Earlier this year, Debbie Galant and Tom Meagher helped organize the Garden State's first news hackathon, Hack Jersey. The contest invited journalists and programmers to team up to create original applications to improve news coverage. In this session, they'll discuss data journalism and web development in the state's news organizations and lay out a roadmap for building data skills in the newsroom.

Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Amy Nutt Ellis of the Star-Ledger will talk about what you’ll need to do to craft a compelling narrative by reporting your way into the heart of a story.

Learn how to find work and get that first clip by writing an effective pitch. This seminar will show you how to generate ideas for future stories and make the most of the writing time you have. The importance of networking on and offline with writers and editors and tips on tax filing will also be covered.

Learn how a handful of young, entrepreneurial online business journalists have successfully challenged much larger and traditional news organizations and what their example could mean for your career.

A panel of Connecticut journalists who covered the tragic school shooting in Newtown talk about what they learned from that experience and what you should know about staying true to your ethics while covering a big story. Former SPJ National President Irwin Gratz will moderate.