20 Webinars in the next 2 weeks about AI, Journalism, Climate, Health & More

Tue, April 30 - What to Know About Treatment-Resistant Depression

What: Treatment-resistant depression and learn how to cover this complex medical condition with depth and nuance.

Who: Dr. Maurizio Fava Chair, Department of Psychiatry/Psychiatrist-in-Chief, Massachusetts General Hospital; Dr. Lisa Harding Board Certified Psychiatrist & Depression Expert; Courtenay Harris Bond Staff Writer, Philly Voice; Dr. John Tumeh Chief of Psychiatry, Foundation Psychiatry.

When: 12 noon, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: National Press Foundation, Johnson & Johnson

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Tue, April 30 - Storytelling for Impact

What: Tips, techniques and tools to help the modern marketer tell better and more impactful stories to activate their audiences around ideas and actions.

Who: Kiersten Hill Director of Nonprofit Solutions

When: 2 pm, Central

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: FireSpring

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Tue, April 30 - Investigating the Israel-Hamas Conflict

What: Three senior investigative journalists will share tips and tools on how to work in such a perilous reporting environment, and techniques for digging into war atrocities.

Who: Sarah El-Deeb has been an Associated Press (AP) journalist since 2000, with extensive experience reporting in the Middle East. Peter Polack is a research-based designer and software developer with Forensic Architecture (FA), a research agency based at Goldsmiths, University of London, which develops, employs, and disseminates new techniques, methods, and concepts for investigating state and corporate violence. Phil Rees is the Director of Investigative Journalism at Al Jazeera. The moderator is Rachel Oldroyd, Deputy Investigations Editor of the Guardian.

When: 9 am, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Global Investigative Journalism Network

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Tue, April 30 - AI while avoiding the cloud: running local models

(also offered May 2)

What: What the open-source, locally-run ecosystem looks like for chatbots and large language models. We'll look at performance compared to the closed-off options, setup and hardware requirements, "uncensored" models and common technical adaptations like quantization that trades off ability for those of us without cutting-edge desktops.

Who: Jonathan Soma, Knight Chair in Data Journalism at Columbia's Journalism School and director of both the year-long Data Journalism MS and ten-week Lede Program summer bootcamp.

When: 9 am, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Columbia Journalism School

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Wed, May 1 - Disinformation, Elections & Democracy: How journalists can spot and disarm current tactics to influence voters

What: A practical look at current tactics used by disinformation specialists to disrupt the 2024 election and what journalists can do to counter them.

Who: Tina Barton, senior elections expert, Committee for Safe and Secure Elections; Yael Eisenstat, senior fellow at Cybersecurity for Democracy and PEN America consultant; Christine Fernando, democracy reporter, Associated Press; Sheera Frenkel, technology reporter for the New York Times

When: 11:30, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: National Press Club Journalism Institute

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Wed, May 1 - Choosing Words During War: Covering the Israel-Gaza Conflict

What: How do newsrooms decide what words to use in covering a complex conflict? In a quick-moving story, how should journalists decide if and when information is solid enough to publish? Has the current war presented new challenges, and what policies have changed or grown out of it?

Who: John Daniszewski, Vice President and Editor at Large for Standards, The Associated Press; David Folkenflik, Media Correspondent, NPR News; Steven Holmes, Former Executive Director, Standards & Practices, CNN; Pulitzer Prize winner for New York Times, "How Race Is Lived in America"; New York-based journalist Jane Eisner, former Director of Academic Affairs, Columbia Journalism School, and former Editor-in-Chief, The Forward.

When: 12 noon, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Columbia Journalism School, The Institute for Israel and Jewish Studies at Columbia University

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Wed, May 1 -  Environmental Journalists on the Frontlines of Democracy

What: A celebration of the important role of environmental journalism and a highlighting of the need to protect journalists around the world from surveillance, censorship, oppression, and violence.

Who: Jon Sawyer, Pulitzer Center Leadership; Meaghan Parker, of the Society of Environmental Journalists; Jeje Mohammed, of PEN America; Clayton Weimers, of Reporters Without Borders USA; and independent journalist Sandhya Ravishanka.

When: 10 am, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program (ECSP), in partnership with the Society of Environmental Journalists.

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Wed, May 1 - Why Press Freedom Matters: Exploring Evan Gershkovich’s Case

What: We’ll look at a high-profile example of the denial of press freedoms: the case of Wall Street Journal reporter Evan Gershkovich, who was wrongfully detained in Russia last year on bogus charges of spying.

Who: Wall Street Journal Assistant Editor Paul Beckett, who leads the Journal’s efforts at securing Gershkovich’s release, will discuss the case with New Literacy Project’s Brittney Smith.

