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August 11, 2020, 10:00 am Eastern (U.S.)
As scientists around the world race to develop vaccines for COVID-19, journalists face challenges in reporting accurately about vaccine developments when the facts are unclear and changing constantly. Reporters must also grapple with disinformation and doubt spread by anti-vaccine activists and others that build on the uncertainty and fear caused by the pandemic. What will be the consequences when a COVID-19 vaccine is developed and distributed? What can journalists learn from veteran fact-checkers in reporting on vaccine information and disinformation? Are journalists meant to be advocates for science? Join this global panel of high-level fact-checkers to discuss the issues: Brazil-based Cristina Tardaguila, associate director of the International Fact-Checking Network; Lee Mwiti, chief editor of Africa Check; and Syed Nazakat, founder of Health Analytics Asia.
More information: Link
Contact: ICFJ
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August 11, 2020, 1:00 pm Eastern (U.S.)
A common complaint of news consumers is that reporters inject bias into their coverage rather than just reporting facts. While there is truth to this, it happens far less than some might have you believe, and it rarely is intentional. Often the perceived bias is commentary that many people don't distinguish from news. This session explores the perception of bias and offers steps journalists should take to draw the line between news and opinion.
This event is part of SPJ's Media Trust Webinar Series for College Students. This series of summer webinars will explore issues surrounding the public's distrust of the press, which students will encounter as working journalists. The first of the five sessions gives an overview of the problem. The others will suggest ways to address some of the most common or challenging ones. SPJ Journalist on Call Rod Hicks will moderate all sessions. All webinars are free to attend, but advance registration is required in order to receive access URLs and passwords.
More information: Link
Contact: Rod Hicks
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August 11, 2020, 6:00 pm Eastern (U.S.)
Join the International Community of the Society of Professional Journalists as we talk about this with Sandy Ungar, the 24th Voice of America director. The Voice of America has a long history of honest and fair journalism. This tradition has often put it at odds with the political leadership in the U.S. government, the owner of VOA. However, never before has the VOA faced a threat to its editorial independence as it has this year. We will be digging deeper with Ungar about the attacks against independent journalism in America and around the world.
More information: Link
Contact: Dan Kubiske
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August 12, 2020, 11:30 am Eastern (U.S.)
As news organizations and the nation have responded to the coronavirus pandemic and the protests following the murder by police of George Floyd, journalists have increasingly confronted the need for newsroom equity and a truer relationship with the communities they serve.
The National Press Club Journalism Institute and PEN America will co-host a program on 'Equity and community in local news: Lessons learned in 2020' to identify and share takeaways from pandemic and protest coverage and to look ahead toward election coverage.
Registration is now open for the program, which will be moderated by Jim Friedlich, Executive Director and CEO of the Lenfest Institute of Journalism, and will feature Denise Rolark Barnes, publisher of The Washington Informer; Cassie Haynes, Co-executive Director at Resolve Philadelphia; and Darryl Holliday, Co-founder and News Lab Director at City Bureau in Chicago.
More information: Link
Contact: Julie Moos
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August 12, 2020
Cities across the country are rethinking how they police communities. In this webinar, we'll explore proposals to reform, defund or abolish police departments, to help reporters better understand and evaluate such efforts near them. Sign-up here!
More information: Link
Contact: Chinyere Amobi
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August 13, 2020, 10:00 am Eastern (U.S.)
A panel with Roman Anin, 2020 ICFJ Knight Trailblazer Award winner and founder of IStories; Aubrey Belford, Ukraine-based editor for the Organized Crime and Corruption Reporting Project (OCCRP); Indhira Suero Acosta, SembraMedia ambassador and CONNECTAS reporter (Dominican Republic); and moderated by Louise Shelley, director of the Terrorism, Transnational Crime, and Corruption Center at George Mason University. This webinar is organized in partnership with OCCRP.
While a global health crisis brings illness, death, and job loss to citizens and governments scramble to contain the spread of the virus, others eye the chaos as an opportunity to plunder and profit. In this webinar with veteran investigative reporters, we discuss trends in crime and corruption in the COVID-19 pandemic era and how journalists can hold governments, corporations, and criminals to account in their countries.
More information: Link
Contact: ICFJ
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August 13, 2020, 3:00 pm Eastern (U.S.)
