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 DigitalEd courses, as well as those from Mediabistro, NewsU, 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 courses in the “featured training” slot are paid placements. Note: Course and training descriptions are excerpts, edited for length and clarity.
FEATURED TRAININGS
Podcasting: Telling Stories in Sound
We have a new infatuation with audio podcasts and rightly so. Streaming audio has become easier to access, is readily available on mobile devices, and is now more personalized than ever before. In this two-day certificate course, you’ll learn the art of creating and producing distinctive audio podcasts. You’ll practice hands-on recording and editing to develop your own podcast with direction from professional radio producers and podcasters.
Date and time: Feb 8-9, 2017, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Producer: UC Berkeley Advanced Media Institute
Place: Berkeley Global Campus – Richmond, CA
Price: $865
Data Visualization for Storytellers
Learn to create compelling visualizations from complex data. At this two-day certificate course you’ll learn best practices in information design,how to choose the right visual to explain your story, the nuances of color, and tips for minimizing chart junk. You’ll work hands-on to create charts, graphs, and maps with tools designed to help you present complex data to your audience.
Date and time: Feb. 7-8, 2017, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m.
Producer: UC Berkeley Advanced Media Institute
Place: Berkeley Global Campus – Richmond, CA
Price: $865
JANUARY
How to Get Foundation Funding in the Age of Fake News
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. There’s also a chance for one-on-one feedback from the instructor. 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.
Featured Presenter: Mark Glaser, founder and executive editor of MediaShift
Date and time: Jan. 25, 2017, 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT
Producer: MediaShift
Place: Online with BigMarker
Price: $39
Register here!
FEBRUARY
How to Boost Engagement With User and A/B Testing
If you work in a digital role (in a newsroom, design agency, tech company, you name it), you are an internet super-user. Translation: you have a lot to learn about how your content is consumed. On the Post Graphics team, we aim to track and test something new on every project and have gained valuable insight from user testing, A/B testing and custom analytics code — including what doesn’t work.
Featured Presenter: Emily Yount, Interaction designer at the Washington Post
Date and time: Feb. 1, 2017, 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT
Producer: MediaShift
Place: Online with BigMarker
Price: $39
Register here!
The Deep Dive: Investigative Journalism That Matters
This online group seminar is for reporters with ambition to do investigative journalism that rights wrongs, corrects the historical record and makes the world a better place. This is not easy work, but it’s rewarding. And when done right, investigative journalism can be the most important function of democracy. Over the course of four weeks, award-winning investigative journalist and author Ben Montgomery will lead you through the process to create successful investigative reporting. Each week features readings, assignments and a live video class, and we archive those videos so you have unlimited access to the replays.
Date and time: Feb. 3 – March 3, 2017; Applications due Feb. 1
Producer: Poynter News University
Place: Online
Price: $499
Web Headlines and SEO Essentials
Headlines appear on the Web with photos, graphics or other type, but usually they stand alone. That means you’ve only got a few words—and a few seconds—to tell readers what the story (or blog posting, video or photo gallery) is about. In this course, we’ll focus on considerations unique to the Web. Chief among these, of course, is SEO – a set of technologies and techniques that can bring more eyes to your content and more visitors to your site.
Date and time: Feb. 3 – 27, 2017; Applications due Feb. 1
Producer: Poynter News University
Place: Online
Price: $499
Mobile Media: Producing Visual Stories with your iPhone
Your smartphone is able to shoot amazing high definition video, act as a basic editing suite, apply professional-looking finishes and then instantly distribute the material around the globe. Empower your brand with versatile video skills at this 2-day Mobile Media workshop, where you’ll learn how to create high-quality video on the go, using just your iPhone. You’ll gain technical insights into video production and develop an understanding of what resonates with a mobile audience.
Date and time: Feb. 6-7, 2017, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. PST
Producer: UC Berkeley Advanced Media Institute
Place: Berkeley Global Campus – Richmond, CA
Price: $865. 10% discount when you register by January 6th.
How to Launch a Podcast
You’ve heard podcasts are hot again. But how do you launch one?
Podcasting is experiencing a resurgence, with an increase in American podcast listeners, connected cars, the launch of podcast divisions by traditional media outlets such as WNYC and the rise of networks such as Podcast One, Radiotopia and Panoply. Find out how to join the movement and maximize your audience in this training that will tell you everything you need to know to get started in podcasting. We’ll show you how to equip a studio where you can produce professional-caliber audio with minimal investment. Learn tricks for developing, capturing and editing the content of your podcast. Find out which networks your podcast should be on to attract your audience and learn the basics of social media marketing.
Featured Presenter: Megan Calcote, Podcast Producer
Date and time: Feb. 8, 2017, 1 p.m. ET / 10 a.m. PT
Producer: MediaShift
Place: Online with BigMarker
Price: $39
Register here!
Snapchat for News
This 2-hour evening workshop will explore the game-changing mobile app that is Snapchat and its applications for news. We will cover the app’s features, including disappearing messages, My Story montages, Discover and more. We will also present ways to use the app for news gathering and telling complex and engaging stories in a world of emojis and vertical videos.
