MediaShift’s live events bring people together so they can socialize, learn and deepen connections. We started by offering networking mixers associated with existing conferences such as ONA and ISOJ, and have built onto that with one-day Collab/Space entrepreneurial workshops and weekend Hackathons.
Participants include technologists, journalists, producers, marketers, advertisers, executives, educators, students and thought-leaders. They come from academia, established companies, startups, non-profits, public media and elsewhere.
Nonny de la Pena (left) talks to students after her talk at the Women’s Hackathon at USC Annenberg
Sign up for our Events email newsletter to get notifications about upcoming Events!
Sponsorship
All MediaShift events include sponsorship opportunities to highlight your service or offering. Sponsors receive special notice on all web, print and signage for the event, and higher level sponsorships include the chance to speak or demo at the event. We also can customize the theme and structure of the event. Learn more about our sponsorship opportunities at MediaShift!
Event Production
MediaShift also produces events for-hire, with an expertise in event logistics, social media marketing, programming and much more. Our team has been hired to produce events for WVU Reed College of Media (“Hack the Gender Gap” women’s hackathon and symposium), Poynter Institute (Truth & Trust symposiums) and City University of London (Journalism Innovation Summit). Contact Mark Glaser at mark [at] mediashift [dot] org if you’re interested in having us produce your event!
Past Events
Platforms + Publishers Private Roundtable, hosted by Facebook
March 23, 2018
Facebook, New York
MediaShift is convening an intimate group of people from small and medium-sized news publishers and Facebook to help increase transparency, open lines of communication and support memberships, subscriptions and paid products for publishers. The day-long roundtable event will include brief talks and presentations, and discussions among attendees. In the morning, we will identify common challenges for publishers and Facebook. In the afternoon, we will have breakout discussions to brainstorm solutions for common challenges. The group will include smaller publishers, representatives from the Institute for Nonprofit News and the Center for Collaborative Media, and various folks from Facebook, including in product, engineering and research.
The roundtable will be hosted by Facebook, with support from the Knight Foundation, Joyce Foundation and Rita Allen Foundation.
Hack the Gender Gap: A Women’s Hackathon on Diversifying AI at West Virginia University
Nov. 9-11, 2017
Artificial Intelligence (AI) has a diversity problem. The authors of algorithms that drive the majority of our every day interactivity, participation and decision making do not adequately represent gender, racial or economic diversity they intend to serve. That’s why MediaShift and the Reed College of Media at West Virginia University convened college-age women from around the country to envision their role and influence in diversifying the emerging artificial intelligence market and conceptualize more inclusive AI entrepreneurial opportunities to meet the future needs of a diverse society. Taking place on November 9-11, 2017, the weekend was kicked off on Thursday evening with a Special Guest Symposium, with students meeting up with faculty and professional mentors. Then Friday morning, students broke into teams to create their own startup ideas around AI + media, presenting them to judges on Sunday.
Roundup post is here.
Info page here.
______________________________________
5th Journalism School Hackathon at the University of North Texas
October 20-22, 2017
MediaShift produced our fifth Journalism School Hackathon on the weekend of October 20-22, 2017, co-produced by the Mayborn School of Journalism at the University of North Texas (near Dallas-Fort Worth). We convened a group of top students (graduates and undergraduates), faculty and professionals for the weekend Hackathon, with a real-world mission of creating startups in the sports and health areas. Students had the chance to collaborate on diverse teams of students with faculty and pro facilitators.
Roundup post is here.
Info page here.
______________________________________
Platforms + Publishers Private Roundtable, hosted by Google News Lab
June 15, 2017
Google Offices, Chicago
MediaShift convened an intimate group of people from small and medium-sized news publishers and Google News Lab to help solve some of the big challenges facing journalism. The day-long roundtable event included brief talks and presentations, and discussions among attendees. In the morning, we identified common challenges for publishers and Google. In the afternoon, we had breakout discussions to brainstorm solutions for common challenges. The group included smaller publishers; representatives from the Institute for Nonprofit News, Local Independent Online News publishers and the Center for Collaborative Media; and various folks from Google and YouTube, including product and engineering.