In this session, veteran trainer and freelance journalist Benet Wilson shares tips on using Scholar, Alerts, Trends, Advanced Image Search and Translate to improve your freelance skills.
More information: Link
Contact: Lou Harry
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August 18, 2020, 12:00 pm Eastern (U.S.)
For female journalists, the danger often presents itself in the cyber world and on social media platforms. In our talk with Ghada Oueiss, principal presenter for the Al Jazeera Arabic, she reveals the struggle of dealing with cyberbullying and a coordinated campaign against her on social media as noted in a recent Washington Post OpEd. As a female journalist in the Middle East, she refuses to stay silent and we plan to dig deeper into our one-on-one conversation where we will discuss these attacks and what can be done to raise awareness about this matter.
More information: Link
Contact: Elle Toussi
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August 18, 2020, 2:00 pm Eastern (U.S.)
Selecting the right source for a story can lend it credibility, while choosing the wrong one, or none at all, can reinforce the distrust many news consumers have for the press. This session will offer guidance on picking the best sources, such as those who are independent and verify information with evidence. It also will explore the use of anonymous sources and leaked information.
This event is part of SPJ's Media Trust Webinar Series for College Students. This series of summer webinars will explore issues surrounding the public's distrust of the press, which students will encounter as working journalists. The first of the five sessions gives an overview of the problem. The others will suggest ways to address some of the most common or challenging ones. SPJ Journalist on Call Rod Hicks will moderate all sessions. All webinars are free to attend, but advance registration is required in order to receive access URLs and passwords.
More information: Link
Contact: Rod Hicks
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August 19, 2020
ElectionSOS will be offered in four-week classes during the months of June, July, August and September. People can register to take part in three different focuses: Engaged Elections, Trustworthy Elections and Election Protection. All the trainings are free and open to journalists in the U.S.
More information: Link
Contact: Lynn Walsh
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August 20, 2020, 1:00 pm Eastern (U.S.)
Freedom Forum fellow Jill Geisler provides practical insights for men who want to be allies to women, people of privilege who want to do more to fight inequity and powerful individuals who want to be better advocates for change.
In the 'Do You Qualify as an Ally' webinar, you will learn:
Why being an ally right now -- during a period of reckoning on racial justice and the ongoing pandemic -- is more important than ever.
How to have courageous conversations with the right words at the right time
How to keep bias from finding its way into decision making
Why micro-aggressions aren't really so 'micro' -- and how to stop them
How to address the burden of 'invisible work' that can harm underrepresented staff
Real-world situations in which newsroom allies made a difference for their colleagues -- and created better journalism, too
More information: Link
Contact: Jill Geisler
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August 20, 2020, 4:00 pm Eastern (U.S.)
With globalization being rampant, editing in a multilingual world requires finding innovative ways of expressing and writing for individuals who do not use English as a first language. 'Lost in Translation' is often repeated in the world of editing. Is translation the only area where an editor faces the difficult choice of finding the right word that not only conveys the same meaning, but also encapsulates the message from the author? In today's world, where every workplace is a potpourri of cultures and languages, every piece of writing poses a challenge to the editor; not just in terms of finding an appropriate word, but also with regards to structure and semantics. In order to address these issues, it is only right that we spend a few minutes to think about those who work towards creating universally understood pieces of writing from a myriad of contributions spanning the globe. This session will address issues like formal versus informal writing styles, context, cohesion, denotations, connotations, lexicon, and grammar.
Mukta Jayanth (MJ) works as an Editor with the Product Compliance division at Schweitzer Engineering Laboratories Inc. in Pullman, WA. Prior to moving to the USA in 2016, MJ worked as a Lecturer with universities in UAE and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, where her areas of expertise include Applied Linguistics, History of English Language, Business Writing, and Advanced Academic Skills. She has an avid interest in the evolution of the English language across cultures and enjoys reading about impacts that language has on society.
This webcast is free for members, $30 for non-members.
More information: Link
Contact: ACES
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August 21, 2020, 11:30 am Eastern (U.S.)
As racism and the treatment of people of color in and out of newsrooms has surged to the forefront of conversations, against the backdrop of a pandemic that disproportionately impacts people of color, journalists face many questions: When do 'objectivity' and 'neutrality' mask inequity? How do journalists move from covering protests to systemically telling stories that root out racist treatment in health care, education and other social spheres? And how can journalists practice antiracism in their everyday work?
