By Dan Grech and Christine Johnson
On Friday, May 13th, and Saturday, May 14th, Hacks/Hackers Miami is hosting one of the largest journalism technology gatherings ever held in South Florida. It’s called Hacks/Hackers Connect, and it aims to catalyze and inspire media innovation through talks and workshops from some of the nation’s top media innovators.
Miami is one of seven cities worldwide hosting this Google News Lab-partnered launchpad event to agitate for more media entrepreneurship. More than 150 of Florida’s foremost innovators in journalism, engineering, design and business will attend.
Topics include: virtual reality, streaming video, data journalism, lean startup culture, gaming for storytelling, reaching bilingual audiences, and many more unique offerings. “Brain date” sessions will be offered for participants to have one-on-one time with speakers (pre-registration required). And prominent angel investors will offer roundtable coaching sessions for founders of leading Florida journalism startups organized by the Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corporation.
Some of the contributors for the 2-day event are:
- Jennifer Brandel, Co-Founder and CEO, Hearken;
- Ruth Spencer, Managing Editor, Guardian News & Media;
- Edward “Ed” Rodriguez, Vice President of Americas Marketing, Citrix;
- Bharat Krish, Corporate VP IT (CIO), HBO Latin America;
- Nathaniel Lash and Eli Murray, Pulitzer Prize-winning Data Reporters,
Tampa Bay Times; - Alex de Carvalho, Founder, Visual Storytelling Institute;
- Hillary Frey, Co-Chief Creative Officer, Matter Studios;
- Olman Hernandez, Video Producer, Fusion;
- David Schutz, Design Director, South Florida Sun Sentinel;
- Christopher Sopher, CEO, The New Tropic;
- Jeff Brown, Founder, Fourth Estate Public Benefit Corporation; and,
- Anna Sterling, Video Producer, Fusion.
Connect events are made possible through a partnership between Hacks/Hackers, a global network of more than 40,000 journalists & technologists, and Google News Lab. The Hacks/Hackers Miami chapter is bringing Connect to Miami as an extension of their dedication to build the South Florida media innovation landscape. Hacks/Hackers Miami launched in 2013 and now has more than 1,150 members and has hosted over 150 events. The chapter is led by Dan Grech, Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations, OfferCraft; Rebekah Monson, Co-Founder, The New Tropic; and, Rachel Schallom, Interactive Designer, Fusion.
Connect is an intimate event. Space is limited, and RSVPs are required for attendance by Monday, May 9th. Learn more about the programming and save your seat at http://bit.ly/connectmia. The cost to attend is your creative energy and knowledge!
For questions, contact Christine Johnson, Local Producer, at christinecelise@gmail.com.
Dan Grech is Vice President of Marketing and Public Relations for OfferCraft and Christine Johnson is Local Producer for Hacks/Hackers Connect, Miami.