Frequently Asked Questions

What should I expect from the Workshop?

A lot. For a very reasonable registration fee, we offer nearly three days of sessions in design, graphics, online, multimedia, photography, management and creativity. The typical Workshop has 30-40 sessions and an international speaking line-up of 40-50 of our best minds. Two meals and an opening reception are also included, along with the opportunity for portfolio reviews and hands-on training in the most in-demand software. In addition, exhibitors and job boards keep you up to date in the latest in products, services and employment. But most of all, it’s the premier opportunity to meet and network with visual journalists from around the globe in a creative and welcoming atmosphere. We agree that SND puts on the best journalism workshop.

How long has this event been going on?

This is the 30th Annual Workshop. In September, 1979, the first Workshop was held in Chicago. Last year the event was in Boston. In 2009, the Workshop will be held in Buenos Aires. Currently we’re scheduled through 2011 (Denver in ‘10, followed by St. Louis in ‘11). If you think your organization would like to put on a Workshop, contact SND headquarters.

How many people typically attend the SND Workshop?

Attendance over the last decade has varied from roughly 550 to 850 . We are anticipating 650-700 at this year’s Workshop.

How do I find out more about the program?

Click on the program tab of the website to get a list of confirmed speakers. As we more clearly define the sessions, we will add titles and session descriptions as well as speaker bios and photos. We will begin placing the sessions in a day/time grid in the early summer so you can better plan your trip.

I hear this Workshop is different from recent ones. What’s different?

It’s essentially the same type of Workshop as we’ve put on in the past, with two key differences. The biggest and most exciting is that we are meeting in conjunction with two other journalism groups — the Associated Press Managing Editors and the Associated Press Photo Managers. Also, we normally meet on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. This year we are meeting on Sunday, Monday and Tuesday.

Why are you meeting on different days?

Las Vegas, unlike most cities, has a spike in hotel rates on Friday and Saturday as demand peaks. Unless there’s a major convention in town, weeknight prices are dramatically less expensive. So we changed our pattern to keep hotel rates affordable. As a side benefit, we think that with the Saturday and Sunday papers put to bed, this schedule may be a benefit for many of our members.

How will it work meeting with APME and APPM?

Their main meeting days are one day behind ours. Our crossover days are Monday and Tuesday. Each of us will have our separate programs, but we will program two general sessions for everyone on Tuesday — one in the morning, one in the afternoon.

Can I go to APME or APME sessions if the topic interests me?

Absolutely. The greatest thing about this Workshop is that your SND registration will get you into any APME or APPM session you want to go to except their luncheon sessions. And their registration gets them into any of our non-meal sessions as well. It’s like getting three workshops for the price of one.

What else is different?

If you’ve been to the Annual Workshop before, you know that we usually close the Workshop with our Awards Dinner. While details are still in the works, we believe we’ll be attending a Freedom Forum event on Tuesday night. So we have moved our Awards Dinner to Monday night.

When should I arrive and when should I leave?

Our advice this year is to come early and stay late. SND sessions begin in earnest mid-afternoon Sunday and run until 5:45 p.m. Tuesday. Normally the arrival day (in this case Sunday) doesn’t have much in the way of events for most attendees. There is an all-day Multimedia Quick Course (with a separate registration) and all-day free student workshop. But regular Workshop sessions begin in the afternoon, which is new. Because we’re in the Pacific time zone, many of our attendees who are interested in the Sunday sessions can arrive early enough to attend.

While we are pretty much finished on Tuesday, there are reasons to stay on Wednesday as well. APME and APPM have a full day of sessions that you are free to attend with your SND registration. In addition, we have three bonus sessions scheduled for Wednesday that will also appeal to our APPM colleagues.

Where will the event be held?

The Workshop will be held at the Red Rock Casino Resort Spa. It is a new hotel, about 13 miles off the Strip. It has exceptionally nice and spacious guest rooms and some of the best meeting space we’ve seen. It is an upscale resort and casino with eight restaurants and a food court. There’s a nightclub, a 72-lane bowling alley and a 16-screen cinema. More information at www.redrocklasvegas.com.