Join the National Press Club Journalism Institute as Leah Donnella of NPR's Code Switch, Cassie Haynes of Resolve Philly, and Robert Samuels of The Washington Post discuss 'What would antiracist journalism look like?'
More information: Link
Contact: Julie Moos
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August 22, 2020, 1:00 pm Central (U.S.)
This year we celebrate the centennial of the ratification of the 19th Amendment, which guaranteed women the right to vote. In this panel discussion, our speakers will examine media coverage of the suffrage movement as well as the media outlets that suffragists developed to get their message out. And we'll examine whose rights truly were guaranteed in 1920 and who had to wait. Scheduled speakers include academics and authors who are experts in the field. See listed link for more details.
More information: Link
Contact: Ruth Nasrullah
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August 25, 2020, 2:00 pm Eastern (U.S.)
All journalists can play a role in rebuilding the trustworthiness of the press. Beyond producing fair, accurate stories, journalists must understand how to engage effectively with marginalized communities, amplify voices that have not been heard in mainstream news accounts and serve as community guides who highlight problems. It's difficult to change people's minds and perceptions but worth trying. Newsroom managers can play a big role by showing leadership in this effort.
This event is part of SPJ's Media Trust Webinar Series for College Students. This series of summer webinars will explore issues surrounding the public's distrust of the press, which students will encounter as working journalists. The first of the five sessions gives an overview of the problem. The others will suggest ways to address some of the most common or challenging ones. SPJ Journalist on Call Rod Hicks will moderate all sessions. All webinars are free to attend, but advance registration is required in order to receive access URLs and passwords.
More information: Link
Contact: Rod Hicks
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August 25, 2020
The landscape of freelance journalism in America and around the world is changing. In collaboration with the SPJ Freelance Community, we have the President and Executive Director of the Freelancers Union, Rafael Espinal.
The landscape of the gig economy in America took a turn after the controversial bill in California (AB-5) was signed into law, leading other states to follow suit. Now the PROact is on the table in Congress. With the economy struggling during the pandemic, journalists and writers are being hit hard with these new laws, which make it harder to classify as an independent worker.
Recently it was reported by the New York Times that 36,000 workers at news outlets were laid off, furloughed, or had a reduction in their position because of the pandemic. But for freelance journalists, many livelihoods were lost overnight. Besides a reduction in business related to COVID-19, AB5 in California also caused freelancers to lose jobs. According to a survey by the Freelancers Union, 80% of respondents who self-identified as journalists had lost employment by the end of April, whether it was from the cancelation of pending contracts or in-progress work being halted. Compare that to the 67% reported having lost work just a month prior. According to 51% of the journalists who responded to the survey, they lost more than $5,000 in income since the COVID-19 crisis began.
In our one-on-one conversation, we will discuss the challenges and the changes taking place in the freelance industry in the US and around the world. This session will also give journalists around the world a better understanding of what the Freelance Union is about and how it might help them.
More information: Link
Contact: Elle Toussi
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August 27, 2020, 2:00 pm Eastern (U.S.)
We often say that journalism 'gives voice to the voiceless,' when what it really does ? or can do ? is remind us to listen to voices we've ignored. When communities are underrepresented in our coverage, they're more likely to be marginalized or stereotyped. The same holds true in our newsrooms. RTDNA surveys show BIPOC are underrepresented in newsrooms and particularly in management roles. As our nation is reckoning with race, equity and inclusion, our newsrooms must too, and it starts with listening deeply. Join us for this Town Hall, where we're talking to Black newsroom leaders who have spoken up about their experiences over the last weeks and months and inviting all local newsrooms to listen and learn, and take the lessons back to continue these conversations in your newsrooms.
Panelists:
Two-time EMMY Award winner News Anchor Sherri Jackson is a veteran journalist who has spent two decades telling the stories of the people of Central Alabama at CBS 42 News. Named 'Best News Anchor' in Alabama five times by the Alabama Broadcasters Association, Sherri continues to excel as a journalist and as weekday Anchor for CBS 42 News at 5, 6 & 10 o'clock. Sherri sits on the Board of Directors for RTDNA.
