Dates:
Each webinar will last 90 minutes, and recordings of each session will be available.
All webinars take place on Thursdays from 1-2:30 p.m. Eastern.
- The growing reach of private equity (March 2, 16, 30)
- Preparing for climate change (April 6, 13, 27)
- Tracking ARPA funds and infrastructure projects near you (May 4, 18)
- New immigration patterns and challenges (June 8, 15)
- Bringing a community focus to crime reporting (July 13, 20)
- Roy Peter Clark’s writing tips for beat reporters (July 27, Aug. 3)
- Health news your audience can use (Sept. 7, 21)
- Journalist harassment: A self-defense kit (Oct. 5)
- Affirmative action retrenchment (Oct. 19)
All webinars take place on Thursdays from 1-2:30 p.m. Eastern.
Topic One | A risky mix: Private equity profits and vulnerable groups
March 2 (1-2:30 p.m. Eastern): In this first session, Bloomberg’s Jason Kelly, The Wall Street Journal’s Lauren Cooper and former private equity fund manager Jeff Hooke take you through the basics of private equity: how it works differently than other investment models, why it can be risky when it touches health care and other services, and why it has grown so quickly to a $4.4 trillion industry. Start learning the tools to spot the reach of private equity at the local level.
March 16 (1-2:30 p.m. Eastern): In our second session, we drill into private equity and health care with Kaiser Health News’ Fred Schulte, ProPublica’s Peter Elkind and WHYY’s Kenny Cooper. Private equity deals have undercut care at rural hospitals, urban hospitals, nursing homes, dental practices and more. Catch their tips for how to find and report the stories in your community.
March 30 (1-2:30 p.m. Eastern): Bloomberg’s Kendall Taggart, ProPublica’s Heather Vogell, and researcher Eileen O’Grady with the Private Equity Stakeholders Project talk about what has gone wrong in two areas — services for the disabled and other group settings, and in housing. Hear how they reported their stories, and the resources out there to help journalists find the facts faster.
Bonus: After attending this webinar series, participants can apply for a grant to bolster reporting on private equity in their communities. Read more.
Topic Two | Preparing for climate change
April 6 (1-2:30 p.m. Eastern): Climate change is impacting all aspects of our lives. This session will help fill in knowledge gaps so that journalists can more fully understand the causes of climate change and its risks to communities around the country.
Panelists:
Ed Maibach, director of George Mason University’s Center for Climate Change Communication
Andrew Pershing, director of climate science, Climate Central
Katherine Egland, member, national board of directors, NAACP
Alex Harris, lead climate change reporter, The Miami Herald
April 13 (1-2:30 p.m. Eastern): Building on the first session, this workshop will focus on what is already being done to deal with the climate-change-induced harms. What are the responses, adaptation strategies, resilience techniques that are successfully being deployed in communities already?
Panelists:
Alice Hill, the David M. Rubenstein senior fellow for energy and the environment at the Council on Foreign Relations and former special assistant to President Barack Obama and senior director for resilience policy on the National Security Council
Heidi Roop, director of the University of Minnesota’s Climate Adaptation Partnership
Luis Ortiz, assistant professor at George Mason University
Ariel Rodrigez, meteorologist for Telemundo 51 Miami and host of “Alerta Verde.”
April 27 (1-2:30 p.m. Eastern): There were several climate-related bills passed this past year, including a transformative Inflation Reduction Act. This session will help journalists track how the policies are playing out in their communities.
Panelists:
Michael Forrester, principal deputy director, Office of State and Community Energy Programs
Spencer Burget, policy analyst at Atlas Public Policy
Donnel Baird, founder, BlocPower
Kari Lydersen, author and journalist, Midwest Energy News
Spencer Burget and Tom Taylor, policy analysts at Atlas Public Policy
Bonus: After attending this webinar series, participants in six Great Lakes states can apply for a grant to bolster reporting on climate change in their communities. Read more.
Topic Three | Tracking ARPA funds and infrastructure projects near you
May 4 (1-2:30 p.m. Eastern): This session unpacks the tools for tracking how governments have spent ARPA dollars and how much remains in play. We’ll help you home in on your area, and discuss the forces that shape local decisions. Elected officials face a complicated mix of immediate needs and longer-term ambitions.
Panelists:
Alan Berube, interim vice president and director of Brookings Metro.
Adam Willis, city government reporter for The Baltimore Banner.
May 18 (1-2:30 p.m. Eastern): The 2021 Infrastructure Investment and Jobs Act will touch life in your community, and this session will help get you ready to cover it. Announcements of things like $250 million for a bridge between Ohio and Kentucky might seem like a lot of money, but the law has more than 2,000 times that much for everything from how we get from Place A to Place B, to our electric grid, to our water systems, and more. We’ll walk you through the tools that track the money, and position you to be a watchdog for how your state and local governments handle this infusion of cash.
Panelists:
Teryn Zmuda, chief research officer and chief economist at the National Association of Counties (NACo).
Adie Tomer, senior fellow at Brookings Metro and leader of the Metropolitan Infrastructure Initiative.
Joe Davis, writer and editor for the Society of Environmental Journalists’ regular TipSheet and Toolbox sections.
