#CAJ14 J-Fest - showing why journalism matters

OTTAWA, May 1, 2014 /CNW/ - Journalists are busy people. They spend countless hours working phones, yelling questions at scrums and sorting through reams of documents.

Bylines put a name to all that work, but readers and viewers only see the final product. They rarely get a sense of what happens behind the scenes. The Canadian Association of Journalists will throw open its doors to the public with a speakers' series that will run alongside its 2014 national conference in downtown Vancouver on May 9-10.

"We created J-Fest as a way of reaching out to the public, telling them who we are, what we do, why we do it and how we do it," said Dale Bass, CAJ conference co-chair. "We want an audience outside the industry to understand the power of our work — and why it's so vital."

J-Fest will shine a light on groundbreaking reporting on resource development and social services in British Columbia, insight into Prime Minister Stephen Harper's rocky relationship with journalists and the power of the editorial cartoon. Entry to J-Fest for members of the public is $5. Registration is available through our portal, at the bottom of the chart. Walk-up registrations will also be accepted.

Registration for the CAJ conference at the Holiday Inn and Suites Downtown Vancouver continues, with early bird rates ending at 11:59 ET tonight. Our rates heavily favour CAJ members, who can attend the conference and get a ticket to the conference banquet and CAJ Awards gala for $239 plus taxes. Full details on registration, including all rates, are available on the CAJ website.

Bookmark the conference program available on the CAJ website, where any new content will be added as it's confirmed in coming weeks.

The CAJ is Canada's largest national professional organization for journalists from all media, representing over 600 members across the country. The CAJ's primary roles are to provide public-interest advocacy and high-quality professional development for its members.

Registration questions can be sent to: [email protected]

www.caj.ca | www.facebook.com/CdnAssocJournalists | www.twitter.com/CAJ

SOURCE: Canadian Association of Journalists

Hugo Rodrigues, CAJ president, 613-330-8396 cell, [email protected]
Dale Bass, CAJ conference co-chair, 250-573-2776, [email protected]
Sean Holman, CAJ conference co-chair, [email protected]