Why so far off the Strip?

Three reasons: value, focus and scale. The Red Rock’s guest rooms and meeting space blew the Strip competitors away, even those that cost considerably more. Also, site chair Bill Gaspard felt that it would be good for attendees to both see the “locals” side of Vegas and to remove the alluring distractions found outside on Las Vegas Boulevard. But perhaps most important, the scale and layout of the hotel preserves the networking and serendipity that is a highlight of our Workshops. We would have been swallowed up by some of the gigantic Strip properties. Between SND and APME/APPM we will literally “own” the hotel.

What is the hotel rate and how long is it good for?

We negotiated a nightly room rate of $179.99. That doesn’t include tax but does include a nightly $19.99 resort fee that the hotel charges every guest. We chose to roll it into the advertised room rate. The resort fee includes nightly turndown service, a daily newspaper, admission to the fitness center (normally $30) and scheduled shuttle service to and from the Las Vegas Strip and McCarran Airport (the airport shuttle can save you a $50 taxi ride each way). The room rate is good for three days before and three days after the workshop, based on availability.

What’s the cutoff date?

The contracted room rate will not be guaranteed after August 4. If there are still rooms available they will be offered at the hotel’s prevailing rate.

Will there be room in the hotel for everyone?

We anticipate having enough hotel rooms. However, we recommend booking your hotel early to assure a room. There are 818 total rooms in the hotel and if SND and APME each get higher than anticipated attendance we could fill 800 of those rooms on Monday night. There’s really no room to grow in a situation like that.

What happens if the hotel sells out?

Unfortunately, there are no overflow hotels in the immediate vicinity of the Red Rock. The three closest hotels are The Suncoast Hotel and Casino (2.5 miles), The J.W. Marriott Las Vegas Resort (2.9 miles) and Hampton Inn & Suites Las Vegas - West Summerlin (3.5 miles). Currently there are no shuttles that run between the Red Rock and these hotels. If we find ourselves with a number of attendees in one of these overflow hotels, we’ll explore transportation options.

My company is interested in having a table in the exhibit area. How do I do that?

If your company is interested in either placing an item in the welcome bag or having a table in the exhibit area, please contact Susan Santoro at SND headquarters.

What other sponsorship opportunities are there?

If you want to host a party, sponsor a speaker, sponsor our hands-on lab, our cyber cafe, the Intern, our Vegas version of business card bingo or would like information on other custom sponsorship opportunities, contact site chair Bill Gaspard. Or check out our sponsorship page on this site.

I’m either a first-timer or relatively new to the workshop. What opportunities will there be for me to meet others?

Everyone who registers will get an e-mail inviting them to participate in our networking game — similar to a business card bingo, but with a Vegas twist. Also the registration form asks first time attendees to check a box to identify themselves. We will have a couple opportunities to bring you together with workshop veterans and the SND leadership.

I’m interested in a critique of my work. What do I do?

There is a box on the registration form to check if you are interested in a critique. You will be contacted by e-mail and eventually matched up with one of our volunteer experts. Our expectation is that you will send PDFs or links to the person assigned to your critique in advance of the workshop.

Will there be hands-on sessions?

There will be software demonstration sessions where you will get useful tips and tricks. There will also be looks at new software that you might be interested in. But we probably won’t have hands-on sessions like last year.

I’m a student and interested in the Intern competition. Will you have that again?

Yes. We’ve finally put together a simplified version for this year. We won’t try to compete with the spectacular efforts put on in Orlando and Boston. That’s partly because our timing this year precludes a lot of students attending (we’re holding the Workshop the first week of classes for many schools) and partly because the newspaper economy this year is wobbly to say the least. So, this is a less expensive program to produce and open to many more students. We will have excellent prizes to compete for, of course. Right now we have internships at the St. Petersburg Times and Arizona Republic as well as three summer multimedia fellowships at the Poynter Institute. We have a half-dozen other papers considering participating, but it’s too early in the budget cycle for them to make a commitment. We’ll announce additional papers as they come on board over the summer. Go here for more details and an application form.