The roundtable was hosted by Google News Lab, with support from the Knight Foundation, Joyce Foundation and Rita Allen Foundation.
______________________________________
Platforms + Publishers Private Roundtable, hosted by Facebook
March 24, 2017
Facebook, New York
MediaShift convened an intimate group of people from small and medium-sized news publishers and Facebook to help increase transparency, open lines of communication and build trust for more collaboration. The day-long roundtable event included brief talks and presentations, and discussions among attendees. In the morning, we identified common challenges for publishers and Facebook. In the afternoon, we had breakout discussions to brainstorm solutions for common challenges. The group included smaller publishers, representatives from the Local Independent Online News publishers and the Center for Collaborative Media, and various folks from Facebook, including in product, engineering and research.
The roundtable was hosted by Facebook, with support from the Knight Foundation and Joyce Foundation.
______________________________________
4th Annual Journalism School Hackathon at the University of Nevada-Reno
February 24-26, 2017
MediaShift produced our fourth annual Journalism School Hackathon on the weekend of February 24-26, 2017, co-produced by the Reynolds School of Journalism and Center for Advanced Media Studies at the University of Nevada-Reno. We convened a group of top students (graduates and undergraduates), faculty and professionals for the weekend Hackathon, with a real-world mission of creating startups around bots and chatbots. Students had a chance to collaborate on diverse teams of students with faculty and pro facilitators.
Roundup post is here.
Info page here.
______________________________________
3rd Annual Journalism School Hackathon at University of Georgia
October 21 to 23, 2016
Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication, University of Georgia, Athens, Ga.
MediaShift produced our third annual Journalism School Hackathon on the October 21 to 23, 2016, weekend, co-produced and hosted by the Henry W. Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication at the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga. We convened a group of top students, faculty and professionals for the weekend Hackathon, with a real-world mission of creating startups around fact-checking and verifying online media. Students collaborated on diverse teams with faculty and pro facilitators. And they created startups in one of four threads: social media, photos, video or data.
Info page is here.
Roundup post is here.
______________________________________
Collab/Space Chicago 2016: The Business of VR
September 30, 2016
TechNexus
Virtual Reality has been gaining steam in the media space, from the New York Times giving away Google Cardboards to McDonald’s showing how it sources its food. But how can we get beyond the hype and make sure that these projects — as well as VR-related startups — survive and thrive as a business? That was the focus of our Collab/Space Chicago 2016 workshop on September 30, 2016. The workshop was sponsored by the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute and hosted by TechNexus. It was an all-day, hands-on workshop focused on entrepreneurship. We chose eight innovative VR startups and projects at media companies, which presented their work to-date in lightning fashion followed by directed questions from the audience. We also did collaborative exercises — using improv comedy techniques — to learn how to work better together, and broke out into groups to help these projects get past their challenges. Our diverse group of participants included entrepreneurs, journalists, publishers, technologists, designers, marketers, investors and major players in the VR scene.
Info page is here.
Roundup post is here.
______________________________________
Platforms + Publishers Private Roundtable
May 6, 2016
Bloomberg Headquarters, New York
MediaShift convened an intimate group of people from news publishers and social platforms to help increase transparency, open lines of communication and build trust for more collaboration. The day-long roundtable event included brief talks and presentations, and discussions among attendees. In the morning, we identified common challenges for publishers and platforms. In the afternoon, we had breakout discussions to brainstorm solutions for common challenges.
The group included small, medium and large publishers, and a variety of platforms, including Google, Facebook, Twitter, Medium and YouTube.
The roundtable was hosted by Bloomberg Media, with welcoming remarks by CEO Justin Smith, with support from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation and Geraldine R. Dodge Foundation.
