Each week, MediaShift will list upcoming online trainings and courses for journalists and media people — with a focus on digital training. We’ll include our new DigitalEd courses, as well as those from Mediabistro, NewsU, KDMC and others. If we’re missing anything, or you’d like to pay to promote your training in the “featured training” spot of our weekly post, please contact Mark Glaser at mark [at] mediashift [dot] org. Any non-MediaShift events in the “featured event” slot are paid placements.
FEATURED TRAININGS
DigitalEd: How to Automate Social Media
Make social media work for you around the clock! If you’re ready to expand your marketing efforts but you don’t want to manage your social media 24 hours a day, this webinar can help. We’ll show you how to automate your social media posts without losing authenticity. Find out how to increase audience reach and engagement while improving the effectiveness and efficiency of your social operations. Learn why automated scheduling can be a powerful tool for your brand and how to use it in conjunction with real-time posts. Discover ways to determine the best times to post your updates. See powerful social media scheduling tools in action. You’ll take away ideas to help you develop an expanded social strategy and tools to help you execute and measure the success of your efforts.
Featured Presenter: Megan Calcote, Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Date and time: May 25, 2016, 1:00 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT
Producer: MediaShift
Place: Online with BigMarker
Price: $39
MAY 2016
CUNY J+ Intro. to VR with Dan Archer
Virtual and augmented reality has garnered widespread acclaim in recent years, from Facebook’s $2 billion acquisition of Oculus in 2014, the NYTimes’s delivery of over 1 million Google cardboard headsets last year, or Magic Leap’s billion-dollar+ seed round of funding. This single session primer will walk you through the core concepts and potential of this transformative technology.
Date and time: May 25, 2016, 6:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. ET
Producer: CUNY Graduate School of Journalism
Place: CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, New York City
Price: $25 (Participants will get a cardboard VR viewer while supplies last.)
JUNE 2016
CUNY J+ Data Storytelling and Visualization
We swim in a world of data – from election results, budgets, and census reports, to Facebook updates and image uploads. Journalists and other communicators need to know how to find stories in data and shape them in compelling ways. It’s good storytelling and it’s good business as startup news organizations, legacy media and other brands are actively hiring data storytellers. This 5-week course will teach you how to gather and analyze data to find stories and to visualize them as interactive narratives. This fast-growing discipline is at the crossroads of storytelling, statistical analysis and interactive design.
Date and time: June 1, 8, 15, 22, 29, 2016, 6:30-9:00 p.m. ET
Producer: CUNY Graduate School of Journalism
Place: CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, New York City
Price: $499
Xposure High School Journalism Workshop
The program seeks students with interests in news writing, editing, photography and journalism as a career. During the workshop, students gain important skills through classes, seminars, educational field trips and work with WKU journalism professors and other professional journalists in a learn-by-doing environment. Students report, write, edit and shoot photos for stories published in a newspaper and posted on the workshop’s website. All high school students are welcome to apply, especially rising juniors and seniors.
Date and time: June 4-12, 2016
Producer: Western Kentucky University
Place: Western Kentucky University, Bowling Green, Kentucky
Price: Contact Chuck Clark for more information.
Multimedia Storytelling for Journalists
In this hands-on course, receive a comprehensive overview of multimedia storytelling, which is crucial for professional success as a journalist today. While participating in an intensive group project, gain practical experience in all facets of digital story production for news and documentaries. In the first two sessions, build your technical skills by shooting digital footage and completing editing exercises. Then, explore fundamental theory and practice while developing a multimedia product appropriate for the web, mobile devices, and social media. Topics include story research, planning, and scripting; DSLR photo and video techniques; sound acquisition; and lighting.
Date and time: June 7, 14, 21, 28 and July 5, 12, 19, 26, 2016, 6:00-9:45 p.m.
