The Pittsburgh convention is better than we thought: new and improved!A funny thing happened on the way through the spring board meeting. NCEW NCEW National Conference of Editorial Writers leaders decided to shake a few things up for the Pittsburgh convention. No problem for me--I've ripped up a convention before. Actually, this was no wholesale gutting of the program we've been assembling for the past six months--just a substitution here and there due to a compelling strategic planning Strategic planning is an organization's process of defining its strategy, or direction, and making decisions on allocating its resources to pursue this strategy, including its capital and people. session the NCEW board had in April. (Memo to future convention chairs: Even when you think the program is nailed down, be flexible.) In other words Adv. 1. in other words - otherwise stated; "in other words, we are broke" put differently you can call the convention, set for September 13-16 at the Sheraton Station Square, new and improved. Our theme, "Reinventing America," still applies, though, with speakers like: * Margaret Spellings, secretary of education, on No Child Left Behind * Paul O'Neill Paul O'Neill may refer to:
* Governor Ed Rendell Edward Gene "Ed" Rendell (born January 5 1944) is an American politician and member of the Democratic Party. He was elected Governor of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania in 2002, and his term of office began January 21, 2003. , former DNC DNC Democratic National Committee DNC Democratic National Convention DNC Do Not Call DNC Delaware North Companies DNC Domain Name Commissioner DNC Direct Numerical Control DNC Do Not Change DNC Does Not Compute DNC Digital Nautical Chart chair, on the future of the Democratic Party * Arlen Specter Arlen "Phil" Specter (born February 12 1930) is a United States Senator from Pennsylvania. He is a member of the Republican Party, and was first elected in 1980. Biography Early life and career , the most independent Republican in the Senate, on the future of the GOP * Teresa Heinz Maria Teresa Thierstein Simões-Ferreira Heinz Kerry (born October 5, 1938) is an American philanthropist, the widow of the late U.S. Senator H. John Heinz III, and the wife of Senator John Kerry. Kerry on building sustainable communities * New York New York, state, United States New York, Middle Atlantic state of the United States. It is bordered by Vermont, Massachusetts, Connecticut, and the Atlantic Ocean (E), New Jersey and Pennsylvania (S), Lakes Erie and Ontario and the Canadian province of Times critic and Gourmet editor Ruth Reichl on the politics of food * A blue-chip panel on rising national debt, the crisis America can't afford, and a trio of experts on homeland security, five years after 9/11 The late-breaking additions to the program involve the craft of opinion writing in the twenty-first century. Under the heading of "Facing the Future," we've added two discussion sessions of prime importance. Part one, Is Your Opinion Operation Ready?, will be facilitated by media consultant and former publisher John Oppedahl and will help NCEW members grapple with the challenges posed by online technology. Part two, Are You Ready? (And How Can NCEW Help?), is an unusual convention opportunity for NCEW members to sound off on how the organization can be most useful in this time of sweeping industry change (facilitated by NCEW president J.R. Labbe and vice president Neil Heinen). The heart and soul of the NCEW convention remains the daylong critique session on Thursday. Critiques chair Pete Wasson of the Wausau Daily Herald The Wausau Daily Herald is a daily morning broadsheet printed in Wausau, Wisconsin. It is the primary newspaper in Wausau and is distributed throughout Marathon and Lincoln counties. is planning a constructive, illuminating experience, whether you're a first-time critiquer or a veteran. The knowledge, tips, and ideas gained from the critiques are alone worth the price of admission. We'll also have professional workshops on editorial crusades, online innovations, and surviving life in a small shop. And don't forget NCEW University, those mini workshops assembled by dean Rick Horowitz for anyone arriving by Wednesday afternoon. It would be a good idea to clip the previous paragraphs and drop them on your publisher's desk with your request to attend the Pittsburgh convention. But just so you know, you'll be able to catch your breath during this heavy-duty program, there's more. Our opening reception will be aboard the Keystone Belle, a sternwheeler Noun 1. sternwheeler - a paddle steamer having the paddle wheel in the stern paddle steamer, paddle-wheeler - a steam vessel propelled by paddle wheels that will ply the three rivers for an evening cruise. The optional Thursday tour will stop in the morning at Frank Lloyd Wrights Fallingwater, one of America's architectural treasures; after lunch, the group will visit the National Historic Site at Shanksville, where United Airlines Flight 93 crashed on September 11, 2001. On Friday afternoon, we'll venture to the University of Pittsburgh campus for a tour of the gothic Cathedral of Learning The Cathedral of Learning, a local and national landmark [2][3] and its nationality classrooms, fashioned by immigrant craftspeople crafts·people pl.n. People who practice a craft; artisans. as a tribute to the cultures that built Pittsburgh. Our grand finale, after Saturday's dinner, will be unlike anything previously seen at NCEW--the Bloomsburg Theatre Ensemble will perform "Letters to the Editor," a series of readings of actual newspaper letters through history. Some are humorous, some are poignant, and all of it is moving. During a convention in River City, where else should you stay but along the banks of the Monongahela River? The Sheraton has a spectacular view of the Pittsburgh skyline that beckons from every window. Even our hospitality suite has a private terrace overlooking the water. There's even word that the NCEW nightly sing-along, not heard since the abrupt cancellation of the 2001 convention, will make its raucous return. (Keep your fingers crossed?) With the adjacent Station Square nightlife district, the nearby "inclines" to the top of Mount Washington and the Pirates at home in PNC Park (arguably the nation's finest ballpark) during convention week, even the diversions will be memorable. This is NCEW's comeback convention, held in one of America's comeback cities. Don't miss it! Tom Waseleski, editorial page editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, is NCEW's 2006 (and 2001) convention chair. E-mail twaseleski@ post-gazette.com |
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