Edit to Elevate: Essentials for New Editors (April 2026)

Original price was: $650.00.Current price is: $499.00.

In stock

Edit to Elevate: Essentials for New Editors (April 2026)

Join us on Mondays this spring for a five-week course designed for new editors. Transform your edit from transactional to transformational with program lead Tom Huang and industry veterans Maria Carrillo, Tony Elkins and Kathleen McGrory. Get tools to line edit under pressure, learn to coach inexperienced reporters remotely and guide reporters to develop quick enterprise stories that elevate their beat coverage. Sessions run April 13 – May 11, from noon to 1:30 p.m. Eastern.

April 13, 2026– May 11, 2026

Overview

  • Join us on Mondays from April 13-May 11, 2026, for 90-minute sessions to elevate your edit.
  • Identify the tools and skills you need to nurture your reporters and get great work.
  • Receive expert-led training from Tom Huang and industry veterans Maria Carrillo, Tony Elkins and Kathleen McGrory.
  • Get practical strategies to coach your reporters and build strong stories from initial pitch to final publication.
  • Learn how to make key connections and partnerships in diverse work environments.

In stock

Learning Outcomes

By the end of this course, you will:

  • Strengthen your line editing skills, especially on deadline.
  • Develop a strong sense of mission and purpose as an editor.
  • Take on a coaching mindset.
  • Develop strategies to help your reporters focus and structure their stories.
  • Help your reporters develop ambitious and quick enterprise off their beats.
  • Develop tools to lead projects for your team and across your newsroom.
New Sale

Original price was: $650.00.Current price is: $499.00.

In stock

Overview

  • Join us on Mondays from April 13-May 11, 2026, for 90-minute sessions to elevate your edit.
  • Identify the tools and skills you need to nurture your reporters and get great work.
  • Receive expert-led training from Tom Huang and industry veterans Maria Carrillo, Tony Elkins and Kathleen McGrory.
  • Get practical strategies to coach your reporters and build strong stories from initial pitch to final publication.
  • Learn how to make key connections and partnerships in diverse work environments.

Training 5 or More People?
get consulting & coaching

Today’s newsrooms are increasingly younger, smaller and scarce on resources. 

Editors who started around or since the COVID-19 pandemic face a unique set of challenges: managing reporters they rarely see in person, providing direction to writers scattered across locations and coaching journalists who lack mentorship. 

This five-week, skills-intensive course is designed to meet the moment and help new editors move beyond the basics to focus on the mission, mindset and roadmap required to make them indispensable to their newsrooms.

Get practical training via weekly sessions from program lead Tom Huang and accomplished journalists and editors Maria Carrillo and Kathleen McGrory. New for 2026: Poynter faculty Tony Elkins will teach a session about project management for editors. This program delivers tools to strengthen your line editing skills and provides the support you need to build a strong sense of mission and purpose as an editor.

You’ll gain the confidence to actively coach rather than passively edit, learn methods for improving story structure and focus and grasp how to help reporters find compelling angles they can execute with speed and quality.

If you’re struggling to see past the daily grind, you’re not alone. This skills-based program moves your edit from transactional to transformational.

Space is limited and this program will sell out. Enroll by April 10 or before seats fill.

Questions?

If you need assistance, email us at info@poynter.org

Monday, April 13, noon to 1:30 p.m. Eastern

Editing without your hands (Session leaders: Tom Huang, Maria Carrillo, Kathleen McGrory)

Delve into the art of establishing a coaching relationship with your reporters. Learn how to spark ideas for stories and push reporters to vet, elevate and focus them. You’ll build your toolkit of strategic questions, learn how to say “no” without dampening ambitions and coach in a hybrid work environment.

Monday, April 20, noon to 1:30 p.m. Eastern

Hands-on editing (Session leader: Maria Carrillo)
Get the tools to line edit stories to elevate them. You’ll be equipped with actionable tips on “triage” editing for tight deadlines and identify and troubleshoot strategies for story strengths and weaknesses.

Monday, April 27, noon to 1:30 p.m. Eastern

Building your team – and collaborating across the newsroom (Session leader: Tom Huang)

Learn key techniques for building your team on a daily basis – what are practical steps you can take starting now? Discover how to be intentional about your time in the newsroom when you’re in a hybrid workplace. Employ key tips for collaborating across teams – understanding that getting things done is based on building relationships across the newsroom – and not just when you need something on deadline.

Monday, May 4, noon to 1:30 p.m. Eastern

Project management 101 (Session leader: Tony Elkins)

Develop tools to lead projects for your team and across your newsroom.

Monday, May 11, noon to 1:30 p.m. Eastern
Ambitious editing (Session leader: Kathleen McGrory)
Coach reporters to bring ambition and enterprise thinking to their beats through short-range and mid-range story development. Sharpen focus, frame, clarity, and organization while helping reporters bulletproof their work.

Who should enroll? 

This course serves newer editors across all platforms — digital, print, broadcast and multimedia — who lack opportunities for growth and support. Experienced editors looking to reinvigorate their approach and strengthen their coaching and line editing skills will also find value.

Whether you work in a small local newsroom or a large national operation, public media or private company, this program meets the universal challenges editors face in today’s hybrid media landscape.

Editors who come from diverse backgrounds, are driven to succeed, hungry for guidance and to be part of a journalism community to share stories, ideas and experiences with are encouraged to take part.

Cost

$499 for five, 90-minute online sessions with leading journalism experts. You’ll also get access to replays, resources and fellow editors. Plus, space is intentionally limited so you have the opportunity to get your questions answered and connect with instructors.

Instructors

Lead Faculty

  • Tom Huang
    Assistant Managing Editor for Journalism Initiatives, The Dallas Morning News
    Tom Huang is Assistant Managing Editor for Journalism Initiatives at The Dallas Morning News, where he edits stories across multiple beats, oversees the newsroom’s internship and...
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Contributing Faculty

  • Maria Carrillo
    Consultant and retired Tampa Bay Times editor
    Maria Carrillo retired as senior deputy editor of the Tampa Bay Times. She worked as senior deputy editor of the Houston Chronicle and, before that,...
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  • Tony Elkins
    Faculty
    Tony Elkins is a faculty member at Poynter. His portfolio includes Poynter’s leadership workshops Essential Skills for Rising Newsroom Leaders and the Leadership Academy for...
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  • Kathleen McGrory
    Editor, New York Times Local Investigations Fellowship
    Kathleen McGrory is an editor for the New York Times’ Local Investigations Fellowship program. She was previously a reporter on ProPublica’s national staff. Before that,...
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