Poynter

Plus, Poynter reporting workshops, leadership seminars and our fall events calendar.

Finding a new job is always a journey. Finding a job in journalism, in the middle of a pandemic, when you’re an older military veteran who studied creative writing?

There are a lot of potholes on that path.

“A few employers would drop hints in our conversations alluding to my age and past military experience. One employer flat out told me that I was too old for the entry-level reporter jobs I wanted. Another took time to tell me that they didn’t have a specific veterans reporting beat,” wrote Poynter alum Will Schick. “Then, one day, I received an unexpected email. I had been accepted into the Poynter-Koch Media and Journalism Fellowship.”

This competitive, yearlong fellowship program for early-career reporters blends educational opportunities with work experience — and it offered a clear pathway for Schick to break into the industry.

See how Schick used his skills from the military to leapfrog from first-time reporter to editor-in-chief.

In today’s Weekly Training Digest, we’ve got our new masterclass for local reporters, the online version of our popular Midterm Essentials training and leadership training designed for women.

Go get ‘em.

— Andrew DeLong, director of teaching operations

P.S. We are featuring more stories about Poynter grads in this newsletter. How do you feel about that? Click your emoji.

😍 😴 👍 👎

NEW AND UPCOMING

DEADLINE SOON! Level Up: Critical Skills for Local Reporters

Online seminar, Oct. 4-Nov. 15

Ready to up your game? This six-week, online masterclass will give you the front-edge skills you need to grow as a reporter and the real talk to manage your career with savvy.

Poynter's Kristen Hare designed this program to help local journalists carve out satisfying and sustainable careers in local media. Learn about trauma-informed reporting from The Wall Street Journal's Erin Ailworth, investigative reporting from NPR's Cheryl W. Thompson, story forms from MIT fellow and National Geographic Explorer John D. Sutter — and much more.

Cost: $750. Apply by Sept. 6.

APPLY NOW

Midterm Essentials: Election Issues Broadcast Journalists Should Know

Self-directed online course, start anytime

Ask more informed questions and demand more solid answers about complex issues facing America in the 2022 midterm election cycle.

Topics include: climate change, inflation and the economy, health care and drug costs, immigration, campaign finance, guns and gun control, and detecting disinformation.

This online, self-paced course is adapted from the workshop we hosted at Poynter on Aug. 2. It includes recordings of the sessions and the slide decks with resources.

Cost: Free.

ENROLL NOW

DEADLINE EXTENDED! Power of Diverse Voices: Writing Workshop for Journalists of Color

In-person, St. Petersburg, Florida, Nov. 10-13

The Power of Diverse Voices workshop — now one of Poynter’s most competitive programs — is a transformative, four-day seminar that helps journalists of color find their voice and build skills for writing opinion pieces and personal essays.

Apply now to be a part of the community and give power to your voice.

Cost: Free. Apply by Monday, Aug. 29.

APPLY NOW

Will Work For Impact: Fundamentals of Investigative Journalism

Online group seminar, Sept. 8-29

Over four weeks, award-winning investigative journalist Alexandra Zayas will break down the investigative journalism process to help you think about what kinds of stories to choose, how to build a bulletproof case and how to maximize the chance your work will create change.

During the course, you will analyze award-winning investigations and apply those reporters’ strategies to your own work. You will also complete weekly assignments, interact with your peers and get feedback from Zayas on your work.

Join the 240+ journalists who have graduated from this seminar with tangible, practical investigative skills.

Cost: $399. Enroll by Friday, Sept. 2.

ENROLL NOW

ALUMNI NEWS AND MOVES

🥳 Congratulations to Harry Mok, assistant opinion editor at The San Francisco Chronicle and a graduate of Poynter’s 2021 Power of Diverse Voices: Writing Workshop for Journalists of Color! Mok’s opinion piece about belonging as an “Asian kid in a California farm town” was awarded AAJA’s Excellence in Commentary/Op-Ed/Perspective. We are proud that the piece was workshopped during our training. Here’s what Mok had to say:

I could convey the immigrant experience of my family and its context to the current spate of anti-Asian hate. I could express the frustrations and the anger many Asian Americans and others felt. I help humanize the story for a broader audience and augment what at that point was the Chronicle’s paltry reporting on the issue, and I believe I did.

🚀 Yay for two women’s leadership academy alumni and their cool new jobs: Megan Griffith-Greene, part of the 2021 cohort, just started at The Washington Post as service journalism editor. Rossilynne Skena Culgan, part of the 2020 cohort, is now Things to Do editor at Time Out New York. Congrats!

Are you a Poynter grad? Share your wins with us! Email [email protected] and tell us what you're celebrating.

LEADERSHIP

Lead With Influence
Online group seminar, Oct. 3-24
Demonstrate leadership without formal authority and use your social capital to lead with influence. Cost: $600. Scholarships available! Apply by Sept. 2.

Leadership Academy for Women in Media (2023)
In-person, March 5-10, May 21-26 or Sept. 24-29
Manage your team more effectively, hone and communicate your strategic vision and steer your organization toward success. Cost: $1,300. Scholarships available! Apply by Sept. 9.

Table Stakes: Poynter’s Local News Innovation Program (2023)
Online and in-person, Jan. 17-Dec 8
Make the transition to sustainable digital publishing and build a culture of performance-driven change. Cost: Starts at $500. Apply by Nov. 18.

FOR EDUCATORS

Professor's Press Pass
Subscription to weekly case studies
Get your students talking about the hottest topics in journalism with this library of short-but-sweet case studies and video takeaways — straight from the newsroom for use in your college classroom. Cost: $12/month. Subscribe now.

MediaWise Campus Correspondents
One-hour online training
Bring front-edge fact-checking lessons into your classroom. Each training is led by college students and designed for college students. Cost: Free. Request training.

Is This Legit? Digital Media Literacy 101
Self-directed course
Learn how to master the flood of suspicious information taking over the internet from MediaWise Campus Correspondents. Cost: Free. Start now.

ELECTION PREP

Covering Political Extremism in the Public Square
Online workshop, Sept. 20, 10:30 a.m.-4 p.m. Eastern time
Stay safe and produce ethical, excellent stories for voters leading up to the 2022 midterms. Cost: Free. Apply by Sept. 16.

Find Facts Fast
7-day mobile course, start anytime
Empower news consumers in your community with the digital media literacy skills they need to find reliable information online, fast. Cost: Free. Learn more.

Luchando Contra la Desinformación en Español: Elecciones de Medio Término y Comunidades Latinas
Online group seminar, Sept. 20-22
Aprender en español, con los verificadores de Factchequeado, cómo identificar y verificar la desinformación que afecta a las comunidades latinas antes de las elecciones de medio término. Cost: Free. Enroll now.

EVENTS

United Facts of America: A Festival of Fact-Checking
Online event, Sept. 27-29
Celebrate facts with the Poynter Institute and its Pulitzer Prize-winning fact-checking enterprise PolitiFact at United Facts of America. Cost: $50-$150. Get tickets.
📣 We just announced our speakers!

An Evening with AP Executive Editor Julie Pace
In-person event, Oct. 11, Tampa, Florida
Hear illuminating conversations with the award-winning journalist and newsroom executive, Julie Pace, ranging from covering the war in Ukraine to declaring election winners. Cost: $35.50 – $150. Get tickets.

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