Strickland, Downie, Fed Reserve official to address Convention
Gov. Ted Strickland, Washington Post vice president Leonard Downie and Federal Reserve Bank official Mark Schweitzer are the featured speakers for the 2009 ONA Convention, scheduled for Feb. 11, 12 and 13 at the Columbus Hilton at Easton Town Center. The complete convention program has been announced in a mailing to all ONA members.
The governor will open the convention on Thursday morning, Feb. 12, with a briefing on his agenda for the remaining two years of his term. Downie will address attendees during the Thursday luncheon and Schweitzer will discuss the state of the economy and chances for recovery, immediately following the ONA Annual Meeting on Friday morning, Feb. 13.
Downie, who started at The Washington Post immediately after his graduation from Ohio State University, was recently promoted to vice president at large. In his 17 years as executive editor, the newspaper was awarded 25 Pulitzer Prizes. In the 1970’s, while serving as deputy metro editor, he worked under the legendary Ben Bradlee and helped direct coverage of the Watergate investigation as reported by Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein.
Downie has just completed a novel titled “The Rules of the Game,” that will be released in January. Perhaps not coincidentally, it deals with a young female reporter at a Washington D.C. newspaper whose pursuit of corruption in lobbying and government contracting leads her into danger.
Schweitzer is senior vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Cleveland. In that role, he sets the direction for economic research and briefs the Bank president for meetings of the Open Market Committee of the Federal Reserve System. His own research has focused on the impact of labor market developments and factors contributing to regional economic growth.
Additional convention sessions will cover ad pricing, newsprint, content sharing, ethics, blogs, “going mobile,” and high school newspapers. Back by popular demand is the “Great Ideas Contest” with cash prizes.
The ONA Convention begins with a Welcome Reception on Wednesday, Feb. 11, from 5 to 7 p.m. Complete convention and registration details are available for download in PDF format at www.ohionews.org/conventionprogram.pdf.
Special ONA room rates at the Hilton are $169 single or double and deadline for reservations is Jan. 26. Don’t delay! Make your plans now and register for this excellent convention program!
