Level Up: Critical Skills for Local Reporters (2023)

$750.00

Apply Now

Level Up: Critical Skills for Local Reporters (2023)

This weekly virtual training will help reporters up their game and develop the essential skills they need to continue growing in a time when resources are few and the need for local journalism is great. 

October 3, 2023– November 14, 2023

Overview

  • Take your reporting career to the next level with guidance from accomplished journalists.
  • Tune in each week for 90 minutes of master-class level instruction, plus 30 minutes each week on dealing with burnout.
  • Embark on weekly challenges designed to facilitate your growth.
  • Connect with your peers and exchange ideas in a dedicated Slack channel.
  • Join a cohort of other talented reporters like you.
  • Exclusive access to a weekly pop-up newsletter with program and expert interviews.
  • Apply for this program by Monday, Sept. 18.

$750.00

Apply Now
SKU: POGS07-23 Tags: ,

Learning Outcomes

Throughout the program, you will learn how to:

  • Visualize and execute powerful reporting, from conception to completion
  • Structure your investigative reporting
  • Distinguish your voice and better incorporate narrative writing into your work
  • Develop and grow an audience through alternate story forms
  • Utilize new strategies to self-edit
  • Evaluate and identify opportunities to propel your own growth
  • Better understand, treat and head off burnout

$750.00

Apply Now

Overview

  • Take your reporting career to the next level with guidance from accomplished journalists.
  • Tune in each week for 90 minutes of master-class level instruction, plus 30 minutes each week on dealing with burnout.
  • Embark on weekly challenges designed to facilitate your growth.
  • Connect with your peers and exchange ideas in a dedicated Slack channel.
  • Join a cohort of other talented reporters like you.
  • Exclusive access to a weekly pop-up newsletter with program and expert interviews.
  • Apply for this program by Monday, Sept. 18.

Training five or more people?
Check out our custom training.

The secret to success isn’t getting to the biggest newsroom; it’s creating the career you want where you are.

This six-week interactive program will provide reporters with the most relevant and practical skills needed to boost their reporting expertise and drive their professional development forward. Participants will grow as investigators and storytellers and learn how to better manage their personal careers.

Poynter local news expert and faculty member Kristen Hare, along with a slate of accomplished journalists, will provide master-class level instruction on key concepts including reporting and writing, investigations, trauma-informed interviewing, fact-checking and self-editing. Sessions will also include dedicated time to discuss the realities facing the journalism industry and how to navigate them over a sustainable and satisfying career, while a custom weekly newsletter will supplement instruction with more resources and interviews.

Participants will also take part in weekly challenges where they’ll apply their learning to daily work and share their experiences with a cohort of other talented journalists in a dedicated community forum. They’ll reflect on their work, learn from the experiences of other reporters and get advice from our experts.

This online workshop will supercharge reporters with the journalistic expertise, in-demand skills and career knowledge necessary to level up in the industry. Apply now to unlock your superstar potential and make a critical advancement towards the next stage of your career.

This online group seminar will take place weekly on Tuesdays from noon-2 p.m. Eastern time starting Oct. 3, 2023.

Participants will receive 90 minutes of instruction, which includes a challenge for the week ahead based on that week’s skill, followed by 30 minutes of career skill discussion for journalists.

Expect to walk away from each week’s session with practical strategies and takeaways you can immediately apply to your work.

Below is a tentative schedule:

Oct. 3: Investigative reporting with Cheryl Thompson, The Washington Post

Oct. 10: Trauma-informed reporting with Erin Ailworth, editor of newsroom talent at The Wall Street Journal

Oct. 17: Fact-checking and combating misinformation with Alex Mahadevan, director of MediaWise

Oct. 24: Narrative reporting and writing with Maria Carrillo, formerly of the Tampa Bay Times

Oct. 31: Self-editing, with Kathy Lu, freelance journalist

Nov. 14: TBD

Ambitious reporters who want to fast-track their career development by growing in their current newsroom should apply. Editors who want to retain their top talent and local newsrooms that need to capitalize on the resources they have should refer their staff. Freelance journalists will also benefit from this master-class level instruction.

Instructors

  • Kristen Hare
    Faculty, The Poynter Institute
    Kristen Hare covers and teaches on the transformation of local news for the Poynter Institute. Her work for Poynter has earned her a Mirror Award...
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  • 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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  • Cheryl W. Thompson
    Correspondent, Investigations - NPR
    Prior to joining NPR in January 2019, she spent 22 years at The Washington Post, where she wrote extensively about law enforcement, political corruption and...
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  • Kathy Lu
    Adjunct
    Kathy Lu has spent more than two decades in journalism as a leader and manager. She is an alumna of several leadership courses, including through...
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  • Alex Mahadevan
    Director, MediaWise
    Alex Mahadevan is the Director of the MediaWise project. Alex was most recently the Program Manager of MediaWise. Prior to joining the staff at Poynter,...
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  • Erin Ailworth
    Editor of Newsroom Talent, The Wall Street Journal
    Erin Ailworth is the Wall Street Journal's recruiter for its U.S. News, Washington, World News and Speed & Trending teams. She was most recently part...
    Read More

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