When: 5 pm, Central

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: News Literacy Project

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Thu, May 2 - AI while avoiding the cloud: running local models

(a second offering of an April 30 event)

What: What the open-source, locally-run ecosystem looks like for chatbots and large language models. We'll look at performance compared to the closed-off options, setup and hardware requirements, "uncensored" models and common technical adaptations like quantization that trades off ability for those of us without cutting-edge desktops.

Who: Jonathan Soma, Knight Chair in Data Journalism at Columbia's Journalism School and director of both the year-long Data Journalism MS and ten-week Lede Program summer bootcamp.

When: 9 am, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Columbia Journalism School

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Thu, May 2 - Universities + public media + Election 2024 = an amazing opportunity

What: Election 2024 is an incredible opportunity for college students and public media stations to work together. How can student-led journalism reach new audiences and approach political coverage in a fresh way? We’ll learn what’s happening all across the U.S. from America Amplified, and on the ground in one mid-sized Midwestern community.

Who: Chelsea Nebeker-Naughton Digital Engagement Manager America Amplified; Jenna Dooley News Director Northern Public Radio; Katelynn McIlwain Managing Editor KBIA/University of Missouri.

When: 12 noon, Central

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: The University of Vermont and University Station Alliance

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Thu, May 2 - AI Driven Content Creation: Crafting Compelling Blogs

What: Explore how artificial intelligence can revolutionize content creation, particularly for blogs. Dive into the world of AI and learn how to leverage these technologies to produce compelling, engaging, and effective blog content that resonates with your audience.

Who: Casey Remolde, Chief Social Media Strategy Specialist at Kutztown Small Business Development Center; Nicole Stabile, Web Design Specialist at Kutztown Small Business Development Center.

When: 5 pm

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Kutztown University

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Thu, May 2 - The Intersections of Press Freedom and the Environment

What: This panel discussion will address obstacles U.S. journalists face when reporting urgent climate change and environmental issues for their communities — whether violence or arrest when covering environmental protests or denials of access and legal obstructions when investigating centers of political and corporate power.

Who: Carlos Berríos Polanco, writer and photojournalist from Caguas, Puerto Rico, specializing in climate and conflict topics; Halle Parker, journalist and Society of Environmental Journalists board member, who covers the environment for WWNO's Coastal Desk and Sea Change podcast; Caitlin Vogus, deputy director of advocacy at Freedom of the Press Foundation; Adam Glenn, deputy editor at Freedom of the Press Foundation.

When: 11 am, Central

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Freedom of the Press Foundation and the Society of Environmental Journalists

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Sat, May 4 - Next Gen Reporting for a Climate in Crisis

What: A conversation that focuses on empowering young journalists in the climate movement, and exploring their pivotal role in addressing pressing environmental challenges.

Who: Oleksii Otkydach (Ukraine), Political Analyst, La Sexta; Meghana Guntur (India), Corporate Interface Team Member, Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication; Sisanda Nkoala (South Africa), Associate Professor in the Linguistics Department at the University of the Western Cape; Sarah Swetlik, Climate Change and Environmental Reporter, The Greenville News; Pratika Katiyar, Board of Directors Student Member, Student Press Law Center; Peris Tushabe (Uganda), Program Coordinator for Free Expression and Education, PEN America;

When: 9 am, Central

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Pen America, Student Press Law Center  

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Mon, May 6 - Sciline Crash Course: Science Essentials for Local Reporters

What: Among the topics covered: Knowing whether and how science can enhance your story; Different kinds of studies and what each can—and cannot—reveal; Practical tips for identifying credible scientist-sources and interviewing them; and How to get the essentials from scientific reports, studies, and press releases.

Who: Former longtime Washington Post science reporter Rick Weiss and Ph.D. neuroscientist Dr. Tori Fosheim.

When: 2 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Society of Environmental journalists

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Tue, May 7 - Mini Lab: AI Tools for Research

What: AI tools you can use now to augment your research

Who: Newsroom Robots podcast host Nikita Roy

When: 3 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free for members, $25 for nonmembers

Sponsor: Online News Association

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Wed, May 8 - Leveraging AI in your Audience Engagement Strategy

What: Employing AI as part of your audience engagement strategy. We’ll explore how AI can help you identify communities and partnership opportunities, streamline workflows and craft messaging. We’ll also cover what only good old AE (Actual Experience) can do when it comes to Audience Engagement.

Who: Mike Reilley, Senior Lecturer, University of Illinois-Chicago; Jennifer Brandel CEO & Co-Founder, Hearken.