Producer: New York University
Place: New York City
Price: $675
Columbia Publishing Course
If you are considering a career in book, magazine, or digital media publishing, the Columbia Publishing Course will give you the tools and the training you need to succeed:
– Broad exposure to current issues in publishing
– Unparalleled access to top publishing professionals
– Hands-on publishing experience
– Comparison of publishing types that informs career decisions
– Extensive career placement support
– Access to a large, active alumni network
Date and time: June 12-July 22, 2016
Producer: Columbia Journalism School
Place: Columbia Journalism School, New York City
Price: $8,365 (includes tuition, room and board)
Visual Storytelling: Inspiring Content Creators with Video, Images and Data Visualizations
Visual storytelling is a critical component in a brand’s strategy. To maintain a strong digital presence content creators must have the skills to produce visual stories with video, images, data and text. Join us for one intensive week to learn best-in-class techniques for producing great visuals that tell stories to the web and your social media networks.
Date and time: June 13-17, 2016
Producer: Advanced Media Institute, University of California Berkeley
Place: University of California Berkeley
Price: $2400
CUNY J+ 360 Video — Shooting and Stitching with Marcelle Hopkins and Bob Sacha
This all-day, hands-on workshop teaches the basics of 360° video production and post-production. Participants will practice shooting, stitching and editing 360° video, as well as discuss immersive storytelling techniques, ethics and distribution platforms. Students will work in small guided teams with 6-GoPro camera rigs and the Kolor stitching software.
Date and time: June 17, 2016, 9:30 a.m. – 5:30 p.m. ET
Producer: CUNY Graduate School of Journalism
Place: CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, New York City
Price: $449
CSPA Summer Journalism Workshop
The annual Summer Journalism Workshop is a week-long conference offering sequences focused on either writing, editing, management or advanced design.
Date and time: June 19-24, 2016
Producer: Columbia Scholastic Pres Association
Place: Columbia University, New York City
Price: $795-$1195 per course
Virtual Reality with Unity 3D with Dan Archer
Unity is one of the leading game engines for designing 2D & 3D interactive environments – the cornerstone of what many new virtual reality experiences are being built on. Over four sessions, you will learn to use this powerful piece of software to create your own immersive worlds, build environments and import characters, and you will be taught the fundamentals of adding interactivity and exporting to different platforms so that others can try out your experience for themselves.
Date and time: June 23 & 30 and July 7 & 14, 2016, 6:30-9:00 p.m. ET
Producer: CUNY Graduate School of Journalism
Place: CUNY Graduate School of Journalism, New York City
Price: $799
JULY 2016
Columbia Journalism Video Workshop
You know that the best way to tell a story is to show it. Columbia Journalism School faculty teach you how to tell your story through video. Instruction focuses on the essentials–how to conceive of and structure a story, how to handle a camera, how to use post production software — and delivers much more. Interactive discussion and lab work is all done in small groups — a maximum of fifteen students — meaning that your progress is never overlooked. We also provide opportunities to meet leading video producers in New York. Studying at Columbia Journalism School you’re only a quick train ride from some of the most innovative newsrooms and production companies in the world.
Date and time: July 5-22, 2016
Producer: Columbia Journalism School
Place: Columbia Journalism School, New York City
Price: $4500
Summer Investigative Reporting Workshop, NYC
Over three weeks, participants in all media platforms examine what investigative journalism is and how to conceive, research and write such stories. The process involves recognizing when something should be a long-term project, basic criteria for launching into the story, testing and retesting the hypothesis throughout the investigation, and shifting direction when the reporting dictates that the story direction has changed. Students will be asked in think about possible investigative projects they want to work on upon their return to the workplace, using the lessons learned during the course. Workshops will be taught on creating databases, retrieving data from outside sources, locating and using public records in different parts of the world, utilizing financial documents, interviewing techniques, how to structure an investigative story, using multimedia to support projects, writing and editing a long-form narrative, and more.
