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The 2018 CAR Conference begins on Thursday. Below you'll find a few bits of information to help you prepare for this great conference! For the latest up-to-date information about panels, speakers and special events at the conference, please visit our conference website at https://www.ire.org/conferences/nicar18/.
Hotel information
The conference is taking place at the Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile, 540 N. Michigan Ave, Chicago, IL 60611.
Thank you to GO Airport Express for offering a discount to conference attendees. Details on making reservations can be found here.
Driving to Chicago? Hotel parking rates are available here.
Registration
Registration opens Wednesday at 1 p.m. and will be open Thursday, Friday and Saturday on the 7th floor of the Marriott.
Weather
Weather looks to be in the 30s and 40s during the week. See the 10-day forecast thanks to weatherchannel.com.
Wireless internet during the conference
Stop by the registration desk or check the app for the wireless access code to access the complimentary internet offered throughout the meeting space during the CAR Conference.
Have a question or need help in a session?
Room monitors will be stationed in the hallways during sessions and will be happy to answer your questions.
Hands-on classes
We have a big crowd this year, and it's exciting to have so many new faces. We've added a number of hands-on sessions, but seating is limited. If there's a hands-on class you really want to take, plan on getting there early.
CAR Conference mobile app
You're tech-savvy and care about the environment, and so do we. Rather than printing 1,000 schedules, we're giving you two ways to track the full schedule of panels, hands-on sessions and special events with accurate, up-to-the-minute details:
Internet is not required for the app to work once it's downloaded. However, a connection is necessary to receive any updates sent by IRE.
If you feel most comfortable with a printed schedule, a PDF version is available here. We've also added a downloadable csv version of the schedule this year.
Twitter/Student Blog
Use #NICAR18 during the conference and stop by the registration desk to see live tweets on the announcement monitor. A team of bloggers will be covering panels, and you can see their work online and in the conference app.
Special Events
Be sure to check out the list of special events taking place this week.
Updated IRE Principles (Code of Conduct)
Investigative Reporters & Editors is committed to providing a friendly, safe and welcoming environment for all, regardless of gender, ethnicity, sexual orientation, physical ability, age, appearance or religion.
IRE supports vigorous debate and welcomes disagreement, while maintaining a civil and respectful community.
IRE may take any action it deems appropriate to deal with those who violate our principles, including exclusion from our events, forums, listservs and the organization itself.
Anyone who feels threatened or in immediate jeopardy during an IRE event should call building security in Chicago (312-245-4761) or local police by dialing 911.
Additional concerns can be brought to the attention of IRE staff or board members in person. Contact information for both staff and board members can also be found on IRE's website.
We thank you for your continued support and are looking forward to seeing you in Chicago!
The 2018 CAR Conference app is now available through Guidebook!
We encourage you to download our mobile guide to enhance your experience at the 2018 CAR Conference. You'll be able to plan your day with a personalized schedule, browse maps and connect with other attendees.
The app is free and compatible with iPhones, iPads, iPod Touches and Android devices. Windows Phone 7 and Blackberry users can access the same information via our mobile site.
To get the guide, choose one of the methods below:
Overwhelmed by the 2018 CAR Conference schedule? You’re not alone. With so many sessions to pick from, it can be challenging to know where to start. We have several resources to help you chart a path:
IRE staff created three "Choose your own adventure" guides to help you create a game plan based on your specific skill level and needs.
If you’re attending your first NICAR or are new to data journalism, try our first-timer guide. We’ve identified some core sessions that will help you build beginner data skills, learn the NICAR lingo, bulletproof your work and develop data-driven story ideas.
If requesting and wrangling data is a constant challenge, check out our spreadsheet guide. Our suggested panels and hands-on classes will help you extract vital information from PDFs, big data, paper records, text files, online databases and more.
Finally, if you’re looking to up your viz game, we have a guide for you. Choose your own path to learn illustrations/animations, interactive maps, code-free design and the princples of good data viz.
The votes are in and the 2018 NICAR T-shirt has been selected!
Melanie Gonzalez won our annual contest. You'll be able to buy her design at the 2018 CAR Conference in Chicago. Any extra shirts will be available for purchase online in the IRE Store.
Matthew Weber was a runner-up and his design will be turned into the NICAR18 button available to all conference attendees.
Thanks to everyone who entered designs and voted.
Thanks to everyone who submitted a Lighting Talk idea for the 2018 CAR Conference. Now it’s time to narrow the 30+ ideas down to the 10 talks we'll hear in Chicago. Go online and vote for your favorite proposals. The polls close on Friday, Feb. 23.
What are Lightning Talks? Lightning Talks are 5-minute presentations on topics wide and varied. NICAR attendees can submit and vote on the talks, and the 10 with the most votes will be presented on Friday, March 9 at 4:45 pm.
NICAR received some great designs for its annual T-shirt contest, and voting is now open!
Voting will stay open for about one week, ending Sunday, Feb. 11 at midnight. The proposal with the most votes will be sold as a T-shirt at the upcoming CAR Conference, March 8-11 in Chicago. Runners-up will be considered for laptop stickers.
