RIT to host journalism conference Jan. 29

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Former USA Today publisher and CEO David Hunke is among the list of high-profile speakers scheduled for RIT’s journalism conference on Jan. 29.

Anyone involved in the world of journalism today knows that there has been a shift in the way organizations present their news—and a change in the way consumers digest their news. Experts say that social media, digitalized platforms and an overall feeling of apathy toward news outlets have all played significant roles in changing the media landscape.

Rochester Institute of Technology hopes to shed light on the future of journalism during the conference, “What’s Next? Journalism’s Leading Questions: The Future of Collaboration and Innovation,” 8:30 a.m.–5 p.m. Tuesday, Jan. 29, in the Student Alumni Union Campus Center, room 2610.

Conference topics include engaging the audience using social media and Skype; reporting and “big” data; the future of news organizations; citizenship and media responsibility; and innovation and collaboration among journalists, photojournalists and information technologists.

Speakers include:

• David Cay Johnston, Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist with Reuters
• David Hunke, former president and publisher of USA Today, and current chief strategy officer of digerati Inc.
• Josh Stearns, journalism and public media campaign director for Free Press
• Sandra Fish and Jo White from the University of Colorado’s journalism department
• Ryan Mark, director of digital strategy and development with the Chicago Tribune
• Dan Pacheco, chair in journalism innovation, and Sean Branagan, director for the Center for Digital Media Entrepreneurship, The Newhouse School, Syracuse University

“We think humanity is in a situation similar to the 1500s, when print was becoming firmly established, but no one really knew all the changes which it would engender in society and all the forms it might take,” says Andrea Hickerson, assistant professor of journalism in RIT’s College of Liberal Arts and one of the conference organizers. “We think now is the time to think about the right questions to ask about the future knowing that no one really has answers quite yet.”

For more information, contact Hickerson at 585-475-6129 or aahgpt@rit.edu, or Jeff Sonstein, associate professor, RIT Department of Information Sciences and Technology, at 585-475-7315 or jxsast@rit.edu.