Topic Four | Immigration
June 8 (1-2:30 p.m. Eastern):While immigrants at the United States’ southern border dominate the political narrative, increasingly, the immigrants who stay are finding their way to America’s interior. In this session, we’ll examine immigration patterns, pathways and communities beyond the southern border; demonstrate census and documentation tools you can use to help tell stories in your community; and examine the roles jobs and families play in these stories.
Panelists:
Hannah Dreier, investigative reporter with The New York Times
Melissa Sanchez, ProPublica reporter writing about immigrants and labor
Jens Manuel Krogstad, senior writer and editor, Pew Research Center
June 15 (1-2:30 p.m. Eastern): In our second session, we’ll provide a snapshot of where immigration proposals stand at the federal level. From the end of Title 42 to the Biden administration’s push for adding asylum processing centers throughout Central and South America, we’ll fill you in on everything you need to know about the latest legislative ideas and actions.
Theresa Cardinal Brown, senior advisor, immigration and border policy, Bipartisan Policy Center
Arelis Hernandez, reporter covering the U.S. Southern border, Immigration, Texas and beyond for The Washington Post
Melissa Sanchez, ProPublica reporter writing about immigrants and labor
Topic Five | Transforming Crime Coverage
July 13 (1-2:30 p.m. Eastern): Crime coverage is broken, but there are ways to fix it. In this session, we will talk about what’s outdated about traditional crime reporting and demonstrate audience-first ways to provide better and more contextual coverage, improving your news organization’s relevancy to the community it covers.
Kelly McBride, Poynter senior vice president, Chair Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership
July 20 (1-2:30 p.m. Eastern): Improving local crime coverage means shifting away from stories about a single crime that’s just been committed and instead finding story ideas that focus on crime trends and accountability. In this session, you’ll hear how one local reporter has used publicly available documents and developed sourcing within law enforcement, to produce accountability journalism. Experts from the Marshall Project will share tools and techniques for producing fresh and accurate data about crime.
Kelly McBride, Poynter Senior Vice President, Chair Craig Newmark Center for Ethics and Leadership
Justin Garcia, state and local accountability reporter, the Tampa Bay Times
David Eads, data editor, the Marshall Project, and co-founder, the Invisible Institute
Weihua Li, data reporter, the Marshall Project
Topic 6 | Writing Tips for Beat Reporters
July 27 (1-2:30 p.m. Eastern) Session One: Clarity should be a writer’s first goal and to help us get there, Roy rolls out a series of questions that apply no matter what the topic. How would I explain this to someone who is not an expert, is there useless information I can delete from my story, where are the points of greatest complexity? Roy then walks us through the mental tool kit to address those questions. The result is writing that is more understandable and clear.
Aug. 3 (1-230 p.m. Eastern) Session Two: A report delivers information; a story creates an experience. For Roy, the distinction is crucial. He helps us understand the difference and spot the raw materials that, properly used, can leave a lasting impact on the reader. And with an example from a 19-year-old writer, he demonstrates that great work can be written on deadline.
Roy Peter Clark, senior scholar and writing coach, The Poynter Institute
Topic 7 | Health news your audience can use
Sept. 7 (1-2:30 p.m. Eastern): In our first session, we’ll help journalists track opioid settlement money at the state and local level. We’ll also explore aspects of telling the story of medical debt through KHN/KFF’s Bill of the Month program.
Sept. 21 (1-2:30 p.m. Eastern): In this session, we examine the impact of Medicaid post-COVID-19 retrenchment, with a particular emphasis on health care in rural and nonmetropolitan areas. We will also discuss the tradeoffs for consumers between Medicare and Medicare Advantage.
Panelists:
Noam N. Levey Senior Correspondent, KFF Health News
Aneri Pattani Senior Correspondent, KFF Health News
Kaye Pestaina Vice President and Co-Director, Program on Patient and Consumer Protections at KFF Health News
Bram Sable-Smith Midwest Correspondent, KFF Health News
Daniel Chang Florida Correspondent, KFF Health News
Phil Galewitz Senior Correspondent, KFF Health News
Judith Graham Contributing columnist, writes the “Navigating Aging” column for KFF Health News
Tricia Neuman Senior Vice President of KFF Health News
Jennifer Tolbert Director of the State Health Reform and Data Program at KFF Health News
Topic 8 | Journalist harassment: A self-defense kit
Oct. 5 (1-2:30 p.m. Eastern): When it comes to harassment that goes beyond the ordinary hate mail, a plan beats no plan. From everyday common-sense steps you can take, to making sure your newsroom is ready for the worst, we go through the options.
Panelists:
Danny Gawlowski Assistant managing editor for The Seattle Times
Naomi Ishisaka Assistant Managing Editor for Diversity, Inclusion and Staff Development / Social Justice Columnist, The Seattle Times
Jeje Mohamed Senior manager for digital safety and free expression at PEN America
Topic 9 | Affirmative action retrenchment
Oct. 19 (1-2:30 p.m. Eastern): The Supreme Court’s affirmative action ruling has brought ripple effects across higher education admissions. We show you where to find the data that matters in your area and discuss the framework to help you help your audience understand the options and challenges that schools face.
Panelists:
Eric Hoover Senior writer at the Chronicle of Higher Education
Katharine Meyer Fellow in the Governance Studies program for the Brown Center on Education Policy at the Brookings Institution
Sarah Reber Senior Fellow in Economic Studies at Brooking