When: 2 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free for members, $25 for nonmembers

Sponsor: Online News Association

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Wed, May 8 - Local News: Why It Matters and How It's Changing

What: Media leaders discuss key issues and innovations in journalism including the changes and challenges, the new technology and tools for gathering and sharing the news — and answer all your questions during the Q & A.

Who: Beryl Love, Executive Editor and Vice President of News for the Cincinnati Enquirer; Jennifer Merritt, Deputy Editor/ Digital Editor for WVXU; Ann Thompson, Digital Media Producer for CET

When: 6 pm, Central

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Woman's City Club of Greater Cincinnati

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Wed, May 8 - How health journalists think about their roles amid current challenges

What: Our analyses identify role conceptions that are specific to the work of health journalists in the current political climate.

Who: Dr. Amanda Hinnant is an associate professor at the University of Missouri, School of journalism, where she holds the Wallace Turner Memorial Faculty Fellowship; Dr. Rachel Young is an associate professor and director of undergraduate studies in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Iowa.

When: 8 am, Central

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Bournemouth University Centre for Science, Health & Data Comm Research

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Thu, May 9 - What is service journalism and how do I do it right?

What: A wide-ranging discussion on all things service journalism.

Who: Tim Herrera, former editor of NYT's service desk Smarter Living.

When: 3 pm, Central

Where: Zoom

Cost: $20

Sponsor: Freelancing With Tim

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Fri, May 10 - Covering trans and LGBTQ+ issues during 2024

What: Trans people and DEIB programs are in the crosshairs of state leaders, legislatures, policymakers, and school boards. Journalists must be prepared to report and share the impact of these efforts, as well as how political candidates are using them to influence voters.

Who: Katie Barnes, digital feature writer; ESPN Lex McMenamin, news and politics editor, Teen Vogue; Phoebe Petrovic, investigative reporter, Wisconsin Watch; Moderator: Gina Chua, executive editor, Semafor. 

When: 11:30 am, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: National Press Club Journalism Institute

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5 Free Webinars this week about Journalism, AI, Teaching & Branding

Mon, April 1 – Covering the 2024 Election

Who: Media critic and author Margaret Sullivan, formerly executive editor of The Buffalo News, and Barton Gellman, a three-time Pulitzer-prize winner, author and journalist who is now a senior advisor to the Brennan Center for Justice.

When: 2 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Society of Professional Journalists, Wash., DC chapter

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Tue, April 2 - Meet The Generative AI Moment With Authentic Learning

What: This one-hour workshop will both provide a high-level explanation of how these tools work, along with insights from colleagues across disciplines at UChicago about how they’ve been approaching this change in the educational landscape. Attendees will receive context to make an informed decision about how to approach these tools and address the topic with their students. By providing examples of how they might design assignments and communicate their expectations in this new context, we hope to provide attendees with everything they need to feel confident that learning remains authentic even in a time that computer-generated text may approach the quality of human intellectual work.

Who: University of Chicago faculty

When: 1 pm, Central

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: University of Chicago

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Tue, April 2 - Artificial Intelligence in Practice: Building a Roadmap for AI Use in K-12 Schools

What: What are the best practices in crafting AI policies—should schools ban the technology, wholly embrace it, or something in between? What are the questions district and state leaders should ask themselves as they chart their course on AI? And where does AI literacy and professional development for teachers fit in this picture? This webinar will explore those questions, offering practical tips from educators and experts on how to approach this rapidly evolving technology while remaining mindful of core principles such as student privacy and academic honesty.

Who: Pati Ruiz is a Senior Director of Edtech and Emerging Technologies at Digital Promise where she leads the Edtech and Emerging Technologies team; Dr. Kip Glazer is a proud Principal of Mountain View High School in Mountain View California, home of Google and in the heart of Silicon Valley; Vera Cubero, an experienced educator with a wide range of experience in K12 education at the school, district, and state levels; Jerry Almendarez’ career in education spans over 30 years and includes experience as a classroom teacher, assistant principal, and principal.

When: 2 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Education Week

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Tue, April 2 - Solutions Journalism 101 Webinar

What: This webinar will explore the ins and outs of solutions journalism, talk about why it’s important, explain key steps in reporting a solutions story, and share tips and resources for journalists interested in investigating how people are responding to social problems. We will also explore additional resources we have on hand for your reporting, including the Solutions Story Tracker, a database of more than 15,000 stories tagged by beat, publication, author, location, and more, a virtual heat map of what’s working around the world.

When: 6 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Solutions Journalism Network

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Wed, April 3 - Measuring Brand: Navigating Video's New Terrain

What: How to navigate through the maze of brand measurement in this new environment, providing you with actionable insights to optimize your marketing strategies and drive tangible results. Whether you're a seasoned marketer or just starting out, this webinar is your gateway to mastering brand measurement in the ever-evolving video landscape.

