localized date
Current Time
.png)
Newsapalooza brings a festival-like atmosphere to making news of the day.
Food trucks, mingling, a party, and a story pitch session are part of Newsa, along with daylong discussions on stage about news issues people might just read or listen to. Programming kicks off at 9:30 a.m. Sept. 27 at the Pittsburgh Playhouse and concludes with a story-pitch competition and party at 5 p.m. Newsapalooza is an event for everyone who wonders why the media does what it does, and why it matters.
Robert Costa, CBS News chief election & campaign correspondent, will open the day at about 9:30 a.m. Costa is a familiar presence as a guest anchor for news programs on the CBS Television Network. He’s also a regular contributor to 24/7 programs such as “American Decides” and covered the Republican National Convention.
.jpeg)
Following Costa’s appearance on Sept. 27, sessions start at about 10 a.m. at the Playhouse. Daytime sessions include:
+ 10:20 a.m. - Presidential politics in the Rust Belt & Appalachia. Politics now divides communities and families at Thanksgiving. Meet Salena Zito, national political reporter; Marita Garrett, founder of Civically Inc.; and Annafi Wahed, founder of The Flip Side. KDKA political editor Jon Delano will lead this conversation.
+ 11:20 a.m. - Is Pittsburgh still a City of Champions? Hear from columnist Mike DeCourcy of The Sporting News; Jennifer Bullano Ridgley, chief marketing and communications officer for the Pittsburgh Penguins; Trib Total Media staff writer Tim Benz, and KDKA-TV's Josh Taylor. Bernie Ankney, dean of the school of communications at Point Park will lead the discussion.
+ 1:10 p.m. - How Pennsylvania colleges can help solve local news desert issues
Richard Watts, director, Center for Community News at the University of Vermont, shares more about how college students across the country are filling gaps in communities, as newspapers have shuttered or reduced staff.
+ 1:10 p.m. - Where Pittsburgh gets its news
University of Pittsburgh professors Lara Putnam and Elise Silva surveyed more than 1,300 Pittsburghers. They discuss what they found for the first time, at Newsapalooza.
+ 1:10 p.m. - Bringing communities into the newsroom. Letrell Crittenden, director of inclusion and audience growth for the American Press Institute helps news outlets in Southwestern Pennsylvania to develop programs to better reflect the communities they serve. Lisa Smith, director of community impact at KDKA-TV and KDKA+, leads the discussion that also includes Cindi Lash, vice president, news, for Pittsburgh Community Broadcasting Corp; WESA editor Glynis Board, and Halle Stockton, ecitor-in-chief and co-executive director, PublicSource.
+ 2:10 p.m. - Philanthropy in local news. Donors are working to strengthen news outlets in Southwestern Pennsylvania through Press Forward, a national movement that puts donor dollars into local news. Find out more about their plans for Press Forward Pittsburgh with Christina Shih, associate director, Press Forward; Michelle McMurray, vice president of program and community engagement, The Pittsburgh Foundation; Matt Barron, program director, The Heinz Endowments; Doug Root, vice president of communications, the Pittsburgh Foundation, and Kathy Buechel, executive director of The Benter Foundation.
+ 3:10 p.m. - Who guards the guardians? Meet Walter “Robby” Robinson, the editor who led The Boston Globe Spotlight Team that unmasked years of sexual abuse within the Catholic Diocese in Boston – and inspired the Academy Award-winning film, “Spotlight.” The reporting also won the 2003 Pulitzer Prize for Public Service. He will be in conversation with Chris Baxter, CEO of Spotlight PA, a nonprofit newsroom.
Stay into the evening for a party and story pitch session at the Pittsburgh Playhouse that kicks off at 5 p.m.
The audience takes part too, selecting the best story pitches from applicants from professionals, students, and citizens. Hosted by YaJagoff Media’s John and Rachael, celebrity judges also include Sally Wiggin and Rick Sebak.
Contestants get just a few minutes to pitch their story to judges and potentially, salty editors, “Shark Tank” style. Winners get $1,000 to help them report and publish their stories.
Tickets include entry to the Newsapalooza party at the day’s end, featuring a custom drink by sponsor Wigle Whisky for the occasion, and brews provided by sponsor Trace.
Newsapalooza is a fundraiser for Next Generation Newsroom and a way to bring the public into conversations about local news. This event will launch the Next Generation Newsroom, which will fill gaps in local reporting and serve readers through 29 media outlets in Southwestern Pennsylvania.
.jpeg)