______________________________________
Hack the Gender Gap: A Women’s IoT Hackathon at WVU
April 1-3, 2016
Reed College of Media, WVU, Morgantown, WV
MediaShift and the Reed College of Media at West Virginia University produced this Women’s IoT Makeathon for college-age women from around the country to envision their role and influence in the emerging “smart-world” market and opportunities for entrepreneurship. The weekend started Friday evening with a discussion among top women in media and tech. Then, students will broke into teams to create their own startup ideas around hardware + journalism, presenting them to judges on Sunday. From smart-objects to beacons, sensors and augmented reality, this hands-on Makeathon introduced women as first-generation makers in media and the Internet of Things (IoT).
Info page here.
Roundup post here.
______________________________________
Hack the Gender Gap: A Women’s Hackathon
October 9-11, 2015
USC Annenberg
MediaShift and the USC Annenberg School for Journalism and Communication produced this Women’s Hackathon — a weekend designed for students to develop technological and entrepreneurial skills critical to the journalism jobs of the future, and gain hands-on experience with immersive journalism and virtual reality. The weekend started Friday evening with a discussion among top women in media and tech. Then the students broke out into teams to create their own startup ideas around immersive journalism and VR, presenting them to judges on Sunday. Faculty and professionals from around the country served as team facilitators and mentors. Undergraduate and graduate students participated.
Information page here.
Roundup post here.
Photos by Lakshmi Sarah (first two days) and USC Communications (last day)
Posted by MediaShift on Wednesday, October 14, 2015
______________________________________
Collab/Space San Francisco
September 12, 2015
KQED
Podcasting has become the Next Big Thing for the second time in our current golden age of audio. But how can great audio startups survive and thrive? That was the focus of our Collab/Space San Francisco workshop on September 12, 2015. The workshop was sponsored by the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute and hosted by KQED. It was an all-day, hands-on workshop focused on audio innovation, with startups and projects including PodClear, Raur, Audiosear.ch and CIR’s Reveal News.
Information page here.
Roundup post here.
Photos by Lakshmi Sarah and Christine Rosakranse
Posted by MediaShift on Wednesday, September 16, 2015
______________________________________
Knight/MediaShift Mixer at AEJMC San Francisco
August 8, 2015
Jillian’s SF
175 Fourth St.
San Francisco, CA
Our MediaShift Mixer at AEJMC in San Francisco took place on Saturday, August 8, 2015, at Jillian’s SF, sponsored by the Knight Foundation. The Mixer was a chance to socialize with people from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) conference during a happy hour on Saturday night.
Photos by Mark Poepsel and Avery Holton
Posted by MediaShift on Monday, August 17, 2015
______________________________________
Collab/Space NYC 2015
July 15, 2015
Ford Foundation
Sponsored by the Donald W. Reynolds Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism, our second annual Collab/Space New York highlighted 8 noteworthy “intrapreneurial” innovation projects at media and technology companies. Projects were presented by teams from the AP, The Atlantic, Google, BBC, POV, and more.
MediaShift Info Page
Roundup Post on Event
Photos by Fannie Cohen and Lizette Terry
Posted by MediaShift on Wednesday, July 22, 2015
______________________________________
Journalism Innovation Summit @ City University London
May 14-15, 2015
City University London, Drysdale Building
The Summit took on various hot-button topics — where to distribute innovative content, how to increase audience engagement, and what are the most promising business models. The day was split into a morning keynote, panel and breakout sessions devoted to content, and an afternoon keynote, panel, and breakout sessions devoted to business models. There was an opening reception at Wayra co-hosted by BBC News Labs, and a closing night reception hosted at Bloomberg.
Photos at MediaShift’s first Summit in Europe
Posted by MediaShift on Thursday, May 28, 2015
______________________________________
Collab/Space Austin
April 16, 2015
Austin, Texas
How can media projects get past measuring clicks and page views and come up with meaningful metrics that gauge real impact? That was the focus of the Collab/Space Austin workshop on April 16, 2015. Co-produced by PBS MediaShift, the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas and the Media Impact Project at the USC Annenberg Norman Lear Center, it was an all-day, hands-on workshop focused on media metrics, analytics and measuring impact. The workshop took place at the Belo Center for New Media at the University of Texas. It was a lead-in to the 16th International Symposium on Online Journalism, and included a kick-off mixer at the Hole in the Wall, co-produced by Texas Tribune and sponsored by KUT, KLRU and UNITY: Journalists for Diversity.