Date and time: July 5-22, 2016
Producer: Columbia Journalism School
Place: Columbia Journalism School, New York City
Price: $7500 (10% discount for Columbia Journalism School alumni and 5% discount for past Columbia Journalism Continuing Education students and current Columbia University faculty, staff, and students)
The Art of the Pitch: Selling Your Stories
As the journalism industry evolves, newspapers, magazines, and websites are relying more and more on freelance writers. In fact, there’s no better time to break into journalism as a freelancer—and that means this is the time to learn how to pitch. In this course, taught by a former New York Times editor, learn how to hatch fresh story ideas that will draw editors’ attention and how to portray these ideas in winning ways. Whether your target publication is Buzzfeed or The Wall Street Journal, and whether you write features, profiles, or criticism, the pitch is the key to opening editors’ doors, getting your writing noticed, and getting paid.
Date and time: July 6, 13, 20, 27, 2016, 6:30-9:30 p.m.
Producer: New York University
Place: New York City
Price: $270
2016 ASB Teacher Workshop
The original, tried and true, level-one broadcasting “camp” from ASB Workshops. Perfect for the first-time broadcast teacher, or a veteran who wants to recharge the batteries. It’s the perfect blend of theory and practice, with inspiring sessions in the morning, and challenging, hands-on assignments in the afternoons.
Date and time: July 10-15, 2016
Producer: The Academy of Scholastic Broadcasting
Place: Springfield, Missouri
Price: $450-$650
CSPA High School Journalism Workshop
CSPA Workshop graduates do more in 13 days than most people do all summer. Whether you’re an experienced student journalist, a beginner or simply a student interested in improving your writing skills, you’ll find the CSPA Workshop beneficial. It’s an opportunity not only to sharpen journalism skills but to become a better writer, to improve your time management and to learn how to communicate and cooperate with others in a professional environment. You also will learn cutting-edge digital skills to go along with the journalistic principles that are vital in any medium.
Date and time: July 10-22, 2016
Producer: California Scholastic Press Association
Place: Cal Poly, San Luis Obispo
Price: $1475
Broadcast Journalism Workshop
In this workshop, through study and hands-on practice, students are trained in the fundamental principles, techniques, and craft of contemporary journalism. This is accomplished through a combination of lecture, demonstration, in-class hands-on production, and the students’ own work. Each student produces news projects, shot with single-camera set-ups edited on Avid Media Composer. This intensive workshop provides a strong introduction to necessary digital and journalism skills.
Date and time: July 11 – Aug. 6, 2016
Producer: New York Film Academy
Place: New York City
Price: $3800
DigitalEd: Beyond Pageviews: Optimizing Analytics
You’re pulling analytics, but do you know how to interpret them? Which analytics should you pay attention and which are less important? What programs are best for measuring analytics? How do analytics tie to your larger strategy? And how can they be used to ensure your great content gets seen, read and shared and helps you produce better content. Learn free and low-cost ways to optimize your content to better measure success and derive meaningful insights from your analytics without investing heavily in proprietary software.
Date and time: July 13, 2016, 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT
Producer: MediaShift
Place: Online with BigMarker
Price: $39
Podcast/Radio Reporting and Storytelling: A Crash Course in Audio
Do you listen to This American Life, Serial, or StartUp? Do you start your day with Morning Edition? Have you always wanted to try audio storytelling and journalism? In this intensive workshop, learn everything you need to get started, whether your goal is to launch your own podcast or start a career in radio journalism.
Date and time: July 14-16, 2016
Producer: New York University
Place: New York City
Price: $540
The Art of the Photo Essay
In this workshop, taught by a journalist and a guest photographer, learn the essentials of the photographic essay, including how to generate story ideas appropriate for the medium. Interactive lectures cover the fundamentals of feature writing and photojournalism. Complete weekly creative assignments, discuss your work in a supportive atmosphere, and complete a photo essay by the end of the course.
Date and time: July 14, 21, 28 and Aug. 4 and 11, 2016, 6:30-8:50 p.m.