The designer of the winning T-shirt gets a free shirt and $50 in the IRE Store.
Visit the contest page to view the designs and vote.
Lightning Talks are back for the 2018 CAR Conference in Chicago. Pitch your ideas at lightningtalks.ire.org by Feb. 9.
Five-minute talks on any subject. Anyone who is attending NICAR 2018 can pitch and the attendees vote on the talks they want to see. The 10 talks with the most votes will be presented during NICAR.
You have until Feb. 9th to come up with a pitch (or two) and submit it here. Then, on the morning of Feb. 12th, the pitching period ends and the voting period begins. You'll be able to vote for as many talks as you'd like, and the 10 talks with the most votes will be a part of the lightning talks session at NICAR this year. Voting ends on Feb. 23rd and we'll post the official lightning talks schedule within a day or two. Then, all that's left is to come to the lightning talks session on Friday, March 9th at 4:45 p.m. and enjoy!
Here are three pitches that were selected in recent years.
Watch the lightning talks from 2017, 2016, 2015 or 2014, or check out the full list of proposals from last year.
Sisi Wei has encouraged everyone (newbies especially) to pitch a lightning talk, and offered to help coach, prod, brainstorm with, edit, and encourage anyone who needed it. This still applies! If you're interested in pitching and need help coming up with something, read this.
Yes you can! On the other hand, if you've spoken in both 2015 and 2016, please take a well-deserved year off and encourage new speakers to pitch a talk.
Earn bragging rights and help raise money for future NICAR training events by participating in our annual NICAR T-shirt contest.
All ideas celebrating data and data journalism are welcome, from a simple, classic design with NICAR on it to bad SQL puns (SELECT * FROM tshirts WHERE tshirts.thisone = “Awesome”).
There are only a few guidelines:
We will accept entries up through Sunday, Feb. 4. Send official entries as JPG or PNG files to shirts@ire.org. Only submissions sent to that email will be entered in the contest.
Designs will be posted to the contest page as they are received. Starting Monday, Feb. 5, you’ll be able to vote for your favorite designs.
The designer of the winning T-shirt gets a free shirt and $50 in the IRE Store.
We look forward to your ideas and another great CAR Conference, March 8-11 in Chicago.
Want to supercharge your data skills? Consider adding one of our extra hands-on classes to your 2018 CAR Conference registration.
We’ll be offering more than 138 hours of hands-on training in Chicago March 8-11. These classes take place in computer labs, and the vast majority are already included in the cost of your registration. Seating is first come, first served. That means all you have to do is show up in Chicago and snag an open computer!
In addition to these free classes, we also have 10 special hands-on classes that require pre-registration and an additional fee. These classes often run several hours (some span multiple days) and allow you hone your skills on a specific skill or piece of software.
New to data? You might consider taking “Digging into data for stories: A crash course,” a shortened version of IRE’s popular CAR Boot Camp. You’ll learn the cornerstones of data journalism, including how to gather and analyze data, tease out story ideas and bulletproof your work.
Already familiar with the basics? Become your newsroom’s spreadsheet expert with “Upping your Excel game.”
Learn basic programming concepts in Python in “PyCAR.” You can also try out “First Python Notebook: Rapid data analysis in the newsroom” or “Level up your Python game: Refactoring your code” if you already have some experience with Python.
Want to try out R? “Intro to R” will get you started and “Exploring the tidyverse in R” will teach you how to make the most of this collection of R packages.
You can also spend some time learning about data viz and presentation. “How to find stories in data through visualization” will focus on the concepts of using design to find stories using the R programming language. Boost your mapping skills with “Map Camp: QGIS,” a condensed version of our Mapping Boot Camp. If building a news app has been on your wish list, check out “First graphics app.” This six-hour class will walk you through the process, including writing Javascript, HTML and CSS.
You can register for any of these classes when you complete your conference registration. If you’ve already registered and want to add a class, please contact Amy Johnston at amy@ire.org. Space in each class is limited, though, so don’t wait too long to reserve your seat.
** Update as of 2/9: The mentorship program at the 2018 CAR Conference is currently full, but you may apply for the waiting list using this form. You will be notified before the event if we were able to match you. **
Pick the brains of the industry’s best journalists during the mentorship program at the 2018 CAR Conference in Chicago. You and your carefully chosen mentor will meet for a continental breakfast on Friday, March 9.
These private, one-on-one sessions allow conference attendees to seek advice on challenging reporting projects, get ideas for professional development and forge connections for the road ahead. They are unique in that they are not designed for job seekers, but instead focus on teaching and sharing information. Mentees should come prepared with questions, examples of work and/or story ideas.
IRE will pair you with a mentor, and contact information will be exchanged so mentors and mentees can agree on a time and place to meet at the conference. We’re also seeking mentors to share their knowledge.
Sign to be a mentor or mentee using this form. Space in this popular program is limited. IRE will accept mentee registrations until Sunday, Feb. 4, 2018, or until the program is full. In order to participate, you must be registered for the conference.
If you have questions, please contact Cody Winchester at cody@ire.org.
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