Photos by Mengwen Cao
Posted by PBS MediaShift on Wednesday, April 22, 2015
______________________________________
2nd Annual Journalism School Hackathon at Walter Cronkite School of Journalism at Arizona State University. February 27 – March 1, 2015.
Can journalism and communications schools help shape the next generation of media entrepreneurs? MediaShift produced our second annual Journalism School Hackathon, convening a group of top students, faculty and professionals with a real-world mission of creating sustainable media projects that reach underserved populations. Students were able to collaborate on diverse teams of students with faculty and pro facilitators. And they created media projects in one of three threads: data, gaming or audience engagement. We had students from around the country representing 19 different universities thanks to Travel Scholarships provided to 10 students from the Ford Foundation.
Photos by Johanna Huckeba and Laura Davis/Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication
Posted by PBS MediaShift on Wednesday, March 4, 2015
______________________________________
Collab/Space DC at the Washington Post: November 6, 2014
How does changing technology change the way that media companies and startups parse data from local, state and federal government? That was the focus of the Collab/Space DC workshop on November 6, 2014. Sponsored by the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the University of Missouri and hosted by The Washington Post, it was an all-day, hands-on workshop focused on open data, politics and government 2.0 — a mix of startups and innovation projects — in the DC area and beyond. Presenting projects included those from Gannett, Code for America and Sunlight Foundation.
______________________________________
Hack the Gender Gap: A Women’s Hackathon on Wearables, at WVU Reed College of Media on October 24-26, 2014
There’s a serious gender gap when it comes to media and technology. That’s why PBS MediaShift and the Reed College of Media at West Virginia University convened a unique bi-coastal gathering of women to help students build their skills at WVU, and to brainstorm on ways to bridge the gap in Silicon Valley. The weekend was kicked off on Friday evening with a discussion among top women in media and tech hosted by Google in Mountain View, Calif., and moderated by Amy Webb (see more on the symposium, below). Teams from various journalism schools worked on entrepreneurial projects related to wearables and media.
______________________________________
Hack the Gender Gap: A Conversation at Google HQ on October 24, 2014
How can women overcome challenges and succeed in technology and media? We’ve seen all the charts showing a gender gap in leadership and entrepreneurial roles in the industry and it’s time to help each other and succeed. This discussion put the spotlight on women who have broken through and made a difference. It took take place right before the Women’s Hackathon at West Virginia University, where students in media and technology watched and interacted with a live-stream of the symposium. The students at the Hackathon had a chance to ask their questions of the women at the symposium. The moderator was Amy Webb and panelists included Aminatou Sow at Google, Jane Schachtel at Facebook and Tasneem Raja at Mother Jones.
______________________________________
Collab/Space Chicago on September 24, 2014 at TechNexus
How can media startups break through, survive and thrive? That was the focus of the Collab/Space Chicago workshop which took place the day before the ONA14 conference. Sponsored by the John S. Knight Journalism Fellowships at Stanford and hosted by TechNexus, it was an all-day, hands-on workshop focused on media innovation and spotlighting cutting-edge media startups — in the Chicago area and beyond. Presenting startups included Contextly, Parsely and Solar Power Report.
______________________________________
Truth and Trust in the 21st Century in Chicago on Sept. 4, 2014
As technology has revolutionized the way we tell stories and distribute content, the relationship between journalists and news consumers is evolving. At this event, PBS MediaShift and Poynter Institute examined how various media organizations are addressing stories of violence, which approaches best serve the audience and how citizens can inform their own democratic duties. The event was underwritten by a generous grant from the Robert R. McCormick Foundation.