Who: Tinuiti’s Client Strategy experts: Harry Browne, VP, Client Strategy & Analytics; Hanah Choi, Vice President, Client Strategy & Analytics.

When: 2 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Tinuiti & Media Post

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16 Webinars about AI, Journalism, SEO, Writing, Branding & More in the next 2 weeks

Tue, Feb 6 - Putting People First: A New Approach to Political Coverage

What: This webinar will help those who want an effective alternative to horse-race coverage, which is polarizing and often misleading.

Who: Jaisal Noor, Democracy Initiative manager at The Solutions Journalism Network; Jay Rosen, a journalism professor at New York University; Natalie Van Hoozer, a bilingual journalist at KUNR Public Radio in Nevada; Hugo Balta, an accredited solutions journalism trainer and publisher at Latino News Network; and Elliot Wade, a community reporter at The Current of Louisiana.

When: 12 noon, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: The Knight Center for Journalism, Solutions Journalism Network

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Tue, Feb 6 - Search Engine Optimization (SEO) 101: Proven Strategies to Improve Website Traffic

What: Learn more the importance of Search Engine Optimization (SEO) and tips and tools for optimizing your website to better communicate with the top search engines: Google, Yahoo, and Bing. The webinar will also provide insight into website content, backlinks, and keywords.  

When: 10 am

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: The University of Pittsburgh’s Small Business Development Center

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Tue, Feb 6 - The Investigative Agenda for Climate Change Journalism

What: In this panel, leading climate change journalists and experts — who all contributed to the discussion and report — will share perspectives on the top priorities for investigative journalism on climate change, including the fossil fuel industry, government policies, climate change finance, and the interface between climate and socio-economic forces.

Who: The moderator is Sheila Coronel, professor of journalism and director of the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism at Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism in New York; Matthew Green is global investigations editor at DeSmog; Sunita Narain is the director general of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE), a public interest research and advocacy organization based in New Delhi; Amy Westervelt is an award-winning investigative journalist and executive producer of the independent podcast production company Critical Frequency

When: 9 am, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Global Investigative Journalism Network

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Tue, Feb 6 - The Rise of Al

What: New breakthroughs in artificial intelligence could lead to one of the largest technological shifts in generations and already have governments around the world racing to develop guardrails.

Who: Rep. Don Beyer (D-Va.), Rep. Marcus Molinaro (R-N.Y.); Anne Neuberger, deputy national security advisor for cyber and emerging technologies; Neal Khosla, CEO and co-founder of Curai; Linda Moore President & CEO, TechNet; Rep. Anna Eshoo (D-Calif.)

When: 9 am, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: TechNet, Washington Post

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Wed, Feb 7 - Election data: Before election night, during and after

What: Three newsrooms talk about how they approach election data storytelling at each stage in the cycle, from explainers to prepare voters, to Election Night rigs and dashboards and how to prepare for post-election visual analysis.

When: 2 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free to members, $25 for student membership

Sponsor: Investigative Reporters & Editors

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Thu, Feb 8 - Student Press Freedom 101

What: A crash course in the law of the student press, including the court cases and advocacy that led us to where we are.

Who: Featuring the Student Press Law Center’s Senior Legal Counsel Mike Hiestand.

When: 6 pm, Central

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Student Press Law Center

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Thu, Feb 8 - Ethics and Visual Journalism  

What: There will be a discussion of the foundational standard of ethics and how this framework continues to evolve as the world of journalism changes and practical factors like technology influence visual journalists’ work. This conversation will also focus on the shift in how communities receive and value challenging imagery, and how these changing attitudes influence ethical debates and norms. The discussion will also include how a new generation of storytellers is shaping this debate, and share their thoughts on the future trajectory of photojournalistic ethics.

Who: Fred Ritchin and Andrea Wise; moderator Jenn Poggi with The Kalish Workshop.

When: 7 pm, Central

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Santa Fe Workshops

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Thu, Feb 8 - Beyond Breaking News: Local Journalism’s Role in Disaster Recovery

What: The critical role of the media in long-term recovery, including one that is often overlooked: To monitor recovery activities and hold to account the government, funders and others involved so that no community is left behind. The panel will answer questions such as: Why and how should donors invest in nonprofit journalism? What is the unique role of local coverage in disasters? How can funders and media work together?  While primarily aimed at funders, the webinar may also be of interest to emergency managers, government staff, academics, journalists, disaster responders and nongovernmental organization staff interested in, or working on, disasters and other crises.

