June 22, 2018: Why This Reporter and Editors Conference Is Compared to a Music Festival for Journalists, Organizer of Charlottesville White Supremacy Rally Gets Approved to Hold Event in Washington, Speakers Bureau Drops Corey Lewandowski

1. WHY THIS REPORTER AND EDITORS CONFERENCE IS COMPARED TO A MUSIC FESTIVAL FOR JOURNALISTS: Last week, hundreds of reporters and editors traveled to Orlando for a conference that some compare to a music festival for journalists. The New York Times: “The crowd waited for The New York Times’s executive editor, Dean Baquet, and The Washington Post’s executive editor, Martin Baron—the headliners of the 2018 Investigative Reporters and Editors Conference—to speak. ‘It is like Coachella for journalists, because you’ve got a million stages and a million different acts going on—minus the music, and maybe with a lot more khakis,’ Matt Pearce, a national reporter at The Los Angeles Times, said. IRE was formed in 1975, in the shadow of the Watergate scandal, by journalists who wanted to share tips about writing and reporting. The first conference, held a year later, drew 300 reporters to Indianapolis. This year, approximately 1,775 people from newspapers, websites and television channels worldwide were in Orlando. … All told, there were 430 speakers and 210 sessions over four days. (Fifteen Times staff members spoke about their work.) The sessions covered such topics as improving investigative interviews, writing compelling narratives and mining data on websites. Despite IRE’s growing membership, there continue to be calls to increase diversity in the organization. ‘It was definitely very white, and it was just reflective of what our industry looks like, unfortunately,’ said Carlos Ballesteros, who is participating in a yearlong Report for America fellowship at The Chicago Sun-Times and is Latino. ‘Hopefully we will see more journalists of color next year in Houston.’ IRE organizers have been working to attract more minority journalists to the conference through fellowships and other efforts, Mr. Haddix, the executive director, said.” https://nyti.ms/2MNZ1jV

2. ORGANIZER OF CHARLOTTESVILLE WHITE SUPREMACY RALLY GETS APPROVED TO HOLD EVENT IN WASHINGTON: One of the organizers of last year’s deadly white nationalist rally in Charlottesville has received approval from the National Park Service to hold an anniversary rally on August 12 across from the White House. Washington Post: “Jason Kessler, who organized the ‘Unite the Right’ rally in Charlottesville with Richard Spencer and other white-supremacist leaders, submitted a National Mall Special Event permit request on May 8 to hold a ‘white civil rights’ rally in Lafayette Square ‘protesting civil rights abuse in Charlottesville.’ The Park Service approved the request but has not yet issued a permit. The news was first reported by WUSA-TV. A Park Service spokesman said the agency is gathering information from the organizers on details of the event, and that information will be used to create the permit. Hundreds of white-nationalist marchers engaged in violent clashes and street battles with counterprotesters at last year’s rally in Charlottesville while police initially stood by and the fights accelerated. Later that day, after the rally had been shut down by law enforcement, authorities said that James Alex Fields Jr., a self-identified Nazi, drove his car into a throng of anti-fascist marchers, killing 32-year-old Heather Heyer and injuring dozens of others. … Kessler applied to hold an anniversary rally in Charlottesville, but the city denied his request. He then sued the city, saying his First Amendment rights were being denied. The case has not been decided. Kessler said in an email that he expects to win the lawsuit and will have rallies in Charlottesville and Washington on Aug. 12 if he prevails in court. Kessler estimated in his Park Service application that the D.C. event would draw 400 people.” https://wapo.st/2IbZ1qH

3. SPEAKERS BUREAU DROPS COREY LEWANDOWSKI: Former Trump campaign manager Corey Lewandowski has been dropped by his speakers bureau after mocking the story of a 10-year-old girl with Down syndrome who was separated from her mother at the U.S.-Mexico border. CNN: "Leading Authorities, Inc., one of Washington DC's top speakers bureaus, severed ties with Lewandowski on Wednesday, a source familiar with the matter said. His name no longer appears on the bureau's website. Speakers bureaus like LAI handle speaking gigs for notable political and media personalities, which can be a lucrative business. Speakers can net five- or even six-figure checks for one engagement. Matthew Jones, the bureau's chief operating officer, did not respond to phone calls requesting comment. Lewandowski also did not respond to several phone calls. Lewandowski has drawn widespread criticism for remarks he made on Fox News on Tuesday. When former senior Democratic National Committee adviser Zac Petkanas talked about "a 10-year-old girl with Down syndrome" who had been 'taken from her mother and put in a cage,' Lewandowski dismissed the anecdote, saying, 'Womp womp.'" https://cnnmon.ie/2ln0ql9


* INDUSTRY NEWS *

Blackstone has acquired PSAV, which provides audiovisual and other services for events. Press release: https://bit.ly/2tsvcge

* LOCAL NEWS *

COAST TO COAST:  Hospitality Alliance, a national management, development, and consulting company, has announced new projects. The company will manage and revamp dining and nightlife venues at Sound View Greenport hotel in Long Island’s North Fork; the company will manage food and beverage operations at the Thunderbird Boutique Hotel in Las Vegas; the company is managing dining and bar options at the Mayfair Hotel in Los Angeles, which will a debut a renovation in July; and the company recently opened its third office in Dallas. 

BOSTON:  PEAK Event Services has named Brian Bacica C.E.O. Bacica replaces current interim C.E.O. William Jones. 

CHICAGO:  The 2019 Chicago Flower & Garden Show will take place March 20-24 at Navy Pier. 

LAS VEGAS:  Downtown Las Vegas Events Center will hold a World Cup vieweing party on Saturday for the Mexico vs. South Korea match. 

LOS ANGELES:  El Tejano will host the Tortilla Awards on Tuesday. Five local contestants will create tacos that are paired with Tequila Cazadores cocktails in hopes of being crowned the best tortilla maker in the city. Judges include chef Aarón Sanchez and Tequila Cazadores global brand ambassador Manny Hinojosa. 

For information on upcoming events in Los Angeles, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/losangeles

NEW YORK:  The sixth annual NBC 4 and Telemundo 47 Health & Fitness Expo, presented by Quest Diagnostics, will take place Saturday and Sunday at MetLife Stadium. 

Major Food Group has promoted Ashley Eddie to executive chef of Santina, the Italian restaurant located under the High Line.

For information on upcoming events in New York, visit Masterplanner: http://www.masterplanneronline.com/newyork

TAMPA:  MegaCon Tampa Bay will take place September 21-23 at the Tampa Convention Center. The pop culture fan convention will feature cast members from The Walking Dead and Dr. Who. 

YOUR NEWS: What are you doing? Tell us: [email protected]. 

JOB BOARD: Post a job or find a job: http://jobs.bizbash.com

With contributions from Claire Hoffman in Los Angeles and Beth Kormanik, Michele Laufik, Ian Zelaya, and Kristine Liao in New York.

BizBash Daily is the must-read digest of event industry news from BizBash.com.

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