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PROGRAM
The 2025 New England Newspaper Convention is happening next week in historic Portland, Maine! Join us March 28-29 in Portland, Maine, for two days of expert-led sessions, networking, and celebrations of the best journalism in New England. We are excited to announce additional sessions and the times for our program lineup below!
Registration for sessions and some special events will remain open through Monday, March 24 at 5:00 pm.
MEET OUR SPONSORS
Friday, March 28
Session 11:00 am - 12:15 pm Regency Room
Increasing your Digital Sales & Closing Ratios
In this dynamic session, Shannon Kinney, Dream Local Digital Founder and CEO, will cover how digital products work together to help your clients – and give you the tools to increase your closing ratios in today’s market. We’ll look at the four most important questions you can ask a prospect and how to become their trusted advisor. You’ll leave with increased confidence and a checklist for a perfect proposal to increase your closing ratios, and you’ll learn what 92% of sellers don’t know about persistence. What you’ll learn in this session will help you sell more of all of your offerings, not just digital!
Session 11:00 am - 12:15 pm Armory Room
30 Tips for Interviewing Techniques
Join Mike Donoghue of Vermont News First, for an enlightening session that explores the cornerstone of journalism: interviewing techniques and cultivating reliable sources. Whether you’re a seasoned reporter or a budding journalist, mastering the art of interviewing is essential for uncovering stories, gaining insights, and delivering accurate and engaging news content. This session will share 30 tips for interviewing even the toughest source.
Session 11:00 am - 12:15 pm Atlantic Room
Philanthropy as the Third Leg of the Stool
In today’s challenging media landscape, publishers must explore diverse revenue strategies to sustain their operations. This session will explore how philanthropy can serve as a powerful third pillar alongside advertising and subscriptions. Learn how news organizations are successfully tapping into grants, donor support, and community partnerships to fund impactful journalism. Gain insights into best practices for building relationships with philanthropic organizations and developing sustainable fundraising strategies. The panel includes Dan Cotter, Publisher and Editorial Director, Vermont Standard, Terry Williams, Advisor to the Keene Sentinel, and Mark Stodder, Chairman of the Board, Maine Trust for Local News.
Session 1:30 pm - 2:45 pm Regency Room
Using AI in Marketing and Advertising Sales
Discover how a small up-and-coming marketing agency is revolutionizing the way consultants and agencies land premium clients. Through real-world case studies, learn the practical strategies that give news media advertising salespeople the power of a full-service agency at their fingertips to compete for top-10 opportunities.
Kevin Berrier, Marketing Director of MDDC Ad Services, reveals how their innovative full-service marketing agency achieves exceptional results by sharing his own real-world experience in heavily leveraging AI to land six-figure clients. You’ll learn:
- Training AI to become your personal marketing strategist and assistant
- Creating comprehensive deliverables like detailed personas and pre-discovery analyses—without expensive SaaS subscriptions
- Mastering AI-stacking techniques to generate powerful insights that win client meetings.
Session 1:30 pm - 2:45 pm Armory Room
Unlocking Data for Local Journalism: Tools and Resources from Big Local News
Data can be a powerful tool for local journalists, but finding, organizing, and analyzing it can be challenging. In this session, Cheryl Phillips, founder and co-director of Big Local News, will introduce the platform and its suite of tools designed to help journalists access, manage, and collaborate on data-driven stories. Learn how these resources can enhance your reporting and uncover impactful local stories. Whether you’re new to data journalism or looking to refine your skills, this session will provide practical insights and actionable takeaways.
Session 1:30 pm - 2:45 pm Atlantic Room
How Maine Trust For Local News Grew Sponsored Content Revenue 3X – The team from Maine Trust for Local News will discuss their successful branded content initiatives, and their strategic approach that focuses on structure, collaboration, and continuous learning. (More session details pending)
Keynote 3:00 pm - 5:00 pm Atlantic Room
Friday Keynote
NENPA Urgent Town Hall: The Fight for the First Amendment – Chaired by NENPA president Aaron Julien and general counsel Rob Bertsche.
Don’t miss this. In a lively Town Hall-style session, journalists across New England will share what their organizations are doing—and what yours can do, and what we can all do together—to reinforce, at a local and regional level, the vitality of a free press. Come prepared to join the discussion.
Challenges to be discussed include:
- Restrictions on press access to courts and public records;
- The rise in subpoenas to journalists;
- The pressure to self-censor;
- Proposals to loosen libel laws;
- How to push back on denial of public access despite limited time and budgets; and
- The role that NENPA should play.
Hall of Fame beginning at 6:00 pm Mariner's Church
Hall of Fame Dinner and Cocktail Reception beginning at 6:00 PM
The Hall of Fame honors newspaper industry heroes whose talent, hard work, and exceptional accomplishments inspire all New England journalists. Join us in congratulating, honoring, and celebrating this year’s four new inductees. Purchase tickets for the dinner.
Saturday, March 29
Keynote 9:00 am - 10:00 am Atlantic Room
Saturday Keynote
Counternarratives: Repositioning the News to Examine Editorial Veracity and Fairness
Join artist Alexandra Bell for an insightful session on rethinking and revising news coverage to promote fairness and accuracy. Bell will discuss bias in news, media art, and walk the audience through her Counternarratives series, and then introduce them to new and upcoming work. Through her powerful visual works that critique media bias, Bell challenges journalists to examine editorial choices, language, and framing. This session will inspire fresh perspectives on how newsrooms can identify and address bias, ensuring their coverage better reflects truth and equity.
