Join us as we say goodbye to winter and hello to spring at the rescheduled 2025 Convention!

ABOUT
SCHEDULE
SPONSORS. EXHIBITOR/SPONSOR INFORMATION email rgentile@tnpress.com
REGISTRATION. ONLINE.
COLLEGIATE REGISTRATION FORM email rgentile@tnpress.com
HOTEL
SESSION DESCRIPTIONS

Convention Sponsors as of 2/3/25

Tennessee Press Association Foundation
Holland and Knight About
Middle Tennessee State University About
The Daily Memphian
The Daily News
Hamilton County Herald
The Knoxville Ledger
The Nashville Ledger

Our 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 March 19-20 in Nashville.

HOTEL

DoubleTree Nashville Downtown Hotel
315 Fourth Avenue North, Nashville

HOTEL DEADLINE: You will need to contact the hotel by 5:00 p.m. Thursday, March 6 to make discounted hotel reservations.  You may reach the reservation desk at (615) 244-8200 or (800) 222-8733. Group Code: 93J
ONLINE: https://www.hilton.com/en/attend-my-event/bnadudt-93j-0dd3bdb0-ca89-45fe-bc8f-f28dcf869509/

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 2/28/25
Subject to change

Wednesday, March 19

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.)

4:30 p.m. Make your way to the Reception location. It is 2/10 of a mile from the hotel. Parking will be offered at the venue.

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

7:00 p.m. Dinner on one’s own  

Thursday, March 20

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, Deborah Fisher, Tennessee Coalition for Open Government

9:00 a.m. Concurrent session 2: Digital Revenue, Mike Martoccia, Adams Publishing Group

10:00 a.m. Concurrent session 1: Vanderbilt Poll

10:00 a.m. Concurrent session 2: Revenue Panel Discussion

11:00 a.m. Investigative Reporting: Phil Williams, NewsChannel 5

Noon          Luncheon, Honoring Richard Hollow, TPA’s General Counsel of 50 years

1:30 p.m. Tennessee Leadership: Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton invited, not confirmed

2:30 p.m. Lessons in Leadership, Benjy Hamm, Director, Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues

3:30 p.m. Adjourn

OPENING RECEPTION WEDNESDAY EVENING

Wednesday from 5:00 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

We will hear from Richard Hollow, who has served as TPA’s general counsel for 50 years.

SESSIONS

Digital Revenue: Build & Monetize Digital Marketing Solutions Across Markets Of All Sizes

How to successfully build, sell and deliver successful digital marketing solutions across markets of all sizes.

Mike Martoccia serves as Vice President of Digital Sales and Marketing for Adams Publishing Group, originally joining the team as a consultant in February 2020. In this newly created role, he will oversee digital revenue development across all APG markets, as well as sales training/enablement and the High Road Agency, APG’s internal digital organization. With more than 28 years in the industry, Martoccia has served in a variety of diverse leadership positions. 

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.

Investigative Reporting: Now More Critical Than Ever

Phil Williams, chief investigative reporter for WTVF-TV, NewsChannel 5 in Nashville, is one of the most highly acclaimed investigative journalists in the United States. He is a four-time recipient of both the George Foster Peabody Award and the duPont-Columbia Award. In 2023, Phil became the first local broadcaster to be recognized with the prestigious John Chancellor Award for Excellence in Journalism. That same year, he was the first TV reporter to be honored with the Toner Prize for Excellence in Political Reporting. In 2024, Phil was named the recipient of the RTDNA Lifetime Achievement Award. A former reporter forThe Tennessean, Phil was also a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service.

Leaders of the Tennessee General Assembly 

Invited guest speakers are Lt. Gov. Randy McNally and Speaker of the House Cameron Sexton. Invited, not 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.

Revenue Panel Discussion

A session for publishers, general managers and advertising managers.

Panelists: Darren Haimer, The Greeneville Sun/Adams Publishing Group; Dave Gould, CEO, Mainstreet Media of Tennessee; and Victor Parkins, Mirror-Exchange/Gibson County Publishing

Lessons in Leadership 

Presented by Benjy Hamm, Director of the Institute for Rural Journalism and Community Issues Newsroom. Leaders face many demands for their time and attention, and the range of responsibilities can seem overwhelming at times. This interactive session will address ways in which newsroom leaders can improve how they manage themselves and others to achieve their goals and ensure that their news organizations are successful. The session works for non-managers and managers because much of the focus is on improving communication, planning and time management, plus benefiting from personal training and development.