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Give your new reporters the tools to excel from their first day
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THIS WEEK’S TL;DR: Training for new reporters; zero in on the Big, Beautiful Bill via our free webinar; get our free AI toolkit and webinar; manager handling big responsibilities without direct reports? this one's for you; join a course for early-career TV producers; last chance to sign up for the world’s leading fact-checking summit.
If you're leading a newsroom now, your foundational years likely included long hours looking over your senior colleagues’ shoulders — learning story structure, interview competence and newsroom collaboration through osmosis.
Today’s new reporters are not offered the same opportunity as they balance immediate byline demands and often alienating virtual work environments. Some journalists even say their Gen Z friends don’t really know what journalism is.
You've now stepped into the role of the experienced manager you once learned from, so how can you bridge the mentorship gap facing today's new reporters? What can you do to steer your own beginners towards success?
Poynter offers a ready-made solution with Building Blocks: Critical Skills for New Reporters. Conceived and led by veteran journalist and educator Tom Huang, this course gives early-career reporters the skills to build a strong foundation and make a difference.
For Huang, this program is part of a personal mission to give back to an industry that raised him.
“When I came up as a reporter in the late 1980s, I was in newsrooms where veteran reporters would take me under their wing, and editors would sit down with me side by side and edit my stories. I learned so much from that. I learned from observing. I learned from eavesdropping and listening in on reporters,” Huang said. “That’s harder to do now, because we’re all working in a hybrid environment. The flexibility is good, but it changes the way that we work together, and reporters who are just starting out have less of an opportunity to learn directly from veteran reporters and editors. The purpose of Building Blocks is to supplement that, to spark young reporters to think about how they can build their careers and get ready to launch.”
Hear directly from Huang here. Lead your junior reporters toward success — the registration deadline for Building Blocks is coming up on Monday, June 30. Invest in journalism’s future by ensuring the next generation gets the guidance they need to thrive. |
Online group seminar
September 10, 2025– October 1, 2025
$600
Learn how to “lead your leaders” in this virtual intensive for journalism managers handling big responsibilities without direct reports. From Sept. 10 to Oct. 1, you'll discover your dominant management tendencies, practice essential feedback strategies and connect with experienced industry leaders during exclusive AMAs. Join peers in a dedicated Slack channel for weekly challenges that reinforce your learning — all while building a valuable network of colleagues facing similar challenges.
Apply by July 31, 2025. |
Online group seminar
Aug. 11, 2025– Sept. 8, 2025
$699
Level up your content, get guidance to manage journalism demands and learn how to become a newsroom leader with Poynter’s virtual training designed for new TV producers. This four-session training equips the backbone of your newsroom with dynamic skills in leadership, storytelling and ethical decision-making. Industry veterans Kerwin Speight and WTVD/ABC11’s VP Bervette Carree deliver frameworks that enhance program quality and team management. Sessions run August—September 2025, applications close July 11. Invest in your producers, strengthen your newsroom. |
Online seminar
Thursdays, Oct. 2-Oct. 30, 2025
2-3 p.m. Eastern
$499
This five-week, hands-on spring seminar is for reporters and editors with ambition to do investigative journalism that functions as an important part of democracy. Now in its 11th iteration, this seminar regularly sells out, so enroll as soon as you know you're interested. |
Climate, the Big Beautiful Bill and You: The Jobs/Projects at Risk Near You
Free webinar | June 26, noon - 1:15 p.m. Eastern
Join Poynter and Covering Climate Now at noon Eastern on Thursday, June 26, for a quick tour through the data landscape to help you tell the local story about the renewable energy tax credits on the chopping block on Capitol Hill. Many wind, solar, battery, and EV-related projects tied to incentives in the U.S. Inflation Reduction Act are at risk, particularly across the southeastern U.S. We’ll show you how to zero in on the action in your area with just a few clicks.
Our data guide will be Tom Taylor with Atlas Public Policy. Scott Waldman of Politico's Essential Energy and Environment News will give us the lay of the land in Washington.
Talking About AI: Newsroom Toolkit
Free resource
Created by MediaWise in partnership with The Associated Press and supported by Microsoft, this guide is for journalists and media professionals who want to incorporate AI literacy into their reporting and other newsroom processes. It offers practical strategies for explaining AI in accessible language, using audience-centered disclosure practices and educating audiences about how it all works. Watch the accompanying webinar here.
GlobalFact 12
Last chance: $49
The world’s largest fact-checking summit is coming up June 25–27 in Rio de Janeiro and online at globalfact12.com. Presented by the International Fact-Checking Network, the summit offers virtual tickets for expert-led discussions and training with global fact-checking leaders.
Shut out: How Pulitzer winners worked with reluctant sources to tell powerful stories
Free webinar
Join Senior VP and Chair of the Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership Kelly McBride, along with Poynter’s Kristen Hare, ProPublica’s Kavitha Surana and The Baltimore Banner’s Alissa Zhu for a panel that demystifies sourcing challenges and shares actionable strategies for producing powerful journalism despite growing obstacles.
Essential Skills for New Managers (Dec. 2025)
In-person, St. Petersburg, Florida
$1,550
This dynamic five-day workshop will focus on the critical skills that new managers need to help forge successful paths to leadership in journalism, media and technology. Apply by October 3.
Mental Health Reporting Resource Center
Poynter is proud to present a vital new resource for journalists serious about covering mental health conditions with accuracy and dignity: a comprehensive resource center for mental health reporting, complete with articles, educators, a webinar and a self-directed course.
Poynter ACES Certificates in Editing
Self-directed online courses
Our Introductory Certificate helps you achieve greater communications clarity and learn how to embrace accuracy and verification.
Cost: $150 or $99 for ACES members.
The Intermediate Certificate goes deeper into topics like grammar, working with writers, ethics, law and tech.
Cost: $250 or $175 for ACES members.
The Advanced Certificate engages participants in the most advanced facets of editing, like AI, developmental editing, developing style guides and building trust and career resilience.
Cost: $650 or $500 for ACES members.
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