Who: Paul Cheung, CEO of the Center for Public Integrity and CDP board member, will moderate; Glenn Gamboa, Philanthropy Editor, The Associated Press; Pu Ying Huang, Director of Photography, Texas Tribune; Vincent Stehle, Executive Director, Media Impact Funders

When: 1 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: United Philanthropy Forum, Giving Compass   

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Fri, Feb 9 – Covering Firearm Violence: How journalists can reframe their reporting

What: The gaps, go-to resources, and facts and myths about firearms and firearm ownership. Participants will also learn: The differences among firearm violence, such as what is a mass casualty event versus a mass shooting Where to find new research on firearm violence How news coverage of firearm violence impacts victims and frontline health workers How to move thinking of firearm violence as “the crime beat” to more nuanced coverage across beat

Who: Dr. Jessica Beard, director of research at The Philadelphia Center for Gun Violence Reporting;  Abené Clayton, reporter on The Guardian’s Guns and Lies in America project; Jennifer Mascia, senior news writer and founding staffer at The Trace; Moderator: Kaitlin Washburn, health beat leader for firearm violence and trauma at the Association of Health Care Journalists and reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times.

When: 11:30 am, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: National Press Club

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Mon, Feb 12 - Op-Ed Boot Camp 

What: Student journalists, it’s time to take your op-ed writing and pitching skills to the next level. Learn everything you need to know to publish an op-ed that advocates for press freedom in your community.

Who: Featuring seasoned journalist Steve Holmes, formerly of the New York Times, Washington Post and CNN.

When: 8 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Student Press Law Center

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Mon, Feb 12 - Digital Content Transformation: Unveiling the Impact of Branding

What: Delve into the world of digital branding and discover its profound impact on business success. By the end of this seminar, you will be equipped with the essential tools and insights to either give your existing brand a digital makeover or start building a new brand with a solid foundation in the digital world. Our experts will guide you through the intricacies of branding in the digital age, offering practical advice and innovative strategies to revamp or create your brand effectively. 

Who: Carolyn Kerkowski, the PA Desk Assistant Program Coordinator and Lead Brand Specialist; Alexa Fink, a skilled Digital Strategy and Photo Specialist, bring a wealth of knowledge and experience to the table.

When: 5 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Small Business Development Center at the University of Pennsylvania

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Tue, Feb 13 - Digital Dangers: Protecting Against Online Harassment 

What: Student journalists are increasingly contending with the threat of online harassment, which attempts to intimidate them into silence. Learn from those who know first-hand the tools available to protect and support yourself (or your students).

Who: Featuring Taylor Lorenz, technology columnist at The Washington Post; Sarah Swetlik, The Greenville News; and Pratika Katiyar, SPLC student board member. 

When: 7 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Student Press Law Center

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Tue, Feb 13 - Narrative investigations

What: This workshop will focus on the tools you need to craft compelling narratives while unveiling or building on investigations.

Who: Houston Chronicle reporter Andrea Ball

When: 1 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Investigative Reporters & Editors

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Wed, Feb 14 - Generative AI: How Hackers Exploit AI to Target Small Business Owners

What: We will delve into the intricate world of cyber threats. Witness firsthand sophisticated AI tactics used by malicious actors to exploit small business owners. In this session, you will:  Explore real-life instances showcasing the fusion of AI and cybercrime. Discover emerging dangers that could impact your business. Learn effective strategies to safeguard your company against AI-fueled scams.

Who: Dr. Teresa Piliouras, CEO and Founder, Technical Consulting & Research, Inc., is an IT consultant, educator, inventor, and author. Pui Lam (Raymond) Yu, Executive Vice President Engineering at Technical Consulting & Research, Inc., has over 20 years of industry experience in Cybersecurity, Software Engineering, and Systems Engineering.  

When: 12 noon, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Small Business Development Center at the University of Pennsylvania

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Thu, Feb 15 - Mastering the Art of the Interview

What: This class, taught by a lifelong journalist, will teach you ten ways to conduct memorable, useful interviews that will have people buzzing long after they read, see, or hear them. Mastering the art of the interview will also help you get better sound bites for everything from a simple blog post to a complex documentary film.  

Who: Elaine Appleton Grant, a Loeb School instructor in podcasting and communications curricula.

When: 12 noon

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Nackey S Loeb School of Communications

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Thu, Feb 15 - Learn How to Use Google Analytics 4

What: A live walk-through and Q&A session. We will cover the new features, differences in metrics compared to Universal Analytics, and demonstrate common questions such as how to find traffic for a story and top referrers. This webinar is designed for beginners and will focus on building a basic understanding of how Google Analytics works, as well as different ways to use analytics to inform editorial decisions.

