The APSE West Region will hold its meeting on Nov. 11, 2019, at the offices of the Las Vegas Review-Journal. The sessions begin at 10 a.m. and wrap up at 3:45 p.m.
There will be five panels, including two involving sports betting. During lunch there will be a “Newsmakers Panel” where the discussion will be about the changing legal sports betting landscape and what colleges will do to adapt.
A second panel, “Covering sports gaming”, will look at the many facets of covering sports gaming and the pitfalls, including how news organizations can compete on a daily basis with organizations such as Bleacher Reporter setting up shop in Caesars Palace and MGM becoming the betting partner of the NBA.
There will also be panels on covering high school sports, helping readers visualize and learning from the past. Lunch will be either Jason’s Deli or Panera (because we know you were wondering).
West Region Panels
10-11 a.m.
How do we cover high school sports: High school sports have become less and less of a priority in the region. While many smaller papers still make it their bread and butter, the larger metros deal with high schools with as few as one person. How can we still make high schools relevant and cover them with impact? Panel: Jason Orts, Las Vegas Review-Journal; Moderator: Joe Baird.
11:15 a.m.-12:15 p.m.
Helping readers visualize: Mike Reilly, a digital trainer at the Society of Professional Journalists, helps to run Journalists’ Toolbox, a project that uses Google tools to help readers see stories in different ways, especially on digital platforms. Mike directed two classes at June’s APSE conference in Atlanta. (Prior to the session, participants should download Google Earth Pro (it’s free) from the bottom of this page: https://www.google.com/earth/versions/) You may need help from their IT department to download through the firewall.
12:15-1:15 p.m.
Lunch/newsmakers panel: Legalized sports gaming could change the college landscape, allowing betting-legal states like Nevada to host championships. What will the colleges do to adapt and manage the events. Panel: UNLV representative; Las Vegas Bowl director John Saccenti; possible Pac-12 representative; former UNLV athletic director Jim Livengood (tentative). Moderator: Bill Bradley, Las Vegas Review-Journal.
1:30 p.m.-2:30 p.m.
Covering sports gaming: On the other side of sports gaming is the daily coverage of the pastime. How can news organizations compete on a daily basis with organizations such as Bleacher Reporter setting up shop in Caesars Palace and MGM becoming the betting partner of the NBA? This panel will look at many facets of covering sports gaming, and the pitfalls. Panel: Todd Dewey, Las Vegas Review-Journal; Patrick Everson, Covers.com; Dave Tuley, VSIN. Moderator: Angel Rodriguez, Los Angeles Times.
2:45-3:45 p.m.
Learning from the past: Former sports editors, both now retired, discuss lessons we’ve learned – and not learned – from trying to stay relevant to our readers and still cover important stories. Panel, Bill Dwyre, former Los Angeles Times sports editor; Don Shelton, former Seattle Times sports editor and executive editor (tentative). Moderator: Bill Eichenberger, APSE Executive Director.