Shamarria Morrison is a Weekend Evening Anchor at WPSD Local 6 in Paducah, Kentucky. Morrison has served as a multimedia journalist since she came to WPSD in 2019. She is a graduate of the University of Florida and was president of her college chapter of the National Association of Black Journalists. Shamarria loves volunteer work--specifically with underrepresented and multicultural organizations. Read how Shamarria courageously started a conversation about race in her newsroom.
Chris Thomas is an anchor at ABC10 in Sacramento, specializing in general news reporting. Chris is an award-winning journalist who reported from Washington, DC for the 50th Anniversary of the March on Washington and most recently for Pope Francis' visit to our nation's capital. Chris chronicled the unrest in Baltimore following the death of Freddie Gray and gained international attention following his viral interview with The Imperial Wizard of the Rebel Brigade Knights of the Ku Klux Klan. Watch how Chris thoughtfully explained the meaning behind saying 'Black Lives Matter.'
J.J. Green is the National Security Correspondent at WTOP radio. He reports daily on international security, intelligence, foreign policy, terrorism and cyber developments and provides regular on-air analysis. He is the recipient of the 2017 Gera ld R. Ford Presidential Foundation award for Distinguished Reporting on National Defense for his series ' Anatomy of a Russian attack.' He has also received a National Edward R. Murrow Award in for 'Hidden Hunter' -- his reporting aboard a nuclear-powered, Los Angeles Class submarine underway in
More information: Link
Contact: RTDNA
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September 12, 2020
This online conference takes the place of the in-person Excellence in Journalism conference which has been canceled. More details will be shared as they become available.
More information: Link
Contact: SPJ Communications
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September 16, 2020, 11:30 am Eastern (U.S.)
On-camera arrests. Physical assaults in the field. Verbal attacks and threats online. And an ongoing health crisis that has communities struggling in response.
Safety for journalists has taken on a renewed sense of importance as newsrooms grapple with the convergence of hostility toward those in the field and systemic racism that pervades even the most revered journalistic institutions. It seems journalists have more reason than ever to be allies for each other as the industry confronts itself while serving conflicted communities.
This program will be moderated by Jill Geisler, who will join Alex Marquardt, Sarah Matthews, Abby Phillip, and Michael Santiago to discuss 'Journalists in peril: Creating a safer, equitable future together,' drawing on their experiences at CNN, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press and their knowledge of journalism, allyship and equity.
More information: Link
Contact: Julie Moos
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October 5, 2020, 7:30 pm Eastern (U.S.)
This year, ICFJ pays tribute to journalism excellence in ways you've never seen before. Join us for an inspiring gathering that you won't want to miss. Together, we'll honor the achievements of intrepid colleagues whose outstanding news reports and analyses are having tremendous impact.
COVID-19 prevents us from gathering in person. This year, our virtual tribute will take ICFJ's Annual Awards Dinner from one ballroom in Washington, D.C., to the world. Sign up for updates on our celebration of the vital role journalists play -- especially now.
Journalists often risk so much to bring us the news. That's the case with our courageous honorees from Egypt and Russia -- and certainly with U.S. reporters who told the story of the pandemic from inside hospitals and covered the protests for racial justice. We help them do their jobs during these unsettling times, and your support plays a crucial role.
More information: Link
Contact: ICFJ
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October 24, 2020, 8:00 am Eastern (U.S.)
SPJ's Regional Conferences are day-long professional development meetings bringing area journalists, students and journalism educators together in one place to hear from industry experts on topics ranging from improving writing to leveraging technology in today's new media climate. Networking opportunities at the conferences allow participants to build relationships that can lead to the sharing of the best practices in newsrooms. Enhance yourself and your journalism career by attending a Regional Conference in your area.
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Contact: Michael Koretzky
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December 7, 2020
Fellows of the Society is the highest professional honor awarded by SPJ, for extraordinary contribution to the profession of journalism. Nominations are open to anyone in the journalism community. Winners will be honored at the Excellence in Journalism Convention.
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Contact: SPJ Awards
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As a journalist, you’re being required to do your job in a way you’ve likely never had to do it before — working remotely from home, conducting interviews virtually, juggling homeschooling children and taking care of elderly parents while still putting out the news every day. It’s stressful. It’s full of uncertainty. And SPJ joins together with journalism organizations everywhere to help you through this.