LaPlante honored by NCSL

From a press release from NCSL:

DENVER - To honor a long-time Louisiana state house reporter and bureau chief, the National Conference of State Legislatures is re-naming its press room at the 2008 Legislative Summit after John LaPlante.

LaPlante, who passed away in April 2007, covered Louisiana politics and government for more than three decades. As the capitol news bureau chief for The Advocate in Baton Rouge, LaPlante led a team of six state house reporters covering the Louisiana Legislature. Previously, he worked as a reporter, editorial writer and assistant city editor. He also taught courses at Louisiana State University, where he was an alumnus.

“NCSL pays tribute to John not only for being an outstanding reporter and editor, but also for his passion and dedication to journalism,” said Gene Rose, director of communications for NCSL, who worked with LaPlante with the establishment of the first Capitolbeat conference in Denver. “John served his colleagues and his profession well. NCSL is honored to have had the opportunity to know John and work with him.”

Click here to read the whole thing.

Calling for contest entries!

It’s time to dust off those clips (or tapes or CDs and DVDs) and get ready to enter Capitolbeat’s annual contest.

Deadline for entries is Aug. 1.

Nowhere else will you find a contest devoted to you, the statehouse reporter. If the Capitol or a state agency is on your beat, this contest was made for you.

So, don’t hesitate. Time’s a-wasting.

Have a question? Contact Linda Kleindienst, contest chair, at tallycane@aol.com.

Early birds get the cheap conference rate

Hey. You. Did you know you were running out of time to get the super-low super-early-bird rate for the CapitolBeat 2008 Conference in Raleigh?

Just $100 gets you in the door for the whole conference, Nov. 13 through 15, if you sign up before July 1.

Why should you come?

Chances are, you cover a group of people who gather in a building that looks like this:

And you have a desk that looks like this:

We have a schedule full of seminars and sessions to help you become a better writer, a better reporter and even deal with this multimedia stuff. Oh, and did I mention that you get in cheap if you sign up early? What, do I need to turn up the volume?

So click on our conference tab and check out the details. What are you waiting for, approval from the Committee on the Education and Training of Scruffy Media Types?

Trust us, if you come you’ll be this happy:

Oh, and you’ll get to figure out just what the heck is up with this guy. Did the horse eat his hat or are they just happy to see one another?

So sign up today.

CapitolBeat gets socially networked

Can’t get enough CapitolBeat? Click here to join us on Facebook.

CCJ Pre-conference

Click here for more information on the Thursday pre-conference session by the Committee of Concerned Journalists.

We plan to hold the session from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. on Thursday, Nov. XX. Yes, we usually don’t do anything other than registration and the opening night reception on Thursday, but there was just too much to stuff into only two days of panels. So book and early flight and join us.

CapitolBeat 2008 Conference Schedule

Ladies and Gentlemen:

The CapitolBeat 2008 Conference elves have been hard at work and we now have a tentative conference schedule. While we’re still in the process of confirming speakers and panelists, but we feel good enough about this schedule to put it out there with the caveat that things may change a bit.

Click here for the MS Word version of our early conference schedule.

In case you’ve forgotten, we’ll be gathering Nov. 13 through 15 in Raleigh North Carolina. Registration, hotel and more information is on our conference page.

This might also be a good time to remind you those who register before July 1, can register for the conference for the low, low discount price of $100. If you need to renew your CapitolBeat membership through the end of the year, you can do that and register for the conference for a total of $125. Prices go up after July 1.

A couple of early schedule highlights:

• We’re excited to have the Committee of Concerned Journalists on board for a Thursday pre-conference session. If you arrive early, there’s no extra charge to sit in. They will be talking about how to scrub your stories of biases and better serve readers as you prosecute political and government coverage.

• The Lumina Foundation will be doing a Friday morning breakfast session on educational attainment in the states. This will be information you’ll be able to take back and break down for your own state and region.
• Our “Beyond 101 Track” for newer reporters (and veterans who need some refreshers) will have a session on what the economy is doing to state budget. We’ll look at some of the best reporting on state’s current fiscal crises and take a look at what this all means for long term budget and tax policy.
• Many state government reporters are being asked to fill in the gaps on the federal government beat. We’ll have a presentation on how you can keep tabs and even break enterprise stories concerning your federal delegation from your seat at the statehouse.
• Our legendary lounge sessions are back! Ask a lobbyist, workshop your problems, manage your time better or become a better columnist.
• Three multimedia panels will guide you through the evolving world of statehouse journalism online and give you the tools to execute coverage in the multimedia world.

If you have questions or ideas, please e-mail Mark Binker at mbinker@news-record.com.

Contest entry form

For those looking for an entry form for this year’s professional reporting contest:
here it is.

It has also been added to the Contest tab at the top of the page.

College Contest Rules

Attention College Students:

Have you written about state government for your college paper? Then show us your stuff. CapitolBeat is adding a college category for print reporters in this year’s contest.

Click here to download and read the rules for CapitolBeat’s 2008 College Reporting Contest

Help Capitolbeat Grow!

Your Association of Capitol Reporters and Editors wants to hear from you! Please fill out this brief survey, and qualify for free, official Capitolbeat gear!

Capitolbeat’s board is looking for input and suggestions as we plan for the upcoming conference, our group-building efforts and our professional mission for the years ahead.

Welcome to our new Acting Executive Director

I’m very pleased to inform you all that longtime Capitolbeat advocate/advisor/ muse/whipcracker Tiffany Shackelford has agreed to become our new Acting Executive Director. I’d ask you to join me in welcoming her, but heck, she’s been around here longer than I have.

Those of you who know her can appreciate how lucky we are. Those that don’t - well, Tiff’s been pulling and pushing us forward since we started in 1999. She was our go-to person at Stateline, where she helped us get funding and speakers for years. Not to mention her help in running conferences, getting grants, and making connections with other non-profit funders.

Tiffany recently left Stateline for the private sector. While I’m honestly sorry for Stateline’s loss, it’s a stroke of luck for us - she can now come on board with us with no conflict.

Tiffany will be working with us through our Strategic Planning board retreat in July. She’ll also be assisting us with grants and conference planning.

Our former Executive Director, Marjorie Goldman, resigned last month to pursue other opportunities. We wish her the best of luck.

Laura Leslie, Capitolbeat President