Date and time: Feb. 8
Producer: CUNY J+
Place: New York City
Price: $25 (Use code JPLUS10 for 10% off.)
Podcasting: Telling Stories in Sound
We have a new infatuation with audio podcasts and rightly so. Streaming audio has become easier to access, is readily available on mobile devices, and is now more personalized than ever before. In this two-day certificate course, you’ll learn the art of creating and producing distinctive audio podcasts. You’ll practice hands-on recording and editing to develop your own podcast with direction from radio producer and podcaster Laura Klivans.
Date and time: Feb 8-9, 2017, 8:30 a.m. – 5 p.m. PST
Producer: UC Berkeley Advanced Media Institute
Place: Berkeley Global Campus – Richmond, CA
Price: $865. 10% discount when you register by January 8th.
Video for Social Media
Video is a powerful engagement tool. Marketing research shows that including visuals with your social media posts increases engagement by 180%. It’s no wonder that social media feeds include more and more videos. But those videos follow new rules -they need to be shorter, intimate, explanatory.
Date and time: Feb. 15
Producer: CUNY J+
Place: New York City
Price: $25 (Use code JPLUS10 for 10% off.)
Adobe After Effects and Motion Graphics
In this daylong workshop, you will learn the basics of Adobe After Effects, the leading software for digital visual effects, motion graphics and animation. Animation and motion graphics storytelling are in-demand skills and provides excellent opportunities to help news audiences understand complex stories in a dynamic and visual medium.
Date and time: Feb. 18
Producer: CUNY J+
Place: New York City
Price: $399 (Use code JPLUS10 for 10% off.)
Community Management and Social Networking for Journalists (Spanish Language)
Participants will learn how to use social networks as sources of information and communication platforms, how to create their own brand and how to develop strategies to create communities and maximize online presence.
Date and time: Feb. 27 – April 9, 2017
Deadline to Register: Feb. 12, 2017
Producer: Center for Digital Journalism at the University of Guadalajara
Place: Online
Price: $100 USD
MARCH
Creating Your Social Media Strategy
We know that the online reach of our content is more and more dependent on social platforms. We also know that each social platform has its own audience, community and style.
What does it mean to reach the audience and potential audience where they already are? How can we produce stories that respect and reflect the culture of each platform? What does success (quantitative and qualitative) look like on each platform? What opportunities exist on each for learning more about the people we serve? How can better use of each platform lead to audience growth, audience insights and better journalism?
Date and time: March 31 – April 1, 2017; Applications due March 28
Producer: Poynter News University
Place: Online
Price: $449 by Feb. 28; $499 afterward
COURSES ON DEMAND
Skills in 60: Instagram Marketing Starter Kit
Get Instagram savvy and build your brand! In just one hour, this course will teach you how to effectively market your Instagram presence by crafting visually creative content, analyze key metrics to grow your audience and navigate the ever-changing social media landscape.
Place: Online
Producer: MediaBistro
Price: $49
Infographics and Visual Data
When combined with a compelling narrative, infographics are one of the fastest and most effective ways to help viewers make connections and grasp complex topics. This course will teach you how to conceptualize, design, and execute infographics using free and simple tools.
Place: Online
Producer: MediaBistro
Price: $129
How to Build and Teach an Online an Online Course
New technology and tools are transforming the learning experience and creating new opportunities — and challenges — for educators at high schools, community colleges, and four-year universities. In this online training, you’ll learn how to organize a course and plan modules in a learning management system — whether you’re transitioning an existing course or starting one from scratch. You’ll also get a chance to try out tech tools to enhance the online educational experience, understand how to develop relationships with students in an online environment and discover new techniques for creating robust discussion among students in the class.
Place: online
Producer: DigitalEd at MediaShift
Price: $19
Smarter Audience Analytics for Journalists
Do you get bored reading your own analytics report? Are you only reporting numbers. Analytics are a powerful tool, but only reporting pageviews and other statistics doesn’t change how a newsroom operates. In this training, we’ll look at how you can put analytics to work for you. What is your baseline? What measures do you use to determine a post’s success? What do analytics tell you about your audience? How can you turn that insight into actionable items by your staff? This session will help you utilize analytics to learn from your audience and find ways to build on successes.
Producer: DigitalEd at MediaShift
Place: Online
Price: $19
How to Make News Bots Work For You
Robot journalism is one of the year’s hot topics as more media brands are experimenting with the automated delivery of news on mobile. Some bots are completely automated services that mimic a normal text conversation, but most involve some human intervention. In this online training, John Keefe, Senior Editor for Data News & Journalism Technology at WNYC, will explain how bots work and how journalists can use them to enhance their reporting and improve efficiency.
Producer: DigitalEd at MediaShift and CUNYJ+
Place: Online
Price: $19
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
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: 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
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.
Bianca Fortis is the associate editor at MediaShift, a founding member of the Transborder Media storytelling collective and a social media consultant. Follow her on Twitter @biancafortis.