SPA Midlands Regional Conference Sponsored by
University of Warwick Room MS.05
23 January 2016 9.30-5.30 Hosted by The Boar
0930 - Introduction from the SPA and The Boar
0945 - Sian Elvin, SPA and Sevenoaks Chronicle
1030 - Brenda Wong, Voxburner
1130 - Natasha Clark, The Times
1230 - Networking lunch
1330 - Sarah Graham, freelance journalist
1430 - Fiona Webster, Daily Mail, Telegraph and Express
1530 - Michael Allen, Airfinance Journal
1630 - David Levesley, Sky News
1730 - Dinner at Bar Fusion and drinks at the Terrace Bar
Meet the speakers Brenda Wong is a marketing executive at youth insights consultancy Voxburner. Previously a staff writer for lifestyle website Hexjam.com, she will be speaking about her accidental brush with journalism and how to thrive in the fast-moving world of listicles, tweets and all things 'viral'. She is a Law graduate from the University of Warwick.
Natasha Clark is a reporter for The Times' Red Box politics blog, and is an editor for Wannabe Hacks. She's previously worked for PoliticsHome and Twitter. She'll be talking to the conference about her career experiences. She is a former editor-in-chief of The Boar, the University of Warwick’s student newspaper.
Sarah Graham is a freelance journalist, specialising in women's issues and mental health. She has been published by The Telegraph, The Independent, New Statesman, The Debrief, Broadly, Vice, and more, and was previously Deputy Editor of Feminist Times. She is also currently working part-time as the communications executive for charity Women for Refugee Women. She is an English and French graduate from the University of Warwick.
Fiona Webster is a national newspaper and magazine journalist, whose work has appeared in The Sunday Times, Guardian, Mail on Sunday, Independent, Daily Telegraph and The Sun. She was assigned to the New York Bureau of News UK covering breaking stories across the US, was an opinion columnist for The Daily Mirror and a current affairs television producer for ITV as well as a magazine editor. Fiona runs The Press Association’s NCTJ postgraduate multi-media journalism course in London and teaches on the Daily Mail's and the Irish Independent's graduate training schemes.
Michael Allen reports on aviation for Airfinance Journal, a Euromoney publication. He studied Newspaper Journalism MA at City University London and Politics with International Relations at Warwick University. He was also deputy news editor at The Boar.
David Levesley is a journalist mainly focusing on the intersection of cultures and culture. He has written about hook-up apps, queer equality, opera and animation for the Guardian, the Daily Beast, the Independent, the BBC, Vice, Slate and Mic among others. A former Facebook News Curator, David now works as a Social Media Producer at Sky News helping to create video, graphics and other content for Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Vine and more. He is a graduate from the University of Warwick.
Meet the team Jem Collins is the chair of the SPA. She currently works as a journalist for Politics.co.uk. She has previously worked for KMTV and is a former editor-in-chief of The Medwire, the University of Kent’s Medway student newspaper.
Sian Elvin is both marketing and Midlands officer for the SPA, and is chief blog editor of Career Camel. She is currently a reporter for the Sevenoaks Chronicle, having just completed an NCTJ diploma at the Press Association. She is a former deputy editor of The Boar and an English Literature graduate from the University of Warwick.
Meet the host The Boar is the University of Warwick students’ newspaper, published fortnightly on Wednesday. The paper is run by students, for students and all editorial board positions are voluntary. Founded in 1973, the Boar is the only studentrun print newspaper on campus. Reaching approximately 6,000 students, the newspaper is printed fortnightly during term time. The website, theboar.org, has more than 40,000 hits per month, and is continually updated by its voluntary members. Although a society of the Students’ Union, the paper is editorially independent. It holds Union and University officials to account, providing a voice for all University of Warwick students. The Boar combines a combination of news, current affairs, sporting and financial coverage, ranging from national to campus-based issues, as well as arts and reviews. The paper has won numerous awards, including five Guardian Student Media Awards and eight National Student Journalism Awards. In 2006, the Boar received 17 nominations in both awards (a record in the history of student media), and won seven. In 2013 the paper has was named by national student media website, Ones to Watch, as one if its Publications of the Month and won the Student Publication of the Year Award.
Directions Coventry Rail Station, approximately four miles from the campus, is the nearest mainline train station to the University. You can easily reach Coventry Rail Station from London (Euston) and Birmingham, which run regular and frequent services direct to Coventry. From Coventry Station, there are frequent local bus services to the University. Follow the signs from the station to Warwick Road (a two-minute walk) and from there catch the National Express 12X, the Stagecoach X16 or the Travel De Courcey W1C, all of which travel onto main campus. Canley has a small local rail station that is roughly a mile away from the University - it's a 28-minute walk (according to Google Maps - I’ve easily done it in 20 before), a short bike ride or taxi journey to main campus. There isn't a taxi rank at Canley so please ring a taxi in advance if you need one. London Midland offers a regular rail service that passes through Canley Rail Station going to London, Milton Keynes, Birmingham New Street, Birmingham International, Coventry, Rugby and Northampton, so you can change at any of these stations to get to Canley. The walking route is below, but just use the SatNav on your phone:
If you’re driving, check out directions on the Warwick University website here: http://www2.warwick.ac.uk/ about/visiting/directions/car/
Directions
If you’re walking from Canley, you’ll likely come in from the back of the Sports Centre, so just walk round the Academic Loop Road to the Maths and Statistics building. If you’re getting a bus from Coventry, you’ll be able to get off right by the Maths and Statistics courtyard at a bus stop called The Library. There will be signs around campus to direct you.
The building is in a courtyard with some fountains in the middle with swans and pretty birds and things, so it shouldn’t too hard to find (it’s then in the top left-hand corner). Inside the Maths and Statistics building will be a sign directing you upstairs to MS.05. We’ll put some signs up in the courtyard so you can find your way, but if you get lost just send Sian Elvin or Jem Collins a message and we’ll come and save you!
Meet the sponsors
Press Association Training has kindly agreed to sponsor the SPA Midlands Regional Conference at the University of Warwick, hosted by The Boar. The Press Association (PA) is the national news agency of the UK and Ireland and its journalism has an unrivalled reputation.
Since 1969, when its first training course was set up in Newcastle, it have enjoyed a long tradition as the starting point for the careers of many of the UK’s leading journalists. PA’s magazine course has been running for more than 25 years and many of the UK's leading magazine journalists and editors are graduates of this intensive programme. But it doesn't rest on its laurels. In a changing world, it introduces its trainees to the movers and shakers in the industry, helping them to grasp the requirements of the digital age, as well as age-old skills, such as shorthand, which are as in demand by editors as ever.