Congratulations to all the winners of the Pulitzer Prizes! For context and analysis, here are my favorite Poynter stories about the awards:

• Coronavirus and race (and not Trump) dominate the 2021 Pulitzer Prizes.
• A little history: Here’s some of the journalism that won past Pulitzers for covering pandemics and epidemics.
• A roundup up journalist celebrations, including dogs and babies.
• California Sunday Magazine closed last year. It just won a Pulitzer. 
• One topic dominated Pulitzer-winning work: policing in America. 
• An elderly couple in Spain kissed through plastic film because of COVID-19. An AP photographer just won a Pulitzer for photographing the moment.
• The Pulitzers didn’t name a winner in editorial cartooning. That’s unusual, but not unprecedented.

Online group seminar, July 6-23

Former New York Times copy chief, Merrill Perlman, will teach you how to polish your own prose. This six-session course is perfect for freelancers and independent journalists who don’t have access to traditional editors. You'll connect with fellow writers through a weekly group text chat, live video sessions and assignment feedback from Perlman. Key lessons include how to overcome the pitfalls of editing work that you have created and how to check your work for clarity, organization and understanding.

Cost: $349. Enroll by Monday, July 5.

Online group seminar, Sept. 20-Oct. 16

Making stories work involves more than just teases and live shots. This eight-session, four-week online seminar will help you expand your expertise as a TV producer with new writing, storytelling, coaching and ethical decision-making skills.

The Poynter Producer Project is long on practicality and low on theory. Poynter Senior Faculty Al Tompkins and a five-star lineup of visiting professionals will sharpen your writing and ethical decision-making skills, stretch your leadership muscles and increase your value to your newsroom. This course will energize you and expand your professional contacts.

Journalists, we have to stop assuming people understand the mission, ethics and processes behind our work. We can’t let ourselves get lumped in with perceptions of “the media.” Instead, we need to actively work to earn trust from our communities by telling them why we’re worthy of their time, trust and support.

This self-directed online course — taught by the leaders at Trusting News — will help you understand mistrust and gain a better understanding of what trust in news looks like in the U.S. It will also provide you with tips and tools to be more transparent, more engaged and more open with your users by encouraging you to:

• Be part of the conversation
• Correct the misunderstandings that drive some attitudes toward journalism.
• Tell your own story.
• Get credit for ethics and fairness behind your news coverage.
• Retain subscriptions and thrive financially.

The Bowtie Ball is Saturday, Nov. 6, 2021 

Poynter’s Bowtie Ball is an elegant year-end celebration of the free press and its impact on our lives. 

Each year, the program is fresh and dynamic, reflecting the mood of the moment and inspiring us with a vision for a more informed, more inclusive future. And each year, Poynter honors an esteemed journalist with the Poynter Medal for Lifetime Achievement in Journalism. Previous recipients include Chris Wallace, Katie Couric, Lester Holt, Judy Woodruff, Tom Brokaw and Bob Schieffer.

The 2021 Bowtie Ball will take place in Florida at St. Petersburg’s premier waterfront hotel, the Vinoy Renaissance Resort & Golf Club, on Saturday, Nov. 6.

Honorees will be announced soon. Save the date!

Becoming a More Effective Writer: Clarity and Organization
Online group seminar, Oct. 4-29, 2021
Clean up your writing habits with the former New York Times copy chief, Merrill Perlman. Cost: $429. Enroll now.

Newsroom Readiness Certificate
Self-directed course, start anytime 
This self-paced course includes five lessons about newsgathering, interviewing, media law, media ethics and diversity — basics all journalists should master. Cost: $49.99.  On Sale! $29.95. Enroll now.

Pay Attention: Legal Issues and Your Media Company
Self-directed course, available now
This multi-hour course will help media outlets become better versed in defamation law, as well as in issues of copyright, fair use and privacy. Enroll in the public version for free or use your coupon code from the Institute for Nonprofit News to access this more in-depth, INN-member version.

Global Fact 8 & 9
Save the date!
Global Fact is an annual conference hosted and organized by Poynter’s International Fact-Checking Network. It has become the premier gathering point to discuss the practice of fact-checking. Learn more.

• 2021: Global Fact 8 will be held virtually Oct. 21-23, 2021. 
• 2022: Global Fact 9 is scheduled for June 22-25, 2022 at Oslo Metropolitan University’s City Center Campus in Norway. 

How to Spot Misinformation Online 
Self-directed course, start anytime
Learn how to spot misinformation on the internet, especially around COVID-19 vaccines, and feel more confident finding facts on Facebook and other social media platforms. 
Cost: Free. This training is offered tuition free thanks to support from Facebook. Enroll now.