Our crash course can give your newsroom the push it needs. Plus, free training opportunities in data and climate change.

Changing crime reporting can feel like an uphill climb. We can help you push.

If you heard about Poynter’s Transforming Crime Reporting Into Public Safety Journalism training but weren’t able to commit, now’s your chance to get a crash course in this valuable program.
It’s the next topic in our Beat Academy webinar series, where you get access to experts and journalists who are on the cutting edge of evolving beats like climate change, criminal justice and immigration.

Our next session starts this Thursday, July 13, at 1 p.m. Eastern. In this 90-minute webinar, our experts will discuss the outdated nature of traditional crime reporting, and demonstrate audience-first ways to provide better and more contextual coverage.

Featuring Kelly McBride, Poynter senior vice president and chair of the Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership, this session represents an opportunity for you to help improve your news organization’s relevancy to the communities it covers.

Then in our second Transforming Crime Reporting session on July 20, we’ll show you how to improve local crime coverage by shifting away from stories about a single recent crime and instead finding story ideas that focus on crime trends and accountability. You’ll hear how one reporter has used publicly available documents and developed sourcing within law enforcement to produce accountability journalism, while others will share tools and techniques for producing fresh and accurate data about crime.

Beat Academy webinars represent 18 different sessions across eight topics that are critical to journalism right now. For just $75, you can attend/watch/replay as many or as few sessions as you need. Here’s a list of them all. Group discounts are available to newsrooms who want to enroll five or more journalists.

Keep scrolling for more opportunities to improve your coverage and hone your journalism skills.

FEATURED TRAINING

Strength in Numbers: How to Use CDC Data to Upgrade Your Mental Health Reporting

Webinar, 1-2:30 p.m. Eastern, Wednesday, Aug. 30

In advance of Mental Health Awareness Month in September, Poynter and the CDC are teaming up to help journalists tell better stories.

During this free 90-minute webinar, journalists will get an overview of CDC-maintained public databases and learn how to use them to access national-, state- and county-level injury and death data, including deaths by suicide, gun violence and more.

Acquiring basic skills in these databases will allow you to quickly supply valuable context for a wide range of news, including stories on breaking news, public policy, community initiatives and fact checks. Enroll before Aug. 30.

Cost: Free, thanks to support from SAVE.org, the Centers for Disease Control and the Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership at Poynter.

ENROLL NOW

Covering Climate Change Science and Policy in a Polarized World

In-person seminar, Arlington, Virginia, Aug. 29, 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

This free one-day, in-person workshop sponsored by RAND Corporation — a nonprofit, nonpartisan global research organization in Arlington — will give journalists access to and information from some of the nation’s leading climate change analysts.

Get expert help navigating the complex landscape of climate change science and policy in this one-day masterclass, while also exploring resources and tools that can deeply inform and improve your reporting. Topics include new technology to reduce carbon emissions, assessing decarbonization policy and more.

Participants will not only receive practical lessons in climate reporting, but also have free coffee, lunch and happy hour.

Cost: Free, thanks to RAND Corporation.

Executive Leadership Summit

Online program, Oct. 18-20

Poynter’s 2023 Executive Leadership Summit will provide the space, tools and connections to help you prioritize your vision and values as a leader. This is your chance to surround yourself with a small cohort of other executive leaders who are experiencing the same media leadership challenges you are — and discover solutions together. Poynter faculty Sitara Nieves and Cheryl Carpenter will help you reflect, reset and focus on your priorities.

Participants will convene online Oct. 18-20, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. Eastern. Each session will kick off with a keynote speaker, followed by an exploration of leadership topics, guided group discussions, self-assessment activities and purposeful breaks. Up to a month after the program concludes, you’ll have the opportunity to schedule a one-hour personalized coaching session with an executive coach to continue to focus on your leadership.

Apply as soon as possible. Acceptance is rolling and space is limited. The final deadline to apply is Monday, Aug. 14.

Cost: $2,000.

APPLY NOW

Poynter ACES Introductory Certificate in Editing

Online self-directed certificate

Refreshed in 2023, this certification will help you distinguish yourself with the industry’s premiere editing course.

Brought to you by Poynter and ACES: The Society for Editing, our editing certification will teach you powerful techniques to help you and your organization achieve greater communications clarity; embrace accuracy and verification; ways to perfect your grammar, word use and style; and the skills to make you the kind of editor people are hungry to work with.

Cost: $150 or $99 for ACES members.

ENROLL NOW

UPCOMING TRAINING

Level Up: Critical Skills for Local Reporters
Online group seminar, Oct. 3-Nov. 14
This weekly interactive program will provide reporters with the most relevant and practical skills needed to boost their reporting expertise and drive their professional development. Master-class level instruction on key concepts includes reporting and writing, investigations, trauma-informed interviewing, fact-checking and self-editing. Enroll now.

Will Work for Impact: Fundamentals of Investigative Journalism
Online group seminar, Oct. 2-30
Led by ProPublica deputy managing editor Alexandra Zayas, this jam-packed course will empower you to access information that isn’t available to the public; utilize the power of human reporting; construct an investigative story around findings to make a powerful case; and learn strategies you can employ, before and after publication, to help your story make a difference. Enroll now.

Power of Diverse Voices: Writing Workshop for Journalists of Color
In-person seminar, Nov. 15-18
A transformative, four-day seminar that helps journalists of color find their voices and build skills for writing opinion pieces and personal essays. With the support of expert instructors and fellow journalists of color, you’ll develop the confidence and skills to share your unique perspective in persuasive writing. You will learn both through instruction as well as intensive coaching in small writing groups. Apply now.

EVENTS

The Bowtie Ball, Honoring Anderson Cooper
In-person gala, Nov. 18 in Tampa, Florida
The Bowtie Ball is Poynter’s largest annual celebration of journalistic excellence that recognizes the contributions of the brightest and liveliest minds in the industry to democracies worldwide. Learn more.