Who: Sophie Ho, Senior Newsroom Growth Expert, News Revenue Hub

When: 12 noon, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: News Revenue Hub

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11 Free Media Webinars this Week: Disinformation, SEO, Storytelling, AI, Science & More

Mon, Nov 6 - Getting it right: Pushing past resistance to better firearms violence reporting  

What: This webinar will explore how four journalists have tried to be part of the solution and the changes they’ve observed. They’ll share tips for managing managers, taking small steps (and feeling okay about that) and the importance of working closely in the communities most affected by the violence.

Who: Kaitlin Washburn, a reporter for the Chicago Sun-Times; Abené Clayton, a reporter for The Guardian; Christopher Norris is a two-time Emmy-nominated broadcast journalist and former managing editor for community and engagement at WHYY

When: 1 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Association of Health Care Journalists

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Mon, Nov 6 - The impact of vaccine misinformation

What: The grave consequences of widespread anti-vaccination misinformation.

Who: PolitiFact Deputy Editor Rebecca Catalanello and Dr. Céline Gounder, host of the “Epidemic” podcast, KFF senior fellow, CBS News medical contributor.

When: 11 am, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Poynter & PolitiFact

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Mon, Nov 6 - How Russia’s disinformation campaigns can target your town

What: Learn how — and why — Russian propaganda is bypassing content bans and posing as local news with

Who: Peter Benzoni of the Alliance for Securing Democracy and PolitiFact Executive Director Aaron Sharockman.

When: 1 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Poynter & PolitiFact

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Tue, Nov 7 - SEO Strategies for Nonprofits: Boosting Visibility and Traffic to Your Website

What: This webinar will get you up to speed on modern SEO tactics, why they're important, and how to build a strategy to keep your website's performance up to date. By the end of this webinar, you'll know  How optimizing your site for SEO gains you new users; The basic SEO elements and how to manipulate them on your site; How to keep your site performing well on search engines in an efficient and effective manner.

Who: Julian Gerace, Tapp Network Digital Solutions Manager; Jason Spangler Tapp Network, Director Of Sales.

When: 12 noon

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: TechSoup

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Tue, Nov 7 - Google News Lab — Trends and Advanced Search

What: This session will equip you with practical reporting tips with examples. In Advanced Search, we’ll share how using search modifiers and specialized search engines can unearth story ideas and sources. We'll also look at how Google Trends can lead to insights on local audiences and complement your storytelling.

When: 11 am, Central

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Google News Labs

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Wed, Nov 8 - Global Media Literacy Education with the Pulitzer Center

What: Learn more about the many types of misinformation and approaches to media literacy. Participants will reflect on what global media literacy looks like in the classroom by exploring thinking routines and resources that encourage students to make local-global connections and identify power structures and dominant narratives that shape media.

Who:  This workshop will feature an alumnus of the Pulitzer Center's Teacher Fellowship program, who will share their experience teaching an original project-based unit that cultivates global media literacy, and their tips for other educators doing this work.

When: 4 pm, Central

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Pulitzer Center Education

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Wed, Nov 8 - "Once upon a Time": The Art and Architecture of Storytelling

What: This webinar will uncover the art and architecture of storytelling to reveal the power of persuasion. The session will answer these questions:  How do we move from communicating to "inform" to communicating to "advocate" in sales and marketing presentations?  What are the roles of trust and emotions in persuasion?  Does speaking virtually change how we should persuade?

Who: Dr. Constance Staley Professor of Communication, University of Colorado

When:

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Training Magazine

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Wed, Nov 8 - The threat of AI and the Israel-Hamas war

What: To help you better understand how malign actors are — or are not — using deepfakes to accelerate false narratives and intentionally mislead audiences.

Who: MediaWise Director Alex Mahadevan will lead a conversation with MediaWise Ambassador Hari Sreenivasan and Felix Simon, communication researcher and doctoral student at the Oxford Internet Institute.

When: 11 am, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Poynter & PolitiFact

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Wed, Nov 8 - Science essentials for local reporters  

What: Basic principles about how science works and ways it can be used to strengthen virtually any news story.

Who: Former longtime Washington Post science reporter Rick Weiss and Ph.D. neuroscientist Dr. Tori Espensen.

When: 2 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: New England Newspaper & Press Association

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Thu, Nov 9 – Key YouTube Strategies for 2024

What: Results from a soon-to-be-released study of media agencies. You’ll find out: How advertisers are addressing brand suitability challenges on YouTube and balancing that with campaign performance goals. How brand and agency leaders predict their spending on YouTube and CTV will change in 2024.  Platform changes that could have a big impact on how brands represent themselves on YouTube in 2024, including shifts in how they can advertise to diverse communities.

Who: Tamara Alesi CEO, Mediaplus North America; Jessica Goon CMO, Tate's Bake Shop; Matt Duffy   CMO, Pixability.

