To register for the Campaign Coverage Workshop, call IRE at (314) 882-2042. The price for IRE or SPJ members is $96. The price for non-members is $136. The price for students who are not IRE members is $121. The price for international reporters who are not members is $151. For all those who are not members, the registration fee includes IRE membership. You may register by phone using a Visa or Master Card. The conference is at the Inn and Conference Center, University of Maryland, College Park, MD. Hotel rooms are available there. The rates are $74 for single occupancy, and $89 for double occupancy. Call the hotel at either (800) 727-8622 or (301) 985-7300.
Get a jump start on the 1996 presidential election with a weekend of comprehensive training in covering federal, state and local campaigns. Investigative Reporters and Editors, the National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting and the University of Maryland, with support from Gannett News Service, are sponsors of the conference Jan. 20-21 at the University of Maryland in College Park. Here is the preliminary program:
Saturday, January 20:
9-10 a.m. Plenary session and overview: Combining Issues Coverage, Candidate Profiles and the High-Tech Campaign Rosemary Armao, IRE Brant Houston, NICAR Chris Callahan, University of Maryland 10-11 a.m. On-line Campaign Coverage Lessons Nora Paul, Poynter Institute Bill Loving, Minneapolis Star-Tribune 11 a.m.-noon Michael Dickerson of the FEC tells how to get the data you need to cover campaigns Noon-1 p.m. Lunch with Gene Roberts, managing editor, New York Times 1-2 p.m. (Concurrent Sessions) A. Getting Through the Spin Gloria Borger or Steve Roberts, U.S. News & World Report Glenn Totten, political consultant Steve Geimann, SPJ president-elect B. Writing Issue Stories into a Must Read Jim Neff, Ohio State University Jill Abramson, Wall Street Journal 2-3 p.m. (Partly Concurrent Sessions) Developing Campaign ("Off-line") Sources John King, The Associated Press 2-4 p.m. Building your own Campaign Database David Morris, The Associated Press The Center for Responsive Politics 3-4 p.m. (Concurrent Sessions) A. Backgrounding and profiling candidates David Maraniss, Washington Post B. Polls and Focus Groups Evans Witt, The Associated Press
Hands-on CAR sessions will run at 10-noon, 1-3 p.m. and 3-5 p.m. While we've given each of these two-hour time slots, we expect them to run closer to 90 minutes, which will keep down interference with lectures and workshops.
Sunday, January 21
9-10 a.m. (Concurrent Sessions) A. On-line Campaign Coverage Lessons Margot Williams, Washington Post Wendell Cochran, American University B. Dissection of TV Campaign Ads Todd Purdum, New York Times 10-11 a.m. Polls and Focus Groups Repeat Session Evans Witt, The Associated Press 10 a.m.-noon (Two Concurrent Sessions) A. Covering Virginia State Elections: Lise Olsen, Virginian-Pilot Peter Baker, Washington Post B. Covering Maryland State Elections: Frazier Smith, Baltimore Sun 11 a.m.-noon Stories from the Data Brooks Jackson, CNN Jonathan Salant, Congressional Quarterly Sara Fritz, Los Angeles Times Noon-1 p.m. Lunch with Doug Bailey, American Political Network Inc. 1-2 p.m. (Concurrent Sessions) A. Opposition Researchers B. Campaign Finance Dwight Morris, consultant Chris Schmitt, San Jose Mercury News Center for Public Integrity 2-4 p.m. What are the Big Issues that will make Headlines in Campaign 96? Bob Schieffer, CBS Jack Germond, Baltimore Sun Lee Thornton, Howard University 4-5 p.m. What's Wrong with Campaign Coverage? Rem Reider and Carl Sessions Stepp, University of Maryland Hands-on CAR sessions will run at 10-noon, 1-3 p.m. and 3-5 p.m.