Registration | Hotel and Parking Information | Agenda | Participants
Note: The Block by Block summit agenda is built based on what online community news publishers tell us they most want to learn about at the conference and what expertise they can contribute. Revenue and community engagement were mentioned by far the most often, so those are the focus of our main panels and many of our breakouts. If you have feedback about the tentative agenda, please contact Michele McLellan at michele.mclellan@gmail.com
Thursday, Sept. 29
3:15-4 pm - Registration
Regents Hall (16th Floor), Loyola University Chicago, 111 East Pearson St
4-5:30 pm - Regents Hall (16th Floor), Loyola University
Introductions and stories from the field. Moderators: Michele McLellan and Jay Rosen
We invite independent online community news publishers in attendance to discuss progress and challenges in the year since Block by Block 2010, as well as what they’ve learned and what they want to learn at the summit.
6-6:45 pm - Avenue Crown Plaza Hotel, 160 E Huron, Chicago, Illinois, 60611, Chicago
Registration and reception
7 pm - Avenue Crown Plaza Hotel
Dinner - Tables pre-assigned by topics of interest. List will be provided.
Presentation: Five things about you: An emerging profile of online community news sites. Michele McLellan
Friday, Sept. 30
Regents Hall (16th Floor), Loyola University - All day
8:30-9 am - Continental breakfast, sponsored by Knight News Innovation Lab
9-10:15 a.m. - Avenues for earning revenue
Moderator: Janet Coats
Panelists:
Howard Owens, The Batavian
Ben Ilfeld, Sacramento Press
Mike Fourcher, Chicago Independent Ad Network
10:30-11:45 am - Breakouts. Details below.
- How to Set Ad Rates - Deb Galant, Baristanet
- Pros and Cons of Ad Networks - Rusty Coats, Coats2Coats
- Financing Your Expansion - David Boraks, Davidson News
- Working with Citizen Contributors - Denise Cheng, The Rapidian
- Social Media for Online Publishers - Lisa Williams, Placeblogger.com
- Metrics for Online Publishers - Susan Mernit, Oakland Local
How to Set Ad Rates
Debra Galant, Baristanet
Learn a process for assessing your market, your competition and your value to set advertising rates for your site.
Pros and Cons of Ad Networks
Rusty Coats, Coats2Coats
Ad networks sound like a great idea for small sites – band together to deliver more traffic to advertisers. But how do they work? And how can you tell whether they make dollars and sense for your site?
Financing Your Expansion
David Boraks, Davidson News, Cornelius News
Some publishers may reach a point where growing is an option - adding specialty sites or expanding to new towns or neighborhoods. Unless your business is rolling in money, you'll need help financing it. We'll talk about options including small-business bank financing, friends and family loans, angel and venture investors, and even mergers.
Working with Citizen Contributors
Denise Cheng, The Rapidian
When working with citizen reporters, what can you expect from different contribution models and how does that determine the investment to make in each volunteer? In this session, we will explore and share how newsrooms can optimize the process for volunteers and staffers, and for those already working with citizen reporters, what mechanisms we use to encourage citizen reporters and keep their interest.
Social Media for Online Publishers
Lisa Williams, Placeblogger.com
Come together in this session to discuss how you use social media to increase engagement on your site. How are you using Facebook? Are you fielding tips via Twitter? We'll talk about using social media to engage and grow your audience as well as creating a "listening post" for your community.
Metrics for Online Publishers
Susan Mernit, Oakland Local
How do you use metrics - Google analytics and Facebook insights - to set goals and manage your efforts on both the business and the editorial side? In this session, we’ll discuss how best to use metrics to get the best ROI and stay focused. We'll talk about building a dashboard for your metrics data as well as working together to get some standards and best practices.
Noon-12:30 pm - Report back on breakouts. Regents Hall (16th Floor), Loyola University
Moderator: Jessica Durkin, Block by Block Community Manager
12:45-1:30 pm Lunch. Regents Hall (16th Floor), Loyola University
1:45-3 pm - Panel: Defining, finding and engaging your community.
Moderator: Joy Mayer
Panelists:
Denise Cheng, The Rapidian
Michael Wood-Lewis, Front Porch Forum
Andre Natta, The Termianl
3:15-4:30 pm - Breakouts. See topic list below.
- How to Sell Advertising - Howard Owens, The Batavian
- Do Deals Add up? - Ben Ilfeld and Geoff Samek, Sacramento Press
- Revenue for Nonprofit News Sites - Rusty Coats, Coats2Coats
- Mobilizing for Mobile - Amy Gahran, Oakland Local
- Legal Issues for Online Publishers - Andy Sellars, Citizen Media Law Project
- Best Practices, Community Engagement - Joy Mayer, The Missourian, and Michael Wood-Lewis, Front Porch Forum
How to Sell Advertising
Howard Owens, The Batavian
Advertsing still works, and it works online. We’ll discuss how it can be and should be the basis of your primary revenue plan in a start up phase, what ad models work best, how to generate leads, make the pitch and close sales.
Do Deals Add Up?
Ben Ilfeld, Sacramento Press and Geoff Samek, Sacramento Press
Groupon, Living Social, all the radio stations in town and now the newspaper are fighting over the "daily deal" market. Should you dip our toes in? How much money does it cost and what resources might you need? After running a deal program for the past year,
Legal Issues for Online Publishers
Andy Sellars, Citizen Media Law Project
Every day online publishers confront legal questions surrounding their content, from copyright and trademark issues to defamation and privacy law. In this session we will discuss some of the legal issues common in online publication and show ways in which you can limit your online liability.
Best Practices for Community Engagement
Joy Mayer, The Missourian and Michael Wood-Lewis, Front Porch Forum
Community engagement is a great catch phrase. But what does it really mean for local news sites? How can you develop a community around your site and keep community members engaged and satisfied?
Mobilizing for Mobile
Amy Gahran, Oakland Local
In the next few years, mobile devices will become the most common way for Americans to access the Internet. That’s why you must put your mobile strategy front of mind today! Learn more about the mobile landscape and how to assess and tap into your local mobile audience.
Revenue Sources for Non-Profit News Sites
Rusty Coats, Coats2Coats
What are promising ways for non-profit sites to fund their operations after the grant runs out? A look at some traditional non-profit funding mechanisms and more commercial ones.
4:45-5:45 pm - Report back on break outs, wrap up the day. Regents Hall (16th Floor), Loyola University
Moderator: Jay Rosen
5:45-6:00 pm - Plans for Saturday unconference break outs - Session leaders describe their sessions.
Moderator: Janet Coats
Evening - Dinner on your own
Saturday, Oct. 1
Regents Hall (16th Floor), Loyola University
8:30-9 am - Breakfast
9-9:15 am - Introductory remarks and review breakouts. Michele McLellan
9:30-10:30 am - Unconference breakouts. Loyola, Locations TBA
Suggest topics! We’ll set up a board in the main meeting area at Loyola where you can post additional topics. We’ll post and discuss the lineup before we close on Friday. Here’s a special session already on the books:
TECH CHALLENGES FOR ONLINE PUBLISHERS
Rich Gordon and Michael Silver, Knight News Innovation Laboratory, Northwestern University.
Help shape the agenda of the new Knight News Innovation Laboratory, which is charged with developing and deploying new technologies to serve locally focused publishers and their audiences. What technology areas should the Lab focus on? What kinds of technology help and support would be most valuable to you? This session will collect input from Block by Block participants.
10:45 am-noon-Close. Next steps. Janet Coats, Michele McLellan and Jay Rosen