______________________________________
AEJMC Mixer in Montreal on August 8, 2014
Our first MediaShift Mixer at AEJMC took place in Montreal at Rosalie Restaurant and was sponsored by Versal. Drinks and light bites were provided. The Mixer was a chance to socialize with people from the Association for Education in Journalism and Mass Communication (AEJMC) conference during a happy hour on Friday night.
______________________________________
Collab/Space New York on July 8, 2014 at the Ford Foundation
How can established media and tech companies foster innovation from within large organizations? That was the focus of the Collab/Space New York workshop on July 8, 2014, sponsored by the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute and hosted by the Ford Foundation. It was be an all-day, hands-on workshop focused on “intrapreneurial” innovation and spotlighting 9 cutting-edge media projects at places such as the New York Times, Vox Media, Facebook and NPR.
______________________________________
1st Annual Journalism School Hackathon at UNC on May 30 to June 1, 2014
Can journalism and communications schools help shape the next generation of media entrepreneurs? We wanted to find out at our first annual J-School Hackathon at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill’s School of Journalism and Mass Communication. We convened a group of top students, faculty and professionals for the weekend Hackathon, with a real-world mission of solving 3 local media outlets’ problems, while learning more about innovation and entrepreneurship. The focus for the Hackathon was on creating sustainable business models and revenues for news outlets.
Slide show of photos:
______________________________________
MediaShift/Texas Tribune Mixer at ISOJ in Austin on April 3, 2014 to kick-off the 15th annual International Symposium on Online Journalism onThursday, April 3, 2014. and special thanks to sponsors Digital First Media, KLRU and KUT.
Slide show of photos:
______________________________________
MediaShift Mixer at Journalism Interactive on Thursday, April 3, 2014
Our first MediaShift Mixer at Journalism Interactive took place in East Hyattsville, Md. in conjunction with the University of Maryland’s Journalism School. The mixer was a kickoff party for 2014 Journalism Interactive: The Digital Media Conference, as well as a way to celebrate MediaShift’s recent launch of EducationShift.
______________________________________
Truth and Trust in the 21st Century with Poynter, November 2013, Ford Foundation in New York
How do you sort truth from fiction in the era of social media? When news breaks and spreads at lightning speed, most people are left scratching their heads. And recent breaking news stories, from the Boston Marathon bombing to the D.C. Navy Yard shooting, brought misinformation and mistakes from ordinary citizens and from traditional news sources. We co-produced a symposium on this topic at the Ford Foundation headquarters in New York City, where a diverse panel of traditional and new media practitioners discussed how they made ethical decisions on what to post and when. Produced by The Poynter Institute and MediaShift, “Truth and Trust in the 21st Century,” expanded on the essays in the book, “The New Ethics of Journalism,” edited by Poynter’s Kelly McBride and Tom Rosenstiel, executive director of the American Press Institute. McBride and Rosenstiel moderated the panel on stage, and included a selection of strong voices from the audience. The discussion included recent case studies, how decisions were made and tips on how to get at the truth — and create trust — in the social age. It was followed by a reception with food and drinks in the atrium.
Photos by Tom Cawthon of Poynter:
Collab/Space Atlanta, October 2013, at the Atlanta Tech Village
How can media startups break through, survive and thrive? That was the focus of the Collab/Space Atlanta workshop on October 16, 2013, the day before the ONA13 conference. It was an all-day, hands-on workshop focused on media innovation and spotlighting 9 cutting-edge media startups — both in Atlanta and outside Atlanta. We chose nine innovative media startups, which presented their startups in lightning fashion, with questions from the audience. We later did collaborative exercises led by Dan Grech to learn how to work better together in the digital age, and then broke out into groups to help the startups get past their challenges. Plus, we had a diverse group of participants, including entrepreneurs, journalists, technologists, marketers, investors and major players in the tech and media scene.