Producer: New York University
Place: New York City
Price: $290
Digital Journalism: Spreading the News Through New Media
In this hands-on workshop, gain technical proficiency in taking photos and capturing and editing audio and video. Develop a foundation in the basics of producing and editing digital video, audio, and photos for use on online news sites, blogs, and social media sites. Learn the fundamentals of researching, writing, and producing journalistic work, including news stories and human-interest profiles. This course will also teach you how to use social media to research breaking news, gather sources, and gain readership. Ideal for high-school students who have completed grades 9, 10, or 11, and who are interested in a career in digital journalism.
Date and time: July 25-29, 2016
Producer: New York University
Place: New York City
Price: $1995+
AUGUST 2016
Computer-Assisted Reporting Boot Camp
Learn to acquire electronic information, use spreadsheets and databases to analyze information and translate that information into stories. These boot camps are offered several times each year. In addition, NICAR provides followup help when participants return to their organizations. Click for registration, fees and schedule information.
Date and time: Aug. 7-11, 2016
Producer: Investigative Reporters & Editors
Place: Columbia, Missouri
Price: Prices vary according to membership and type of workshop attending. See link above.
Mapping Boot Camp
Learn how to uncover interesting news stories by mapping data with geographic information system (GIS) software. IRE and NICAR will conduct this hands-on training using ArcGIS. Participants should have basic knowledge in using relational database software such as Access or MySQL. Mapping mini-boot camps are held at IRE and NICAR headquarters in Columbia, Mo. Click for registration, fees and schedule information.
Date and time: Aug. 12-14, 2016
Producer: Investigative Reporters & Editors
Place: Columbia, MO
Price: Prices vary according to membership and type of workshop attending. See link above.
SEPTEMBER 2016
Columbia Publishing Course at Oxford
If you are considering a career in book, magazine, or digital media publishing, the Columbia Publishing Course will give you the tools and the training you need to succeed:
– Broad exposure to current issues in publishing
– Unparalleled access to top publishing professionals
– Hands-on publishing experience
– Comparison of publishing types that informs career decisions
– Extensive career placement support
– Access to a large, active alumni network
Qualified candidates who apply by January 15, 2016 will receive word of their status by early February. Applicants who are not accepted then may remain in the applicant pool and be judged again later in the spring when all of the applications are in. The regular admission deadline is April 15, 2016. If space remains, applications may be considered on a rolling basis after April 15.
Date and time: Sep. 4-30, 2016
Producer: Columbia Journalism School
Place: University of Oxford, UK
Price: £5520 (includes tuition, room and board)
COURSES ON DEMAND
An Introduction to DocumentCloud
DocumentCloud is a catalog of primary source documents and a tool for annotating, organizing and publishing them on the web. Documents are contributed by journalists, researchers and archivists. We’re helping reporters get more out of documents and helping newsrooms make their online presence more engaging.
Place: online
Producer: Investigative Reporters & Editors
Price: free
Election Coverage: Follow the Money
There are several ways that political funds can play a role in key states, especially during an election year. You’ll see how to trace money that comes from outside sources to state-based political groups, and how to follow the path of expenditures from the ground game to the air wars.
Place: online
Producer: Investigative Reporters & Editors
Price: free
Marketing with Pinterest, Instagram and Tumblr
Market your brand using Pinterest, Instagram, and Tumblr. This course will give you the knowledge of each of these platforms and enable you to identify the most appropriate ways to implement them to meet your business objectives.
Place: online
Producer: Mediabistro
Price: $149
Skills in 60: Build an Editorial Calendar for Social Media Channels
This in-depth short course will show you how to develop integrated editorial content calendars and establish a robust production and publishing strategy across all your social channels. The video lessons will guide you on how to plan, create, distribute and analyze your editorial calendar for long term success.
Place: online
Producer: Mediabistro
Price: $49
Twitter Marketing
Become a better, smarter marketer with Twitter to generate word-of-mouth, create leads, and grow your business. From hashtag strategy to deep data dives, influencer outreach to employing an effective posting schedule, you’ll master Twitter 140 characters at a time.