When: 1 pm, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: Pixability

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Fri, Nov 10 - Public Funding of Local News

What: Four states now provide funding for local news through state appropriations: New Jersey, Washington, New Mexico and California. In this program, we hear from local news leaders in those states and the national organization Rebuild Local News.

Who: Ayinde Merrill (New Jersey Civic Information Consortium), Steve Waldman (Rebuild Local News) and Christa Scharfenberg (UC Berkeley). This session will be moderated by Meg Little Reilly (CCN).

When: 12 noon, Eastern

Where: Zoom

Cost: Free

Sponsor: The University of Vermont

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Preparing Media Students for their AI Future

When I was teaching at a journalism school some 15 years ago, many professors were wringing their hands about digital media. “Would print survive?” they wanted to know. The focus was on their past rather than the students’ future. By asking the wrong questions, they were leading themselves into irrelevance and their students unprepared.

Here we are again, only this time it is generative AI. Much of what’s called AI is mislabeled or overrated, but it doesn’t matter. Media students will need help understanding how to use it effectively and ethically. Employers will be expecting it from them. The students also need an idea as to where AI is inadequate—this will inform them as to which parts of the media process they will need to do themselves.

There is no way to do this without having a clear understanding of the goal: understanding what separates “great” writing/audio/video from “good” writing/audio/. They have always needed to be able to evaluate their own writing to get better. And now, they must be able to evaluate what the AI produces for them.

The advent of digital platforms changed the process and tools of journalism and media. The goal remained the same. Likewise, generative AI will impact the process but not the ultimate goal.

Stephen Goforth

13 things journalists need to know about AI

A good rule of thumb is to start from the assumption that any story you hear about using AI in real-world settings is, beneath everything else, a story about labor automation.  Max Read’s blog 

This new era requires that newsrooms develop new, clear standards for how journalists will — and won’t — use AI for reporting, writing and disseminating the news. Newsrooms need to act quickly but deliberatively to create these standards and to make them easily accessible to their audiences. Poynter

Any assistance provided to these (AI) companies (by news organizations) could ultimately help put journalists out of business, and the risk remains that, once the media’s utility to the world of AI has been exhausted, the funding tap will quickly be turned off. Media executives can argue that having a seat at the table is better than not having one, but it might just make it easier for big tech to eat their lunch. Columbia Journalism Review 

Google is testing a product that uses artificial intelligence technology to produce news stories, pitching it to news organizations including The New York Times, The Washington Post and The Wall Street Journal’s owner, News Corp, according to three people familiar with the matter. New York Times

“Reporters tend to just pick whatever the (AI) author or the model producer has said,” Abeba Birhane, an AI researcher and senior fellow at the Mozilla Foundation, said. “They just end up becoming a PR machine themselves for those tools.” Jonathan Stray, a senior scientist at the Berkeley Center for Human-Compatible AI and former AP editor, said, “Find the people who are actually using it or trying to use it to do their work and cover that story, because there are real people trying to get real things done.” Columbia Journalism Review

Journalists’ greatest value will be in asking good questions and judging the quality of the answers, not writing up the results. Wall Street Journal 

There are 49 supposed news sites that NewsGuard, an organization tracking misinformation, has identified as “almost entirely written by artificial intelligence software.” The Guardian

Recently, AI developers have claimed their models perform well not only on a single task but in a variety of situations … In the absence of any real-world validation, journalists should not believe the company’s claims. Columbia Journalism Review

If media outlets truly wanted to learn about the power of AI in newsrooms, they could test tools internally with journalists before publishing. Instead, they’re skipping to the potential for profit. The Verge

One of the main ways to combat misinformation is to make it clearer where a piece of content was generated and what happened to it along the way. The Adobe-led Content Authenticity Initiative aims to help image creators do this. Microsoft announced earlier this year that it will add metadata to all content created with its generative AI tools. Google, meanwhile, plans to share more details on the images catalogued in its search engine. Axios 

In the newsroom, some media companies have already tried to implement generative AI to create content that is easily automated, such as newsletters and real estate reports. The tech news media CNET started quietly publishing articles explaining financial topics using “‘automated technology’ – a stylistic euphemism for AI,” CNET had to issue corrections on 41 of the 77 stories after uncovering errors despite the articles being reviewed by humans prior to publication. Some of the errors came down to basic math. It’s mistakes such as these that make many journalists wary of using AI tools beyond simple transcription or programming a script. Columbia Journalism Review

OpenAI and the Associated Press are announcing a landmark deal for ChatGPT to license the news organization's archives. Axios

