Welcome to SEJ's 18th Annual Conference!
Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center, Roanoke, Virginia
Hosted by Virginia Tech

Nestled in a valley between the Appalachian Plateau and the Blue Ridge Mountains, Roanoke has long been a transition point between the coalfields and the coastal plains. The endless stream of hopper cars rumbling down the mountains passes only a few yards away from the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center, university sponsor Virginia Tech's beautifully restored old railroad company hotel where most of our events will take place.

Sunset in the Shenandoah Valley. Photo courtesy of Bill Kovarik.
We are bringing together a diverse selection of tours and concurrent sessions, including the biggest and best collection of computer lab sessions ever. Energy and climate will be a major focus, with a special emphasis on coal. We will hear from some of the top writers, scientists, industry speakers and environmentalists discussing mountaintop removal, water contamination, sludge pond hazards, air pollution and carbon sequestration.

More than 800 people attended last year's conference in Stanford, California, which generated immediate stories and sources for our members.

Come join us this year in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains!

Highlights this year will include:

  • Virginia Governor Tim Kaine and West Virginia Governor Joe Manchin will welcome guests to the Grand Opening Reception at the Hotel Roanoke.
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  • Philippe and Alexandra Cousteau, ocean explorers and grandchildren of Jacques Cousteau, will co-host the SEJ Awards for Reporting on the Environment Ceremony.
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  • XM Satellite Radio's Bob Edwards will moderate Friday's Opening Plenary on coal and its role in our nation's future energy diet. Debating the issue will be American Electric Power CEO Michael Morris, and "Big Coal" author Jeff Goodell.
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  • Noted expert Robert Bullard will lead a diverse panel of experts in Saturday's Breakfast Plenary Session on Environmental Justice and the Poor.
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  • Saturday Lunch and Plenary Session: Election 2008 and the Environment: The invitations are out. If we can't lure the actual candidates themselves, then we'll at least expect the top environmental advisors from each camp, as well as congressional leaders, to meet head-to-head to discuss their candidates' and parties' visions for our future environmental policy.
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  • Wendell Berry, Ann Pancake, Penny Loeb, and others will be featured during Sunday's Bestsellers Breakfast Session.
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New This Year!
Computer Labs and Craft Workshops on the Cutting Edge
Want to catch up, keep up, or get ahead of the new media landscape? We have two well-equipped computer labs this year, and we plan to take full advantage of them with sessions offering hands-on experience with audio, video, podcasting, mapping, and turning data into stories. Other sessions will cover what's happening with mobile media, search engine strategies, blogs, social media, citizen journalism, crowdsourcing, entrepreneurial media projects, and much more. Learn the skills and mindset that can keep environmental journalism — and your career — going strong, regardless of the fortunes of mainstream news organizations.
Wait! There is more...

  • Over 30 panel sessions on reporter's craft, coal, energy, climate, water, land, environmental health and the nation.
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  • Field trips: Choose from 17 outstanding field trips for Thursday and Saturday.
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  • Dozens of exhibitors will be on hand Thursday through Saturday.
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  • A special emphasis on serving SEJ's growing freelance community.
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  • Thursday Evening Independent Receptions. A favorite for our members!
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  • Friday luncheon and roundtable discussion on a multitude of industry topics.
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  • Friday Evening Beat Dinners.

Since we're in the heart of coal country, we're offering attendees an unprecedented look at the problems and promise of this globally important energy source. We're taking a bus up to Kayford Mountain in West Virginia to get a look at one of the most dramatic examples of mountaintop removal mining anywhere. Our opening plenary addresses the status and future of big coal. A set of concurrent sessions examines all facets of coal. Finally, scheduled overflights of the region will offer members a bird's eye view of the scope of the environmental damage. SEJ members only, preregistration required.

For those who just can't get enough conference fun, we've included these pre- and post- events:

  • An environmental reporting bootcamp, organized by Michigan State University's Knight Center for Environmental Journalism, from Sunday eve, Oct. 12, through Wednesday afternoon, Oct. 15, and including the climate change workshop (below). Preregistration required.
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  • An all-day workshop on Wednesday, Oct. 15, on Covering Climate Change and Our Energy Future in Rural America, moderated by Bud Ward, and including Amory Lovins and several other experts. SEJ members only, preregistration required.
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  • Finally, our post-conference tour this year takes folks From the Mountains to the Chesepeake Bay, leaving immediately following the author's program on Sunday, Oct. 19, and concluding about noon on Wednesday, Oct. 22. Preregistration required.

For details on tours and the exciting, jam-packed conference schedule, see our brochure (requires free Adobe Acrobat ® reader) or the draft conference agenda. Everything you need to know about registration is here.

We look forward to seeing you in Roanoke, Virginia!

About the Society of Environmental Journalists
Founded in 1990, SEJ is a unique membership organization of working journalists. SEJ's mission is to advance public understanding of environmental issues by improving the quality, accuracy and visibility of environmental news reporting. SEJ is at the center of a growing community of individuals and institutions concerned with media and the environment. SEJ supporters and its board, staff and membership of more than 1,300 journalists, educators and students are dedicated to improving and increasing news coverage of environmental issues through programs and services designed by and for journalists. We are building a stronger, better-educated, and more closely connected network of journalists and editors in print, radio, television and online media who cover environment-related issues.

SEJ programs include annual conferences, a comprehensive Web site, TipSheet, SEJournal, EJToday daily news digest, Awards for Reporting on the Environment, diversity program, conference fellowships, mentoring program and the freedom-of-information WatchDog project.

Financial support for SEJ's work is provided by foundation grants, earned income through dues and fees, media company contributions and university sponsorship of the annual conference. SEJ does not seek or accept gifts or grants from non-media corporations, government agencies or environmental groups. SEJ welcomes individual gifts to its 21st Century Endowment Fund.

Funding for SEJ programs and services in 2008 has been provided by Virginia Tech (2008 conference host and primary sponsor), the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, McCormick Tribune Foundation, Wallace Genetic Foundation, Turner Foundation, Park Foundation, Scripps Howard Foundation, and individual donors to the Society of Environmental Journalists.

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About Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech logo
Nestled on a plateau between the Blue Ridge and the Allegheny mountains, Virginia Tech is the state's leading research institution with a $367 million research program that ranks it among the top 10 percent in the nation. Through its mission of teaching and learning, research and discovery, and outreach and engagement, the university of nearly 30,000 students offers 60 undergraduate and 140 graduate programs throughout its eight colleges: Agriculture and Life Sciences, Architecture and Urban Studies, Business, Engineering, Liberal Arts and Human Sciences, Natural Resources, Science, and Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. Virginia Tech is a leader in addressing many environmental challenges facing the world, from clean energy, air, soil and water, to sustainable forestry and farming, liveable communities, and wildlife conservation.

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Note: Information about selected past SEJ annual conferences is also available.

The Society of Environmental Journalists
P.O. Box 2492 Jenkintown, PA 19046
Telephone: (215) 884-8174 Fax: (215) 884-8175
sej@sej.org

© 1994 Society of Environmental Journalists
The SEJ logo is a registered trademark ® of the Society of Environmental Journalists. Neither the logo nor anything else from the sej.org domain may be reproduced without written consent of the Society of Environmental Journalists. All graphics © 2008 SEJ and its licensors. All rights reserved.