The Poynter Institute has published its teaching lineup for its 2019 in-person seminars and workshops. In addition to Poynter faculty, the roster features such prominent industry leaders and educators as Jacqui Banaszynski, Tom Huang, Joy Mayer and Mizell Stewart.
Poynter educates more professional journalists than any other organization in the world, training tens of thousands of journalists, media professionals, educators and students each year.
As a center of relevant and practical training for professional journalists, Poynter experienced record-breaking enrollment in its tuition-based seminars in 2018. During this time of radical technological transformation, swiftly shifting audience behavior and unprecedented financial pressure, newsrooms around the world have an urgent need to be trained and prepared.
“Our industry is constantly transforming, and so is Poynter. We’ll continue to train in fundamentals such as graceful storytelling and journalism ethics, and we want to provide the tools to empower people to lead from wherever they are — even if they don’t work in a newsroom,” said Doris Truong, Poynter’s new director of training and diversity. “We’re increasing our emphasis on ways that journalists can better connect with our multicultural society. And we’re offering an exciting variety of courses both at the institute and online through NewsU that will help journalists at all levels improve in the craft.”
The 2019 Poynter Training Line-Up:
- Poynter Leadership Academies for Women in Digital Media: Feb. 24-March 1, March 31-April 5 and Oct. 20-25. Applications will open Nov. 1, 2018.
- Essential Skills for Rising Newsroom Leaders: April 7-12
- Poynter Producer Project: In-person April 12-14; Online March 26-April 30
- Summit for Reporters and Editors in Multi-Platform Newsrooms: April 28-May 3
- Teachapalooza: Front-Edge Teaching Tools for College Educators: June 7-9
- Poynter High School Journalism Program: June 10-14
- TV Power Reporting Academy: In-person Sept. 27-29; Online Sept. 10-Oct. 8
- Poynter Leadership Academy: Oct. 6-11
- Reporting Workshop for Rising Newsroom Stars: Oct. 13-16
- Power of Diverse Voices: The Poynter Minority Writers Workshop: Nov. 7-10
- Essential Skills for Rising Newsroom Leaders: Nov. 10-15
- Poynter Leadership Academy for Diversity in Digital Media: Dec. 8-13. Applications will open in the spring of 2019.
Newsrooms can guarantee spots in most seminars by enrolling and submitting payment in full before Dec. 1, 2018.
In addition to seminars, Poynter will offer these intensive learning opportunities:
The Poynter Local News Innovation Program (Table Stakes) will kick-off its third year in late spring of 2019. This program is dedicated to providing a platform of cultural transformation specifically designed for local news organizations to find success as they transition to a digital-first publishing philosophy. Selected local news outlets take a deep dive into the seven Table Stakes for digital publishing, assess their gap in meeting those requirements and identify specific performance initiatives to close those gaps. This program extends the reach of the Knight-Temple Table Stakes program and is funded by a grant from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.
Poynter will once again offer its popular Media Innovation Tour in 2019, an exclusive, behind-the-scenes look at leading news organizations in Washington D.C. and New York. The 2018 Poynter Media Innovation Tour sold out four months prior to the tour’s start date, attracting publishers, editors-in-chief, media startup founders, academics and other executive-level newsroom professionals from the Argentina, Australia, Canada, India, South Africa and the U.S. The 2018 tour included stops at the Associated Press, The Atlantic, Chalkbeat, Chartbeat, NPR, National Geographic, the New York Times, the Pew Research Center, Politico, Quartz, Twitter, the Wall Street Journal and the Washington Post. The tour’s small group size, coupled with the attendance of Poynter’s executive team and faculty to facilitate meaningful conversation about practical application of findings for any newsroom, set this tour apart.
As the home of fact-checking and a leader in media ethics, Poynter will continue its work in these important fields, including hosting an annual Ethics Summit. Funded by a multi-year grant from the Craig Newmark Philanthropies, Poynter’s work in media ethics helps to define best practices for the industry and a commitment to train journalists and hold media organizations accountable. Poynter publishes an annual Trust in the Media survey, which is analyzed at the summit.
Poynter will continue to respond to industry demand by offering relevant and timely training around topics important to communities and democracy. Previously, the Institute launched series that taught journalists how to cover jails, the opioid crisis and how to make ethical, practical use of drones in visual storytelling. Poynter anticipates expanding its topical teaching in 2019.
In addition to journalism training, Poynter’s work in digital information and news literacy will proceed through next year. In partnership with the Stanford University History Education Group (SHEG), and with the support of Google, Poynter will continue its leadership of the national MediaWise campaign aimed at helping American teenagers tell fact from fiction online. In 2019, MediaWise will roll out the classroom curriculum and teach teens through the work of YouTube Creators. As part of the project, Poynter launched a teen fact-checking initiative to debunk digital information on platforms where teens spend their online time. This work will continue throughout 2019. Interested teens can apply to be fact-checkers and attend summer training programs.
“The combination of relevance and creativity are a hallmark of Poynter’s programs and the coming year will stand out,” said Institute president Neil Brown. “Our work on fact-checking, ethics, leadership and reporting will improve the craft at a time when the stakes remain very high both for those who practice journalism and those who consume the information every day."