Place: online
Producer: Mediabistro
Price: $129
Whose Truth? Tools for Smart Science Journalism in the Digital Age
As journalists, we ignore science not only at our own peril, but at the peril of our readers, viewers and listeners. In this course, you’ll learn to how make sense of scientific data and tell stories in ways that connect with your audience. You’ll get techniques and tips to improve your interviewing and reporting skills. You’ll also learn how to lift the veil from front groups to launch investigations based on informed fact-gathering. When you’re done, you’ll have a toolkit of ways to identify and overcome the barriers journalists face when reporting on science-related topics.
Place: online
Producer: Poynter’s NewsU
Price: free
Periscope 101: Break News Faster with Mobile Live-Streaming
The power of Periscope means any person can live-stream eyewitness video from anywhere, instantly. Just by pressing a few buttons, the free Periscope app can immediately transport viewers to a breaking news scene. In the hands of a journalist or communications professional, the possibilities are tremendous. Award-winning reporter and mobile journalism trainer Neal Augenstein has developed best practices for this quickly-evolving tool, to enable users to grab and hold an intrigued audience.
Place: online
Producer: DigitalEd at MediaShift
Price: $19
Social Media Master Class Part I
MediaShift’s Social Media Editor Julie Keck will lead you through using some of the most powerful publishing tools any media professional can use. You can learn how to optimize your feeds, post the right amount each day, and help promote your content or projects better. You can establish yourself as an authority using the right mix of social media platforms and skills. And most of all, it’s fun. Don’t be intimidated or overwhelmed by social media – you can do it!
Place: online
Producer: DigitalEd at MediaShift
Price: $19
Social Media Master Class Part II
You’ve established yourself on social media, but you want to grow your audience. How do you get people talking about your content without seeming too self-promoting? Learn to harness the power of #hashtags, run a popular live Twitter chat, find out what’s trending today and how to jump in at the right moment with the right content.
Place: online
Producer: DigitalEd at MediaShift
Price: $19
DigitalEd: iPhone Audio Reporting 101
The days of carrying recorders, microphones, and cables and cameras are gone – the smartphone is replacing bulky audio gear. This training will show how to use free and inexpensive mobile apps to record and edit audio (as well as video and photos) to creatively engage with audiences. Participants will be encouraged to use a variety of storytelling apps to communicate quickly and effectively.
Place: online
Producer: DigitalEd at MediaShift
Price: $19
DigitalEd: How to Get Foundation Funding
Have you ever considered getting foundation grants to help support your journalism and media projects? Didn’t know where to start? This training will give an overview of the major foundations and what they typically fund. Major media foundations are going through upheaval, with major reorganizations happening at Knight Foundation, McCormick Foundation, Ford Foundation, MacArthur Foundation and others. There will be a discussion of these changes, and how they will affect your chances for grants. And now foundations are supporting both for-profit and non-profit organizations.
Place: online
Producer: DigitalEd at MediaShift
Price: $19
DigitalEd: 5 Tech Tools to Improve Your Reporting
Whether you’re an investigative journalist or a daily beat reporter, free and low-cost technical tools and apps can help you improve and streamline your reporting. We’ll introduce you to tech tools and platforms that will help you obtain and manipulate data. You’ll learn how to scrape social accounts, without knowing any code. And you’ll discover how to use features that are built into services you already use in more powerful ways. Plus, we’ll look at some popular (free!) project management software and applications to help you collaborate with colleagues and manage reporting projects.
Place: online
Producer: DigitalEd at MediaShift
Price: $19
DigitalEd: Smartphone Filmmaking 101
Whether you’re shooting coverage for your high-concept documentary, making a low-budget music video for your band, or shooting pick-ups for your corporate online PSA, there are a multitude ways to use your phone as a legitimate route for production. This training will illustrate the use of the iPhone as a low-budget professional production camera. We’ll include short practical tips on shooting techniques, emerging technology, apps and software alongside of traditional tips and tricks that can be added to a smartphone in order to make it a more robust production camera.
