10:15 A.M. - 11:15 A.M. - Newsroom Session

Studio in Your Pocket – Robert Griffith, Award-Winning Documentary Filmmaker, Griffith Films LLC

Robert Griffith, owner of Griffith Films LLC,  is an international award-winning filmmaker who has been telling stories on film and video for more than thirty-five years. His early training and experience as a documentary and news cameraman for national networks NBC and CBS, led to his forming Griffith Films as an independent filmmaker, creating films and television commercials for regional and national clients.

For the last decade, Griffith has concentrated on producing long-format documentaries focusing on a variety of compelling social issues. His latest recognition was being awarded the Theresa Pollak Prize for Excellence in the Arts, in the category of Film. Recent documentaries include Seasons With Brian and Julia, which has been screened coast to coast, and Voices of Hope and Recovery, currently being viewed nationwide.

Griffith has won multiple awards, including First Place in the Association of Film Commissioners International Competition in 2006, for Moviemaking in Virginia: Part 2. Griffith served as Director of Photography for the feature length film Lillian, which won a Sundance Film Festival Special Jury Award.

 

10:15 A.M. - 11:15 A.M. - Management Session

Above the Scroll: Acquiring Tomorrow’s Readers Today – Ellen Moseley, Chris West and Stefan Babich, Foxglove Marketing

Ellen Moseley is a digital marketer and recovering journalist. Her 15-year career at The Roanoke Times spanned a variety of roles, including copy editor, page designer, news editor and online editor.

She co-founded the company that would become Foxglove Marketing in 2016 with a mission to help small business owners create and build critical online marketing channels. Now, she is chiefly responsible for content planning and development, including social media, email marketing, website management and more.

Along the way, Ellen has picked up a variety of marketing skills and tools that she wishes she could go back and apply to content distribution efforts in the newsroom.

When she's not working, Ellen can be found cooking, following reggae bands, and snuggling with her miniature schnauzers.

 

Chris West is a digital strategist who applies traditional marketing principles to an increasingly technological age.

Chris began his journey in print media but saw the rising influence of digital over his 13-year career. He served as an account executive, retail manager, and divisional sales manager at The Columbus Ledger-Enquirer before transitioning to The Roanoke Times where he served as the digital advertising manager.

As a co-founder of Foxglove Marketing, Chris spends most of his time meeting with clients. His responsibilities include client acquisition, account management, marketing strategy, business consulting and client reporting.

Outside of work hours, Chris can be found spending time with family, attending horseback riding lessons, and cooking Sunday dinners.

 

Stefan Babich is a seasoned marketing professional with over 20 years of marketing experience, including 16 years in the newspaper industry, where he held various print and digital roles, including Vice President of The Roanoke Times.
As co-owner of Foxglove Marketing, Stefan is dedicated to developing and executing effective digital marketing strategies for clients, ensuring that they see meaningful and measurable results. He is particularly skilled in customer acquisition strategies and campaign performance tracking, which he uses to ensure that clients get the best possible return on their investments using the latest digital technologies and strategies.

In his spare time, Stefan likes to acquire new skills, spend time with his two German shepherds, and go skiing and snowboarding in the Rocky Mountains with his two sons, Ayden and Madden.

 

 

 

 

 

 

1:10 p.m.- 2:10 p.m. - Newsroom Session

Visual Storytelling - Kira Rider, Art Director & Digital Media Coordinator for James River Media and Dennis Brack, president, and owner of Rappahannock Media

Kira Rider is the Art Director & Digital Media Coordinator for James River Media, which includes HOME magazine and WLNI radio. Prior to that, she was a designer for the Richmond Times-Dispatch for more than 7 years. She specialized in layout and infographics. In 2019, she received VPA’s Best in Show award for Daily Graphics, Illustration and Art.

Kira graduated from Ball State University in 2015 with a major in journalism graphics. She completed a double minor of digital publishing and graphic arts technology.

 

Dennis Brack is co-managing partner of Rappahannock Media, which publishes community newspapers (in Prince William, Rappahannock and Culpeper), local magazines, specialty publications and InsideNoVa.com, Northern Virginia’s largest news digital site. Brack became publisher of the Rappahannock News in 2013 after leaving The Washington Post Company, where he worked in a variety of positions in the Post’s newsroom, including leading the design and graphics teams, and at Foreign Policy magazine as its creative director.

Earlier in his career, Brack worked for Knight Ridder and helped lead newspaper redesign projects in Spain and Bolivia. His first summer internship was in Virginia at the Fauquier Times-Democrat in Warrenton, and he later interned at The Virginian-Pilot. Brack grew up in Fairfax and is a graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

1:10 p.m.- 2:10 p.m.  - Advertising Session

Digital Download – Digital Advertising 101 – Billy Garland, Regional Marketing Director, and Meg Satka, Digital Strategist, Lee Enterprises

Bill Garland

“Billy Garland is a data driven Marketing/Communications professional with a proven management, marketing, and creative skillset gained across a decade spent developing and implementing marketing strategies for businesses across all industry categories. Somebody once told him that data should “either tell a story or beg a question.” That thought struck a chord, and ever since Billy has been obsessed with translating numbers on a spreadsheet into real, human, talk.

Billy currently serves as the Regional Marketing Director for Lee Enterprises Southeast Division, and he remains committed to helping clients tell their stories to the right audience, at the right time, every time.”

 

Meg Satka is a dynamic sales strategist who is passionate about coaching sales teams and clients as they navigate our ever-changing and fast-paced digital world. She is excited to share fresh ideas for revenue growth and client engagement, with an easy to understand and immediately actionable approach, so listeners can start exploring new strategies and winning right away. Meg has been with Lee Enterprises since 2018. She moved to Virginia from Wisconsin in early 2022 and works directly with the print & digital sales teams in Richmond, Fredericksburg and Charlottesville. She graduated from Winona State University in 2009 and has one son who is in the military. Mobile/Text: 608-797-1172 | Email: Msatka@TimesDispatch.com | LinkedIn - /MegSatka