The 27th Annual NAHJ Convention and Media & Career Expo in San Juan, Puerto Rico, June 24-27, 2009 is the place to be for the most multimedia journalism training you can get in four days under one roof. There are 33 sessions – half the total convention training and workshop time – dedicated to non-stop training in online journalism skills and thoughtful analysis of our changing news industry and where you fit in as you forge a path ahead in this new media landscape.

It’s a sound investment and the best bargain around, hands down! So to secure your spot for great training or to get help to get to San Juan, act now!

REGISTRATION
Early Bird registration has been extended until May 15! Register online. Members can save $70 and non-members can save $105 if they act now. For more registration, general info and downloadable forms, click here.

HOTEL RATE REDUCED… NEED A ROOMMATE?
The rate at the Caribe Hilton, the convention headquarters hotel, was reduced from $199 to $150/night. Resort fees were also slashed in half to $15 a night, all for a $62/night savings at a hotel with a beach, scores of hammocks tied to palm trees, and a peacock … yes, a strutting peacock. Aside from the regular rooms with balconies, villa rooms equipped with parlors and kitchens are also available, creating apartments you can share. For more hotel info, click here.

If you’d like to find a roommate for the convention, visit our blog message board by clicking here: hotel blog.

TRAVEL
Flying to San Juan may not be as expensive as you think. And Continental Airlines, the official airline of NAHJ’s special events, offers NAHJ convention goers a discount on most of their fares and also, if available, a flat $350 round-trip fare from the U.S. mainland to Puerto Rico or from Mexico to Puerto Rico. For more info on travel and the Continental discounts, click here.

ASSISTANCE IS AVAILABLE
NAHJ is offering some air travel and a limited number of complimentary registrations to members who have been laid off and/or who are employed, but are in financial hardship. Any journalist or student can apply, but priority will be given to journalists displaced in this current job climate and those with the biggest financial need who stand to benefit from the enhanced training. An application, a brief statement, and other information is required. The deadline to apply is Friday, May 15. To download the convention assistance application, click go to here.

THE BEST TRAINING … AND THE BEST BARGAIN
There’ll be two rooms dedicated just to teaching you how to edit video and audio, use Flash and Twitter, how to blog, podcast, stream live video, produce audio slideshows, integrate information with Google maps, and do a live shot through the Internet using Skype, and so much more! Some of these will be repeated in case you miss it the first time or want additional training.

We’ll also have other rooms with eight-hour sessions on Final Cut for Multimedia, classes on how to be a wireless reporter, on social networking for journalists, monetizing your blog, building great online features and analyzing business models to make your own journalism. All in all we’re talking 33 sessions ranging from one hour to eight hours in length crammed into four days, triple of what was offered at the NAHJ Convention two years ago in San Jose. We crunched the numbers, and half of all the time dedicated to all training, workshops and panels in those four days will focus on multimedia journalism.

SIGN UP FOR SOME TRAINING SESSIONS NOW
For the half-day and day-long training sessions on Wednesday, June 24 and Saturday, June 27, you should sign up ahead of time to secure a spot. As part of the ñ Media Training Series, these sessions offer the convention’s most fruitful professional development experience. You can learn a variety of skills in a day-long multimedia boot camp or delve into four hours of social networking skills for journalists, in English and in Spanish. There are intensive sessions on Flash, audio training for radio, still photo basics for non-photographers, narrative storytelling in Spanish, Final Cut for multimedia production, the correct use of Spanish in U.S. media, sharpening your presentation, voice and grammar skills for Spanish-language television, and what you should know to cover the current global financial crisis effectively. To sign up for these sessions, click here to log on, and then click on "Events".

And of course there’s more. Experts will talk about perfecting live shots, sharpening your resume to market yourself better, making it as a freelancer across media platforms, writing fast for broadcast, moving ahead after a layoff, and doing dazzling sports photography. We’ll explore investigative reporting and innovative websites in Latin America, how to produce news documentaries and do better business reporting, and explore what public policy changes are necessary to save journalism for the future. Other discussions range from U.S. policy in Latin America and environmental justice to maintaining sound personal finances in the midst of crisis.

Seem like a lot? It is. We’re doing it with your needs for today and tomorrow in mind. You won’t want to miss it. For a partial list of workshops and sessions, click here.

WASH AWAY THE EVIL SPIRITS
You’ll want to arrive by Tuesday, June 23, the eve of St. John the Baptist Day, which is the island’s patron saint. That way you won't miss the all-day training sessions and official opening of the convention on Wednesday. And Tuesday night you can do what the locals do all across Puerto Rico – party on the beach and throw yourself in the water backwards nine times to wash away those evil spirits (and all the bad vibes of 2008). We’ve set it all up at the beach of the Caribe Hilton. A perfect way to start the convention with a fresh outlook!

See you there!