Place: online
Producer: DigitalEd at MediaShift
Price: $19
When a Staff Isn’t a Staff: Managing Freelancers
In today’s freelance economy, more and more workers are seeing the benefits of working as a freelancer or contractor. But what does that mean for the businesses that employ them? With a lean staff, many publications rely on freelance contributors, so it’s to everybody’s benefit to make that relationship a good one. Good freelancer relationships don’t just fall out of the sky. In this Webinar, you’ll learn what makes freelancers happy (it’s more than just money!), how to cultivate good freelance relationships, and best practices for managing a sprawling, remote staff. With successful freelancer management, you’ll enjoy loyal, capable contributors and a robust publication.
Place: online
Producer: Poynter’s NewsU
Price: $29.95
How to Design a Brand
Learn how to design your brand by setting yourself apart from other businesses in your industry, build your own unique brand identity, conceptualize your logo design and creative direction, and apply your branding to establish credibility and increase exposure.
Place: online
Producer: CreatorUp
Price: $40
How to Crowdfund 10K
Learn how to raise $10,000 by designing a one-of-a-kind crowdfunding campaign. Learn how to set goals and better prepare yourself for a campaign launch. Once your campaign launches, you’ll be an expert on methods of raising the most money, and how to design a professional page.
Place: online
Producer: CreatorUp
Price: $30
How to Livestream on YouTube
Have you ever wanted to broadcast — live — but weren’t exactly sure how to do it, or what tools to use? Learn the technical nuts and bolds of how to livestream anything on YouTube, and how to market your show so people will see it.
Place: online
Producer: CreatorUp
Price: $25
How to Tell a Story to Build a Community
Do you need to build a following, but are not sure how to tell your story to grow your community? Learn how to tell a story that will help others relate to you and your mission to take action.
Place: online
Producer: CreatorUp
Price: $40
Using Facebook as a Reporting Tool
We get it. You use Facebook for posting photos and keeping in touch with family. You’re pretty happy with your trusty Rolodex of sources. And the most “journalism” you do online might be to verify the age of your teenager’s latest crush. But with the right skills, you can turn Facebook into a massively helpful engine to find story ideas, sources, information and quotes. You’ll also learn best practices for engaging with your audience not only to promote your content, but also as a community you care about and are a part of.
Place: online
Producer: Poynter’s NewsU
Price: $29.95
Verification: The Basics
When a violent protest, mass-scale accident, or natural hazard unfolds, information tends to get jumbled, causing fear and confusion. With the growing use of technology, we have witnessed innumerable false and fake stories being shared on social networks, including photoshopped images, or reuploaded diced videos from unrelated events in the past. With increasing frequency, journalists are required to master the skills and expertise to handle the information that circulates on the Internet and elsewhere. Complementing our recently launched resource, the Verification Handbook, this course will provide the basic knowledge and techniques of verification in the digital age.
Place: online
Producer: Learno
Price: free
Your Photojournalism Survival Kit with Ron Haviv
Ron Haviv brings two decades of experience in building a photojournalism career on carefully laid groundwork. In this course, you’ll learn how to identify a captivating story and organize a plan for shooting it; how to create a budget and a pitch letter; and how to plan for any eventuality during the shoot, and cope with setbacks when they strike.
Place: online
Producer: Ron Haviv, Emmy-nominated photojournalist
Price: $79
More course listings are available at MediaShift’s DigitalEd, Poynter’s NewsU, Berkeley Advanced Media Institute, Columbia Journalism School’s Continuing Education listings, Mediabistro and CreatorUp.
Ben DeJarnette is the associate editor at MediaShift. He is also a freelance contributor for Pacific Standard, InvestigateWest, Men’s Journal, Runner’s World, Oregon Quarterly and others. He’s on Twitter @BenDJduck.