Session 10:30 am - 11:45 am Regency Room
Sex, Gender and Local News: Providing Responsible Coverage in Polarizing Times
Debates about gender roles, sexuality, and LGBTQ+ rights are playing out at town halls, school board meetings, and healthcare centers across New England. Local news organizations have a front-row seat and a responsibility to provide accurate, nuanced coverage. In this session, presented by Meg Heckman, Associate Professor of Journalism at Northeastern University, you’ll learn how to navigate these complex issues with compassion. We’ll delve into terminology, unpack misleading tropes, and explore ways to tell stories that go beyond hyper-polarized national narratives.
Session 10:30 am - 11:45 am Atlantic Room
Opening Up the Government: A Reporter’s Toolbox
Noted First Amendment attorney Sig Schutz (Preti Flaherty, Portland) will lead a panel of experienced journalists sharing their proven techniques for unveiling government secrets through effective public records requests and appeals. Presented with the New England First Amendment Coalition.
Double Session 10:30 am - 12:30 pm Armory Room
Mike Reilley, UIC senior lecturer, and founder of JournalistsToolbox.ai leads two back-to-back sessions.
AI Tools for Your Newsroom
Struggling to get started using AI tools? Reilley will walk you through free, practical tools that will make you a more efficient reporter and editor. He will cover ways to use them in the hands-on workshop and also drawbacks and ethical concerns with the tools. Bring your laptop to this hands-on session.
Fact checking tools and best practices
In this training, Reilley, will explore ways to fight back against misinformation and disinformation during post-election coverage. We’ll use tools such as Google Fact-Check Explorer to track fact-checked images and stories. We’ll use reverse image search and other Google tools to check election claims. We’ll break down doctored video and audio with WatchFramebyFrame and Deepfake-o-meter. We’ll also look at the innovative Rolliapp.com to track disinformation spreaders on social channels. Before the training, set up a free Rolliapp.com “press pass” account as it takes a couple of days to get approved. Use the passcode JOURNOAI
Yankee Quill Awards beginning at 12:00 pm Mariner's Church
Yankee Quill Awards Luncheon
This celebration honors four extraordinary individuals for their lifetime of achievement and distinction in New England Journalism, along with two historical figures. The Academy of New England Journalists will present the prestigious Yankee Quill Award to this year’s inductees. Purchase tickets for the luncheon.
Session 2:00 pm - 3:15 pm Regency Room
DEIB + journalism are under attack: how to navigate the current state of play
Under the current administration, inclusive coverage and empathetic leadership are being pushed back against as “woke” or “DEI culture.” But this is no time to turn our backs on the marginalized audience and communities who so desperately need our clear, accurate and informative news coverage. Whether you’re the managing editor, the photo editor or the cub reporter just starting out, let’s talk about ways you can infuse equity and inclusion into your daily work and coverage. Emma Carew Grovum, director of culture and careers at The Marshall Project, will lead a discussion and brainstorm around best practices in this rapidly evolving and emerging space. Participants will walk away with a co-created list of tips and techniques to bring back to their newsrooms and try immediately.
Session 2:00 pm - 3:15 pm Atlantic Room
What makes a good story: ideas to help the writer
Hear from Judy Meyer, former executive editor, Sun Media Group, Link McKie, former journalist and journalism teacher, and Mike Donoghue, Vermont News First, three of the best award-winning journalists in New England on how to make your story — news, sports, or features — a “must-read” from start to finish. Readers don’t want to plow through mountains of ugly copy. Learn how to write crisp, fact-filled pieces that readers won’t put down. Solid interviews, good writing style, massaging the final copy, and making stories sing are key.
Session 2:00 pm - 3:15 pm Armory Room
Podcasting for Publishers
Podcasts continue to grow in popularity and are a great format to extend your print brand with the right sound. Hear from two podcasting experts on trends in the audio listening space, how to create the right podcast for your business, and what it takes to execute. Monica Brady-Myerov is the publisher of the Vineyard Gazette Media Group and recently launched a new podcast “On the Vineyard” a weekly podcast that brings the beauty, sensibility, and news of Martha’s Vineyard to listeners around the country. She has 25 years of experience and awards as a public radio reporter. Presented with Elaine Appleton Grant, CEO of Podcast Allies.
Session 3:30 pm - 4:45 pm Regency Room
Repositioning the News Workshop
Alexandra Bell will present an interactive workshop where participants will learn to rethink, revise, redact, and modify news pages and how to deconstruct language and imagery to explore the tension between marginal experiences and dominant histories.
Session 3:30 pm - 4:45 pm Atlantic Room
Investigative Reporting with Publick Occurrences Winners Panel
Every fall, NENPA honors reporters who produced the past year’s best journalism in New England with Publick Occurrences awards. For our 2025 conference, we bring four of them together on a panel to talk shop. Join this engaging discussion with committed investigative journalists about the high-wire act of getting big projects out the door. The panel includes Colin Flanders, Staff writer, Seven Days, Sruthi Gopalakrishnan, Reporter, Concord Monitor, Rose Lundy, Senior reporter, The Maine Monitor, Shaun Robinson, Government and politics reporter, VTDigger, and is moderated by Larry Parnass, Executive Editor, The Republican.
Session 3:30 pm - 4:45 pm Armory Room
Media Law Refresher (2025 Update)
A fast-paced primer on how your local newsroom, print or online, can stay enterprising while avoiding legal trouble. We’ll cover the basics as well as the latest developments in the law of libel, copyright and fair use, newsgathering, confidential sources, and more. For rookie reporters and senior scribes alike. Presented by Louise Carron and Rob Bertsche, Klaris Law, in cooperation with the New England First Amendment Coalition.
Journalism Awards beginning at 6:00 pm Mariner's Church
SOLD OUT – Journalism Awards Banquet and Cocktail Reception
Our largest celebratory gathering of the year where we reveal the results of the annual New England Better Newspaper Competition! Due to overwhelming demand tickets are sold out for this event.