AI in The Newsroom (video) International News Media Association International  

16 Journalism & AI quotes & tools

Beginner’s prompt handbook: ChatGPT for local news publishers - Joe Amditis

How to cover AI – a guide for journalists - The Fix 

Good journalism, in my view, is original and reveals previously unknown or hidden truths. Language models work by predicting the most likely next word in a sequence, based on existing text they’ve been trained on. So they cannot ultimately produce or uncover anything truly new or unexpected in their current form. Harvard’s Nieman Lab 

Machine learning can be deployed to help newsrooms identify and address biases that crop up in their own reporting, across text, photo, video, audio, and social media. The Fix 

A close examination of the work produced by CNET's AI makes it seem less like a sophisticated text generator and more like an automated plagiarism machine, casually pumping out pilfered work that would get a human journalist fired. Futurism 

It matters that the technology can fool regular people into believing there is intelligence or sentience behind it, and we should be writing about the risks and guardrails being built in that context. Harvard’s Nieman Lab 

Non-writing AI tools every journalist should know about. International Center for Journalists 

The "world's first" entirely AI-generated news site is here. It's called NewsGPT, and it seems like an absolutely horrible idea. Futurism

Artificial intelligence tools are now being used to populate so-called content farms, referring to low-quality websites around the world that churn out vast amounts of clickbait articles to optimize advertising revenue, NewsGuard found. NewsGuard

The Artifact news app lets AI rewrite a headline for you if you come across (a clickbait) article. TechCrunch

One area where MidJourney is helpful is food journalism. Need an image of a breakfast bowl with whole grain and blueberries? Just write a prompt. MidJourney is also excellent building basic templates for object cutaway diagrams. Mike Reilley’s Journalism Toolbox

With tools like ChatGPT in the hands of practically anybody with an internet connection, we're likely to see a lot more journalists having their names attached to completely made-up sources, a troubling side-effect of tech that has an unnerving tendency to falsify sourcing. Futurism

What if an AI could attend, take notes and write short, hallucination-free stories about public meetings? Harvard’s Nieman Lab

Can you design an AI system that attends a city meeting and generates a story? Yeah, I did it. This tech could soon — very soon — be a viable tool to save reporters time by covering hours-long public meetings. The technology could also lead to layoffs in some newsrooms. Harvard’s Nieman Lab

The publisher of Sports Illustrated and other outlets is using artificial intelligence to help produce articles and pitch journalists potential topics to follow. Wall Street Journal 

The owners of Sports Illustrated and Men’s Journal promised to be virtuous with AI. Then they bungled their very first ai story — and issued huge corrections when we caught them. Futurism

Local TV and Radio News Survey 2022

Takeaways from The Radio Television Digital News Association’s annual survey of local TV and radio:

Programming

  • A new record of 1,116 TV stations aired local news—up 18 from last year’s all-time high.

Budgets

  • Just 16.3% of TV stations report budget increases while 29.3% report experiencing budget cuts.

  • Among TV news directors who do know their department’s profitability, 75.9% report a profit.

  • The percentage of radio news managers reporting their budgets decreased doubled to 18.2% over the previous year.

Salaries

  • Despite pandemic-related pay cuts, local television news salaries, on average, increased by 3.5%, or 2.1% after accounting for inflation.

  • TV salaries in markets 101-150 faired the best, with salaries for most positions increasing while in the top 25 markets, salaries for most positions fell.

  • Average and median starting TV news salaries both rose during 2021 to the highest staring salaries in the survey’s history.

Staffing

  • Full-time newsroom staffing fell 6.3% in 2021.

  • Digital staffing, on average, was up slightly, along with the roles of photographer, producer, editor and social media producer/editor.

  • Three times as many commercial radio news departments cut staff as added. Public radio stations, on the other hand, were four times more likely than commercial stations to grow.

Solo Journalists

  • The average newsroom has fewer solo journalists than last year while smaller markets overwhelmingly rely on MMJs, and mid-markets increasingly do, but few stations large market stations send reporters out alone.

  • MMJs and producers remain most in demand, representing about three-quarters of new TV news hires.

Innovations

  • More local TV newsrooms report producing virtual town halls, specials and longer-form or digital-exclusive content.

Social Media

  • Facebook is the most popular social media platform for local TV and radio news, with 94% of radio newsrooms and 100% of TV newsrooms reporting they used it.

  • Instagram is used by nearly every TV station and a third of radio newsrooms.

  • Twitter use among local news has been declining for several years, with most TV newsrooms using the platform, but less frequently.

Podcasts

  • The typical station, measured by median, has no podcasts and the average per station is less than one half.

  • The typical radio news department reporting zero podcasts.

Danger

  • 1 in 5 television news directors reported attacks on employees.

  • More than half of attacks occurred during coverage of civil unrest, protests, marches/rallies or riots

The Full Report