Learn about the global economic crisis in Washington D.C.

The Institute on Political Journalism is holding a conference for college journalists on the global economic crisis from Nov. 13 to 14 in Washington D.C.
The conference will look at how journalists, politicians and others played a role in the economic meltdown.
Journalists will have the opportunity to improve the way they cover the economy while learning from the journalism mistakes of the past; looking at whether journalist have reported on the crisis accurately, examining how stronger economic reporting could have better served the American public and exploring the relationship between the press, economists and politicians. Attendees will delve into topics like:

• A Capitol Affair: The relationship between politicians and the press
• Liars figure & figures lie: Journalists search for fact over fiction
• Contract Killers: State sponsored murder of journalists
• Following the money & crunching the numbers: How to be a better economic reporter
• Objectivity in the new media age: Biased blogs, point of view reporting and the search for honest journalism
• Don't know much about the economy: A primer for young journalists
• Convergence frenzy: How to succeed in the new media world
• Intellectual diversity in the newsroom: How to achieve it

Confrence Guest speakers include Bill Adair, Richard Behar, Chad Pergram, Jennifer Hoelzer, Deborah Solomon, Dr. Mark Grabowski and Robert Bluey.
Early registration at the cost of $75 per person will be available until Oct. 14. After Oct. 14, registration will be available for at $90 per person. Hotel accommodations are also available for a discounted rate of $139 per night.
To learn more about the conference and register online, visit here.

Rovell on the economics of sports

Today Mediabistro has a podcast with Darren Rovell, the sports business reporter for CNBC.
Rovell talks about how the economic crisis is affecting attendance, steroids and why business executives don't want to sit behind home plate at the new Yankee stadium.
To check out the podcast click here.

AP launches economic stress index

The Associated Press is launching an economic stress index that will provide monthly, multi-format updates on the economic stress of the United States down to the county level.
The index weighs three economic variables - unemployment, foreclosures and bankruptcy - to produce a score on a scale of 0-100 that measures how the recession is affecting a county compared to all others.
The scores are then plotted on the interactive Associated Press Economic Stress Maps, which demonstrate at a highly local level how economic conditions have deteriorated since October 2007. They also can be used as a tool to measure the progress of recovery in the coming months, providing a granular view of economic change in the United States.

"The AP Economic Stress Index is a valuable tool for analyzing what got us to this point of the recession," said Kristin Gazlay, the AP's managing editor for business news and global training. "But, even more importantly, it gives us a way to look at how things change over time and judge whether the economy is actually getting better, including pinpointing precisely where the recovery has its roots."