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REGISTRATION NOW OPEN FOR OCTOBER 16-17
DIGITAL MEDIA CONFERENCE

Online registration is now open at www.digitalmediaconference.org
for the National Writers Union's "Shall We Write for Free or Shall We Write for Pay?
Writers Face the Digital Age." - a conference on issues of vital concern to writers
in every genre.

Co-sponsors: PEN New England, Grub Street, Open Media Boston, Women's National Book Associaion,
Organizers' Collaborative, John D. O'Bryant African-American Institute at Northeastern University

WHERE: Egan Center, Northeastern University campus, 120 Forysth St., Boston,
two blocks from Museum of Fine Arts and the MBTA. Parking in the university's
Renaissance Garage. Directions here.

WHEN: Friday, October 16, 7 p.m. - 9:30 p.m. (registration starts at 6 p.m.) and all day
Saturday, October 17, 10 a.m. - 5:30 p.m. (registration starts at 9 p.m.)

COST (covers Friday night and all day Saturday and includes catered lunch): $50 with $10
discount for members of the National Writers Union and co-sponsoring organizations. $30
for students/low income. For more info, contact Jason Pramas at jason@openmediaboston.org.
or 617-506-9515.

The NWU conference ticket also admits you to any session of the "Grassroots Use of Technology
Conference" organized by our co-sponsor, the Organizers' Collaborative, being held concurrently
at the Egan Center.

Members' books will be on display. If you want your book to be part of that display table of
members' books, contact Barbara Beckwith before Oct 8.

PROGRAMS

Friday, October 16:

6:00 p.m. Registration and Networking.

7-9:30 p.m. Introductions and Opening Panel: "Shall We Write for Free or Shall We Write For Pay?
[or How Can We Make a Living When Creators are Increasingly Expected to Give Away Our Work for Free?]

This panel will feature a broad discussion of the biggest questions facing writers and other creators in this digital age. New technologies are doing amazing things in terms of allowing instantaneous communication between hundreds of millions of people around the globe. They are also inspiring more and more people to publish work of all kinds in all media for audiences large and small. But can people with the talent and drive to find an audience and sell their creative work still do so with a reasonable hope of supporting themselves ... and keeping control of the rights to their work? Is copyright relevant anymore, should new rights regimes replace it, or is there some kind of middle ground? Is all talk of creative rights outdated and antithetical to creative freedom? Will trades like journalism, book writing and documentary film making survive as is? Or change completely? Or even disappear? Will new developments like "citizen journalism" replace these traditional trades or augment them in some positive fashion? Are media corporations providing a public service by encouraging amateur creators to publish their work for free? Or are they simply exploiting amateurs and using them as a way to replace more expensive professionals?

Panelists include Dan Kennedy (moderator) of Northeastern Univ. Journalism Dept., Zach Seward of Nieman Journalism Lab, Topper Carew, noted TV Producer and Writers Guild member, Lisa Williams of Placeblogger.com, Felicia M. Sullivan of Organizers' Collaborative, and Jason Pramas of the National Writers Union and Open Media Boston, plus welcome statements by Richard O'Bryant of the John D. O'Bryant African-American Institute and Jeanne Harnois of the National Writers Union.

Saturday, October 17

9 a.m. Registration. Mix 'n mingle, Coffee, Peruse members' books on display.

10-11:15 a.m. First Workshop Session

Morning Workshops

Creators on Creative Rights. This roundtable will feature creators from various industries sharing their experiences with keeping control of rights to their work in a time when many employers expect people to sell all rights to their works in all media for low one-time payments.

Led by Roberto Mighty (new media producer and director of prime time programs and documentaries), David Goodman (Open Media Boston and I.B.I.S. Radio).

Introduction to Virtual Worlds. You've probably heard about virtual worlds like Second Life - online systems which allow millions of people to create online versions of themselves (called "avatars") and pursue all kinds of creative and mundane activities in a completely human-created environment with global reach. But did you know that writers are making money in virtual worlds? This workshop will provide a general introduction to Second Life via live demonstration of the system - followed by an online presentation on writing in virtual worlds.

Led by "Persia Bravin," the avatar of a UK-based journalist for major media outlets, Joyce Bettencourt (The Vesuvius Group and Global Kids), Lori Landay (Berklee College of Music Liberal Arts Dept.) and Gary Zabel (UMass Boston Philosophy Dept.). All participants are noted Second Life innovators.

New Ways to Get Paid for Your Work: Micropayments, Microfinance and Crowdfunding. Can you actually make enough money from $5 or $10 payments from your website's audience to actually make a living? Does getting sponsors to pay for your freelance work make good financial sense? This workshop will talk about the ups-and-downs of trying to fund your work through online micropayments, ads and donations.

Led by Jesse Kirdahy-Scalia (Open Media Boston).

Saturday Lunch Talk

11:45 a.m.-1:15 p.m. Lunch Speaker - The Road Less Traveled: Public Funding for Content Creation. This talk by noted documentary film maker and community media expert Fred Johnson will address the possibility of a new WPA-style program for creators in the context of current debates about "Public Media 2.0" that are swirling in American academic and government circles.

Mastering Social Media and the Internet: Tweeting, Blogging, and Friending Your Way to Online Marketing Success. This workshop will give you a jargon-free introduction to one of social media's most important functions - helping you to market your work to the growing online audience using Facebook, Twitter and other social media services.

Led by Rob Watson, Massachusetts Cultural Council Social Media Communication Coordinator, and Jeanne Harnois of the National Writers Union.

Is There a Future for Journalism as a Career? Experienced journalists and those just entering the field - or considering going to school to learn to do so, see layoffs and newspapermagazine closings and ask: are paid journalists opportunities out there, or should they switch to a field where there are jobs?

Led by Steve Simurda of the UMass Amherst Journalism Department.

Who Owns Your Work? an Intellectual Property Rights Primer. Here's your chance to learn not only the basics of copyright but how to spot new clauses that are popping up in contracts that can diminish your control of the use of your writing and other creative works.

Led by Barbara Mende of the NWU Grievance and Contract Division.

3:15-5:15 p.m. Open Forum: Brainstorming on a Potential NWU Digital Rights Campaign
moderated by Larry Goldbetter (president, National Writers Union) - How can we make common cause with other creators to improve our collective ability to improve our working conditions and effect positive political economic change?

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