ABOUT
SCHEDULE
SPONSORS. EXHIBITOR/SPONSOR INFORMATION
REGISTRATION. ONLINE. PDF fillable form.
COLLEGIATE REGISTRATION FORM
HOTEL
SESSION DESCRIPTIONS

Convention Sponsors as of 2/8/24

The Daily News Publishing Company
Tennessee Press Association Foundation
Creative Circle Media Solutions About
Holland and Knight About
Middle Tennessee State University About

Our Winter Convention is a great chance to meet with peers and industry experts about the trends and changes in our industry. The meeting also is your chance to meet with journalism and communications students and to hear about the direction of the association.

It also is an invaluable opportunity to meet with legislators from your home district and talk to them about issues of utmost importance to newspapers. During the session, legislators are often racing from meeting to meeting. But at the reception at Winter Convention, you get the time to talk at length.

Please plan to join us Feb. 21-22 in Nashville.

Chris Vass, TPA Convention Chair

HOTEL

DoubleTree Nashville Downtown Hotel
315 Fourth Avenue North, Nashville, TN

HOTEL DEADLINE: You will need to contact the hotel by Jan. 24 to make discounted hotel reservations.  You may reach the reservation desk at (615) 244-8200 or (800) 222-8733. ONLINE: https://tinyurl.com/TPAWinterHotel2024

ROOM RATE:  $259.00 for single/double occupancy per night, plus tax and parking. Please identify yourself as an attendee of the Tennessee Press Association convention to receive the discounted rate.  Please make your reservations early.  

CHECK IN:  4:00 P.M. CHECK OUT:  11:00 A.M.

SCHEDULE as of 2/8/24

Wednesday, Feb. 21

Morning Appointments at Legislators’ Offices in the Cordell Hull Building (Transportation on one’s own. Short cab ride or about a 10-minute walk in good weather conditions. Please remember that you will have to plan for time to go through security screening.)

11:45 a.m. Concurrent TPA Board of Directors Meeting and Business Session at the DoubleTree Nashville Downtown Hotel (lunch included for Board members)

1:30 p.m. Afternoon Appointments at Legislators’ Offices in the Cordell Hull Building (Transportation on one’s own. Short cab ride or about a 10-minute walk in good weather conditions. Please remember that you will have to plan for time to go through security screening.)

5:00 p.m. Make your way to the Reception location. It is 2/10 of a mile from the hotel. Parking will be provided at the venue.

5:30 p.m. Reception, all legislators invited (until 7:00 p.m.)

7:30 p.m. Dinner on one’s own  

Thursday, Feb. 22

Breakfast on one’s own

7:45 a.m. TPA Foundation Board of Trustees Meeting

8:00 a.m. Exhibitor area open (coffee service in this area)

9:00 a.m. Concurrent session 1: Transparency in Tennessee

9:00 a.m. Concurrent session 2: Lead From The Front:  Revenue Inspired by Empathy

10:00 a.m. Vanderbilt Poll

10:40 a.m. Caché McClay, USA TODAY Network’s Beyoncé Knowles-Carter reporter on How to Create and Craft a New Beat

11:05 a.m. Give Your Newsroom a Digital Boost

Noon          Luncheon, Veteran journalists Joel Ebert and Erik Schelzig, authors of “50 Years of Scandal in Tennessee Politics” will speak.

1:15 p.m. Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton invited, confirmed

2:00 p.m. Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti invited, confirmed

2:40 p.m.   Stop Overthinking It and Just Do It! —Mike Blinder

3:30 p.m. Adjourn

OPENING RECEPTION WEDNESDAY EVENING

Wednesday from 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m. Location: Nashville City Center, 511 Union St., 27th Floor
Members of the Tennessee General Assembly are invited to attend the reception, but we also ask you to extend a personal invitation to your state legislators.  TPA will contact you with location details in time for you to issue personal invitations.

Visits to Legislators’ Offices on Wednesday

The TPA Government Affairs Committee also encourages you to make appointments with your legislators while you are in Nashville. Mark Millsap, TPA executive director, and TPA’s lobbyists will help you coordinate your meetings, if you wish. Just reach out to Mark Millsap to make the request.

LUNCHEON THURSDAY

Veteran journalists Joel Ebert and Erik Schelzig, authors of “Welcome to Capitol Hill: Fifty Years of Scandal in Tennessee Politics” will be the guest speakers at the luncheon.

SESSIONS

Stop Overthinking & Just Do It!

Yes! There is no question that the news publishing industry has had to face several challenges over the last 15-years, that include loss of classified and pre-press revenues. The exploitation of our content without compensation by “Big Tech.” Along with rising costs as well as added competition. However, some say there is no better time to be crafting news for the communities we serve and are finding sustainable business models, doing it.

Mike Blinder is a proven media sales street fighter who has generated more than $100 million in multimedia ad sales for newspapers all over North America. And just a few years ago, he surprised the entire industry with his purchase of Editor & Publisher Magazine (E&P), which today has tripled its audience and revenue, even during a pandemic. In this fast paced, data driven presentation, Mike will reveal what successful publishers are doing to grow and prosper in today’s news media ecosystem, as well as provide actionable ideas and real-world data that will offer valuable insights into how to get back to sleeping well each night.

Give Your Newsroom a Digital Boost

Alison Gerber, Editor of the Chattanooga Times Free Press, and Allison Shirk, director of Digital Content and Engagement Strategy at WEHCO Media, will share new tools, techniques and technologies that can help improve your newsroom’s digital game. This session is all about best practices to build digital habits that will help make sure your content reaches people and help you determine what content is resonating with readers. 

How to Create and Craft a New Beat

Caché McClay, USA TODAY Network’s Beyoncé Knowles-Carter reporter, will talk about how she is crafting her beat.

Lead From The Front:  Revenue Inspired by Empathy

The most successful media salespeople seldom suffer from call reluctance.  They aren’t afraid to bring problems to their managers.  Most of all, they communicate clearly, possess self-awareness, and can read people.  Finding unicorns like that is challenging.  Developing these skills within our teams truly is possible and rewarding! This session will be presented by John Montuori, director of new business development for WEHCO Media.

Transparency in Tennessee

Deborah Fisher, executive director of the Tennessee Coalition for Open Government,  will provide an update on Tennessee’s open government laws, including recent changes and challenges. She also will talk about successes in promoting transparency in Tennessee and what’s ahead.  Handouts that give a journalist’s primer on the public records and open meetings laws will be available to take back to your newsroom.

Tennessee Attorney General

Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti has been invited to speak at the convention.  confirmed.

Leaders of the Tennessee General Assembly 

Invited guest speakers are Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton.  confirmed.

Vanderbilt Poll

John Geer, co-director of the Vanderbilt Poll and and distinguished professor of political science at Vanderbilt University, will discuss recent polling and more.