November 6.2009

Temple University, Annenberg Hall, 2020 N. 13th Street
Philadelphia, PA
Event Website

It’s time to save journalism in the Greater Philadelphia region! It’s time for PhIJI, the Philadelphia Initiative for Journalistic Innovation! PhIJI is a forum for Philadelphia-area journalists and aspiring journalists to communicate about best practices, discuss issues facing journalism and journalists, and offer feedback on entrepreneurial ideas. PhIJI is open to all Philadelphia-area journalists (paid or unpaid), interested in improving upon how Philadelphia and the region are covered. This forum can be used to address issues of technology and software for journalism, issues of monetization in a changing news business landscape, as well as issues of journalistic values and standards.

The kick-off event will be a day-long conference Saturday, November 7, 2009 at Temple University’s Annenberg Hall.

Panels will address:
• Starting your own media outlet
• Advertising and non-traditional revenue generating
• Social media, marketing and branding
• Search engine optimization
• Best journalism & business practices across different media

We will have speakers from community newspapers, multimedia online sites, niche magazines and non-traditional broadcast outlets. The full list of speakers and panels will be available soon.

The keynote speech will feature Amy Webb, Founder and Principal Consultant of the WebbMedia Group, a strategic, digital product and business consultant to online media companies and other organizations. Amy founded WMG because she is committed to the preservation of traditional journalism practices and watchdog reporting. The medium may change — from newspapers to radio to television to the Internet to mobile and beyond — but the practice of journalism should not. Her goal, and the mission of WMG, is to help news and other organizations exploit digital technology for the best possible gain.

At the end of the day, we’ll have a post-conference reception featuring lots of networking and open-mic idea-pitches, hosted by Ami Kassar, founder of Bloblive, an urban event for big thinkers, small business owners, entrepreneurs — and dreamers. Each event features idea sharing, audience feedback, a live video feed, twittering and more.

PhIJI is sponsored in part by the Greater Philadelphia Chamber of Commerce, Al Dia News, and the Philadelphia chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists.

The event is made possible by the Temple University Journalism Department.
• Annenberg Hall (2020 N. 13th Street, Philadelphia PA 19122) is located on 13th Street just south of Diamond Street on Temple’s main campus.
• For more information, please contact professor George Miller at gwm3@temple.edu
• Please click here for a printable registration form.