How to qualify for free tuition:

People who live or work in Pinellas and who have started or intend to start an online business may qualify for free tuition. To see if you qualify, download and complete this form Participant and Employer Profile and fax it to Poynter, to the attention of Entrepreneurship Program Coordinator, at (727) 553-4682. (For help filling out this form, click here.) If you are a male over age 18 and did not register with the Selective Service, please download and complete this form Selective Service form and fax it, as well.

You may also mail your forms to Poynter, attention Entrepreneurship Program Coordinator, 801 Third Street S, St. Petersburg, FL 33701.

If you have any questions, call Poynter at (727) 821-9494 and ask for the Entrepreneurship Program Coordinator.

Poynter's Great Hall offers a place for students and faculty to interact.

FAQs

Do I have to be a journalist to take this course?

No. This course is open to anyone who is interested in learning about how to start a news or information Web site. No journalism experience required.

Do I have to be a computer programmer to take this course?

No. You should be comfortable with computers, certainly. After all, you're about to start an online media business, right? But you do not need to know HTML or any other programming language.

Will I receive a degree or certificate? Will it count for college credit?

You will receive a certificate of completion. We will work with you if you want to explore options with your college or university to earn credit for this class. But you will need to make those arrangements. Poynter is licensed and accredited, but we are not a degree-granting institution. You will not earn college credit through Poynter for this course.

Why does this course cost more than other Poynter courses?

Founded by newspaper publisher Nelson Poynter, The Poynter Institute has trained journalists and media leaders for 35 years. As a non-profit, we do this work not to make money but to serve our mission, furthering independent journalism in service to democracy. Traditionally, most of our funding has come from the newspaper we own, the St. Petersburg Times. Because of this unique ownership and revenue structure, we have been able to subsidize the cost of our journalism training so that seminar participants, or the media companies that employed them, could experience Poynter training without bearing the full cost of running the Institute. As media companies, including the Times, have felt the double whammy of the devastating economy and the shift in news consumption habits, Poynter finds it must offer some courses at market rates. This course is one of those.

Poynter is a leader in engaging, interactive training. Our coverage of the transformation in the news business is comprehensive and forward-looking. We believe our training will justify the price. And we've worked hard to find tuition assistance for residents of our home county, many of whom could qualify to come for free. We're working to find tuition assistance for residents outside Pinellas County, as well.

How do I fill out this form to see if I qualify for free tuition? It's confusing!

The form Participant and Employer Profile asks for Employer Information and Trainee Details. You, the student or participant in this course, are the Trainee. The Employer is the company you have created or intend to create as a result of this entrepreneurial training. You do not have to have officially established your business or even know what your official business name will be. For now, you may simply use your own name as the name of your employer. After all, you intend to go to work for yourself, don't you? Give yourself a title (likely "owner"), assign the date (today or in the past) as the date you "hired" yourself and indicate your current wages (which may be zero at this point).

At the bottom, sign and date the form as the participant and the employer. You do not have to have an I-9 form on file for yourself if you have not launched your business yet.

I still have questions! What do I do?
Give us a call. Call Poynter at (727) 821-9494 and ask for the entrepreneurship program coordinator.