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Annie Griffiths (B.A., 1976) has been selected at the 2013 Award for Excellence recipient, awarded by the SJMC Alumni Society. Grittiths is a pioneer who has photographed in nearly 150 countries in her career. As one of the first female photographers for National Geographic, she traveled the globe and, in 2008, published "A Camera, Two Kids, and a Camel," a photo memoir about her experience.

She has photographed for aid organizations committed to empowering women. She currently serves as the executive director for Ripple Effect Images, a collective of photographers working to tell the stories of women and girls in developing countries, especially as they deal with climate change.

Her work has appeared in a number of publications, including LIFE, Geo, Smithsonian, Fortune and more. With acclaimed author Barbara Kingsolver, she produced "Last Stand: America's Virgin Islands," a book that celebrates the wilderness of North America.

In 2010 she published "Simply Beautiful Photographs," which was named a top photo/art book of the year by Amazon and by Barnes and Noble.

Griffiths is a fellow with the International League of Conservation Photographers and has received awards from the National Press Photographers Association, The Associated Press, the National Organization of Women and the White House News Photographers Association.

Griffiths will receive the award and serve as keynote speaker at SJMC's annual Spring Showcase: A Celebration of Excellence event on April 24, 2013 at TCF Bank Stadium. Tickets are $20 for adults/$10 for students. Register at: http://2013springshowcase.eventbrite.com

How do journalistic skills and the practice of journalism lend themselves to fiction writing? Does working in a newsroom make someone a better creative writer?

Those are the questions we've posed to author Brad Parks, who began his career as a journalist with The Washington Post and The (Newark, N.J.) Star-Ledger before publishing his first novel, FACES OF THE GONE. With that debut novel, Parks won both the Shamus Award and Nero Award, the only time an author has received both accolades for the same book. His newest book, THE GOOD COP, was published March 5, 2013 and will be available on April 18.

Join the Minnesota Journalism Center and the Department of English for a lunch-time discussion on April 18 to hear his story on the transition from journalist to mystery author. The event is free but registration is requested: http://umnbradparks.eventbrite.com/

The Minnesota Journalism Center will be hosting a talk called "The Iraq War 10 Years Later: Journalists' First Hand Reports" which will feature a review of the media coverage of the Iraq War as we approach the 10-year anniversary (in March 2013).

The talk will begin with Reese Erlich, freelance journalist and author of "Target Iraq: What the News Media Didn't Tell You" and "Conversations with Terrorists: Middle East Leaders on Politics, Violence and Empire" and will be followed by a panel featuring Jeff Severns Guntzel Senior Reporter with the Public Insight Network, American Public Media and Paul McEnroe, Investigative Reporter with the Star Tribune. The discussion will be moderated by William Beeman, Professor and Chair of the University of Minnesota Department of Anthropology.

The event is sponsored by the Minnesota Journalism Center, School of Journalism & Mass Communication and the Department of Anthropology at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities.

Register at http://iraq10years.eventbrite.com

Web analytics will be the topic of the next Conversation Among Crafts and will be held on February 12, 2013, from 3:30 - 5:00 pm in the Murphy Hall Conference Center (room 100), 206 Church Street.

More details will be published about the panel participants in the coming days.

This conversation continues the series of inter-disciplinary examinations. Registration is limited to the first 30 journalists who sign up.

Register at: http://webanalyticsconversation.eventbrite.com

The Frank Premack Public Affairs Journalism Awards Program has been suspended after consultation with the Premack Board and the Minnesota Journalism Center Advisory Board. Submissions will not be accepted for reporting done in 2012.

For 35 years, the Premack Public Affairs Journalism Awards honored excellence in Minnesota journalism. The awards program is funded by the Minnesota Journalism Center and the University of Minnesota School of Journalism & Mass Communication.

The Minnesota Journalism Center is working to create reinvigorated programming that better suits the needs of public affairs journalists.