How should I dress for the workshop?

Dress how you feel comfortable — there is no dress code for SNDVegas. Many dress casually for the sessions and many others choose to dress up more for the Awards Dinner. The opening party is scheduled to be outdoors at the Red Rock pool. While it will be evening, it’s still fairly warm (hot, really) in Las Vegas in early September. Not saying you should come in your bathing suit, but dress comfortably.

So, what will the weather be like?

It’s the desert and it will still be summer. So, if everything stays true to form, it will be damn hot in the afternoons (but it’s a dry heat) and become quite comfortable overnight. For the Workshop dates, the average high is 100; the early-morning average low a very comfortable 62. The air conditioning systems at Las Vegas hotels are as powerful as an arctic wind, so as odd as it may sound, many of you may need a light sweater or jacket indoors. August often sees a spike in precipitation (our version of monsoon season) — a few spectacular storms blowing through. By September most of that has quieted. It’s our second driest month (after June).

What meals are covered as part of the registration?

All registrations include a business breakfast on Monday morning and most will get you into the Awards Dinner on Monday night. The lowest price student and educator registrations do not include a ticket to the Awards Dinner. In addition to the meals, there will be appetizers at the opening reception on Sunday night (sponsored by the Las Vegas Sun) and, we think, at a reception on Tuesday night (sponsored by the Freedom Forum).

I see I’m supposed to choose a dinner option. What are the fish, beef and vegetarian meals?

Our experience so far with the banquet food at Red Rock has been very good. The fish is a grilled Atlantic halibut with dijon and chervil on toasted orzo pilaf. The beef is a pan seared bone-in ribeye with steamed broccoli and lyonnaise potatoes. The vegetarian dish is a risotto with a tower of vegetables. Each comes with a salad (Belgium endive, pear and baby arugula, blue cheese mousse and pecan vinaigrette) and dessert (molten chocolate cake with raspberry caramel and Tahitian vanilla bean ice cream). If you’re interested, the Monday morning breakfast will be served buffet style and will includes juices, breakfast breads, croissants, danish, fresh fruits, cold cereals and hot breakfast sandwiches (sausage, egg, roasted pepper and cheese on a semolina ciabattini). And coffee and tea, of course. Lots of coffee.

Can I bring a guest to any sessions?

To attend the opening party, breakout and general sessions you must be registered for the Workshop. However, you can purchase extra tickets for the Awards Dinner for $75 each. Also extra tickets to the $50 Foundation fund raiser do not require Workshop registration. While tickets can be purchased on site at the registration desk, it’s best to purchase extra tickets when you register.

What is this year’s Foundation fund raiser?

It’s called “How We Roll” and will be held immediately after the opening party Sunday in the VIP suites at the Red Rock bowling alley. Proceeds will go to the newly created Edmund C. Arnold Scholarship fund. The $50 ticket will get you three hours of bowling (including shoes and socks), two drink tickets and two raffle tickets. The prizes at these events are usually pretty good. Last year we gave away an iPhone, touch iPod and registration to this year’s Workshop. Because of the size of the suites, tickets to this event are strictly limited to 120. It is highly advised that you purchase these tickets at the time of registration.

Will there be a silent auction?

Absolutely! If you’re interested in donating an item or items, please contact site chair Bill Gaspard. As we collect items, we will post them on the web so bidders can come to Vegas prepared to buy. Watch for the Foundation section coming soon to this website.

Can I buy a one-day pass to SNDVegas?

We offer one of the best training values around. All of our forms are priced for the three-day event. However, if you can only attend for a single day, please contact site chair Bill Gaspard for information and special pricing.