 Lunchtime sessions and breakfast briefings
1½ hour creative idea sessions for as many people as you can fit in the room! We can tailor a session to your specific brief, or we can present any of the following topics: 44 ways to do a feature Wendy Bristow looks at how participants can make the most of trends in magazine features, and offers a toolbox of feature formats to choose from when under pressure. The 44 different approaches present an abundance of ideas for publications and help introduce more variety, novelty and lateral thinking. Turning the miles into inches - travel writing made easySusan Marling reveals the secrets of successful travel writing - from going on the press trip to gathering the information, avoiding the cliche and getting an angle. 
20 ways to save a featureDoes your heart sink when freelance copy arrives? Do your features team never quite write what you were expecting? Well, no more! Liz Nice reveals 20 editing tricks for transforming tragic features. Whatever the disaster, it can be salvaged - in fact, often, the rescue mission can even be fun! 11 ways to stronger, better features - by Tuesday!It's easy to get into a features rut. All the ideas start to sound the same and you begin to bore even yourselves, let alone the reader. Wendy Bristow's talk is packed full of ideas for livening up the features process. It is mainly about ideas - how to have better ones, how to sharpen the ones you have - rather than structure or style. It will help you make sure you're pooling all your resources and maximising creativity to make the very most of the meatiest partof your magazine. 15 secrets of the best covers everCan we ever REALLY know what makes a cover fly off the shelves? It is one of the most mystical arts in magazines but, while there are obviously no easy answers, we can learn so much from where others have succeeded - and perhaps even more from where they have failed. Liz Nice reveals the secrets of the covers that succeeded beyond their editors' wildest dreams, the covers that they hope to never see again and perhaps most intriguingly of all, the covers they still believe should have worked, but didn't! 20 ways smart mags use their photographic edge to tame the webFor anyone who needs to continually generate fresh ideas as part of their job, this session looks at 20 ways that successful mags use to out-smart their digital rivals by using photos in a way that the web just can't do nearly as well. Think like an art directorWhat makes a great art director tick? What sets them apart from the pack? What skills and behaviours do you need to be one? What motivates them and how do you get the best out of them? Stop wondering and start learning. You will find out what editors think distinguishes an art director from a great magazine layout artist. You will find what qualities art directors themselves think they possess to generate eye-balls and make readers say; "Wow!" Media ethics Exploring and reinforcing the ethics of journalism covering privacy, confidentiality, plagiarism, public accountability and bribery. 
Writing excellence Whether writing for print or online (or both) you will want your journalists to shine for the quality of their writing. This session looks at examples of good, not-so-good and bad practice, encourage participants to look at their own habits and then put them to work with fast-paced exercises to send them back to their desks inspired! Investigative journalism How you can run investigative journalism on whatever subject you cover and however small your team. It can be based on news, features and comment. It can fill pages with quality coverage. What are the best subject to choose and what are the methods? News in monthlies - an oxymoron or a lost opportunity?Richard Sharpe analyses the winners and losers in the monthly news game and suggests possible approaches to help news pages live up to their label. The top 12 libel mistakes (and how to avoid them)If you don't know about libel you increase the risk of expensive law suits. Wendy Bristow presents an entertaining look at the 12 classic mistakes people make including via photographs, features and reviews. Understanding digital mediaEver wondered what everyone's talking about, but are too afraid to ask? This session will demystify all-things-online and allow you to join in the conversation. We'll look at why digital media is top of the agenda and here to stay; and explain all that web-speak - blogs and forums, CMS, pod and vodcasting, SEO, Web 2.0 and more. What the web can do for youHow on earth does the busy reporter get the time to shoot and edit video, record podcasts, post regularly to a blog, and nurture and cultivate communities? Tim Tucker uses numerous examples of good practice to show that multimedia is not a burden, but a huge opportunity. Why planning ahead could change your life Because journalism is a deadline-oriented business, we tend not to plan ahead. But the consequences can be increased chaos and decreased creativity. Wendy Bristow presents easy, quick ways to plan ahead, individually and team-wise, and explains how planning produces a better quality publication than skimming along on the seat of your pants. 5 things that kill creativity - and 5 things that revive it Wendy Bristow presents how to avoid and/or repair the former and incorporate the latter. Your job on the line: getting the very best from telephone interviews With a stubborn actor playing the heart-sink interviewee, Susan Marling presents a quickfire and fun look at how to get something out of Mr Monosyllable, Miss Shy, Sir Self-Promo, Ms Press Release... Yes, it's live! - 10 steps to becoming a dream interview guest Susan Marling reveals the secrets of appearing on camera and includes essential prep, staying calm, controlled and on message, not being a rabbit in the headlights, rescuing the situation and "Do I Sound Bad, or What?" Think like an editorWhat makes a great editor tick? What sets them apart from the pack? What skills and behaviours do I need to be one? Stop wondering and start learning. In this session you will find out what publishing execs are looking for when they recruit and what qualities editors themselves think they possess that ensures their mags fly off the shelves. David Bostock will give you the opportunity to get inside the head of our industry's top creative talent and help aspiring editors to clarify their goals and career milestones.
For more information on how we can help you organise your briefing, please contact us.
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