"We wanted to do something in Frank's memory that better reflects the important role of public affairs journalism in the state," said Nora Paul, director of the Minnesota Journalism Center. "We're looking into ideas for workshops or trainings or research that supports new models for public affairs reporting. After 35 years, the board agreed that it was time to change the programming to reflect changing times."

Future plans that support public affairs journalism will be announced in summer 2013.

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The Premack Awards are named in honor of Frank Premack (1933-1975), who began his reporting career at the Minneapolis Tribune in 1958 and quickly became well-known for his aggressive pursuit of the news. He later became city editor and assistant managing editor and was a member of the Tribune's Special Reporting Group.

The Minnesota Journalism Center improves the practice of journalism, promotes interaction between media professionals and the academy and serves as the outreach arm of the SJMC.

A new date was announced today for the Minneapolis ONACamp. The Online News Association will be bringing their intensive journalism training session to the University of Minnesota campus on Saturday, December 1, 2012. Registration and program details for the free, full-day workshop will be available next week.

ONACamps are courtesy of a grant from the Gannett Foundation; the Minneapolis event is co-sponsored by the Minnesota Journalism Center.

Visit ONA's website for more information.

Over 55 journalists and journalism students from around the Midwest attended the Investigative Reports & Editors Watchdog Workshop held September 29-30 at Murphy Hall. On Saturday, both print and TV journalists gathered in the day-long session to hear from a variety of speakers including covering topics such as data journalism, open records, election reporting, the art of interviewing, and effective internet use. On Sunday, workshop attendees gained hands-on computer experience in analyzing datasets to identify trends, spot inconsistencies and gain other insight. The workshop was co-sponsored by the Minnesota Journalism Center.

The IRE Watchdog Workshop is coming to the University of Minnesota on September 29-30.

A full schedule is now available with sessions presented by Jaimi Dowdell, IRE; Jane Kirtley, University of Minnesota; Ron Nixon, The New York Times; Nora Paul, University of Minnesota; James Shiffer, Star Tribune; Brandon Stahl, Duluth News Tribune; Stuart Watson, WCNC-Charlotte and Mary Jo Webster, St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Click for more information or to register/.

On Friday, September 28, 2012, SJMC hosts "Careers in Data Journalism," an event which will allow students to explore careers available at the intersection of technology and journalism. The panel discussion will allow students to learn about careers and what action steps are needed to move an interest in data journalism to the next step.

The conversation is moderated by SJMC assistant professor Seth Lewis, whose research focuses on the intersection of news, innovation, technology and sociology, features a wide range of reporters, journalists and editors, who use data and technology in their everyday jobs. From infographics to data reporting, the marriage of data and journalism has never been more interesting and varied.

The speakers include Andrew Haeg, product manager for Minnesota Public Radio's Public Insight Network; Kaeti Hinck, director of news technology for MinnPost; MaryJo Webster, computer-assisted reporting editor for the St. Paul Pioneer Press; and Kevin Schaul, SJMC student, AP-Google Scholar, and intern for the MinnPost data team.

The event will be held Friday September 28 at 3:30 p.m. in 100 Murphy Hall. Event is free and open to the public, but please register here.

IRE is bringing its highly rated Better Watchdog Workshop to the University of Minnesota with core sessions that will improve your ability to find information on the Web quickly, point you to key documents that will help you produce quick-hit enterprise stories and give you tips on the best approaches when conducting interviews or developing sources. In addition, this workshop will give you tips on how to bulletproof stories, how to deal with freedom of information laws and public records, and useful Web sites and strategies for using Internet tools such as wikis, blogs, robots and RSS feeds.

These sessions are designed for reporters, editors and producers from small, midsize and large publications and TV stations and Web-only news sites and news blogs. Get the tools and the tricks of the trade that you need to be a better, faster, watchdog journalist.

An optional half-day, hands-on workshop on Sept. 30 will show you how Excel for deadline and beat reporting on budgets, salaries, and election data. Also learn how to dig deeper using the Internet and find valuable datasets for your stories.

Register at IRE's Website.