lead a session that delves into the “day in the life” of a social media producer at CNN, with a focus on breaking down how to break news on social media platforms like Facebook and Twitter. She’ll share how major media companies handle both enterprise and breaking news situations, along with tools used to optimize and efficiently handle multiple accounts.

Tiara’s session will offer attendees a look at the techniques that make videos go viral on social media, along with tips for solo video production.

On Sunday, we kick off with an introduction to Google Tools led by Amy Wu of The Salinas Californian. She’ll breeze through how Google’s tools can help you find what’s trending and locate and visualize useful data sets for media and publishing. The workshop will highlight advanced Google Search techniques and refinements, Google Public Data Explorer, Google Maps and more.

Then, the ladies of the American Press Institute will offer Analytics 101, which explains the basics of metrics in your newsroom or as a freelancer or blogger. It will cover everything from Google analytics to Twitter stats to Facebook page reports—and bigger systems like Chartbeat. The session will discuss how to use them, what they mean and don’t mean, and what to do about your metrics once you understand them.