______________________________________
MediaShift Mixer at the International Symposium on Online Journalism in Austin: April 18, 2013
The Texas Tribune / MediaShift Mixer was a kick-off for the 14th annual ISOJ conference at the University of Texas, and was sponsored by Digital First Media. It took place at the world famous Hole in the Wall bar, and included food from the nearby East Side Kings restaurant. The Mixer brought together academics from around the world who were attending ISOJ as well as top local media people from Austin. Guests included MediaShift’s Mark Glaser, ISOJ’s Rosental Alves, Texas Tribune’s Evan Smith, ONA’s Jane McDonnell and designer Roger Black.
______________________________________
MediaShift Mixer at Book^2 Camp and Tools of Change in New York on February 11, 2013
This MediaShift Mixer at Solas Bar in New York was an after-party to the Book^2 Camp unconference and a prelude to O’Reilly’s Tools of Change conference. It was a great gathering of people in book publishing, the author community and self-publishers, fans of e-books and more. Guests included MediaShift’s Mark Glaser and Dorian Benkoil, O’Reilly’s Kat Meyer, Amazon’s Thom Kephart, Bibliocrunch’s Miral Sattar, Electric Literature’s Benjamin Samuel and ValoBox’s Anna Lewis.
______________________________________
MediaShift Mixer at the Paley Center in New York on October 23, 2012
The MediaShift Mixer at the Paley Center for Media was a gathering of journalists, editors, marketers and technologists in the New York area. It was an after-party happy hour to the New Ethics of Journalism conference, which was produced by Poynter and craigconnects. Guests included MediaShift’s Mark Glaser and Dorian Benkoil, craigconnects’ Craig Newmark and Poynter’s Kelly McBride.
______________________________________
CIR/MediaShift Mixer at ONA12 on September 19, 2012
The CIR/MediaShift Mixer at ONA12 in San Francisco was an after-party to the TechRaking II conference and a kick-off to the ONA12 convention. You didn’t have to be registered as an attendee to either conference to attend the Mixer. At Gallery 16 in San Francisco.
Photos from the CIR/MediaShift Mixer at ONA12
______________________________________
Collab/Space 2012 in Berkeley, Calif., April 2012
PBS MediaShift and the Investigative Reporting Program at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism hosted the first Collab/Space 2012, a hands-on workshop and networking event to help journalists better collaborate. The event included thought leaders in the world of journalism and technology, with targeted talks, helpful demos, and breakout teams that worked in collaboration. Collab/Space was held in conjunction with the new website, Collaboration Central, launched by MediaShift and Berkeley IRP, and with funding from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. At the David Brower Center in Berkeley, Calif.
______________________________________
MediaShift Mixer Co-Hosted with ONA, Boston, September 2011
The MediaShift Mixer was co-hosted by the Online News Assocation in Boston as a kick-off to the ONA11 Conference (but you didn’t have to be registered for the conference to attend). At the Storyville club in Boston.
______________________________________
MediaShift Mixer @ We Media, New York, April 2011
The MediaShift Mixer in New York was a kick-off party for the We Media conference the following day. Special guests included: Mark Glaser, MediaShift; Dorian Benkoil, MediaShift; Craig Newmark, Craigslist; Retha Hill, Arizona State University; Rafat Ali, founder of PaidContent, Skift. At Solas Bar in the East Village of New York.
______________________________________
New York Happy Hour @ Grace Hotel, New York, August 2010
This spontaneous invite-only Happy Hour in New York was at the Grace Hotel in New York which has a bar with a swimming pool, where you can swim up to order drinks. We had an intimate gathering that night. Guests included comedian Heather Gold and NY Times media reporter Brian Stelter.
______________________________________
WePad vs. iPad in Berlin, Germany, April 2010
We rented an apartment in East Berlin and through a private, invite-only party for people to do side-by-side hands-on tests of the Apple iPad and the new WePad, produced by a company based in Berlin. The apartment was packed with an international set of media, tech and academics, for food, drinks and of course demos!
______________________________________
ONA09 Tweetup @ Rouge et Blanc in San Francisco, October 2009
The Mixer that started it all! It was planned at the last minute and completely promoted via Twitter, with Chris O’Brien as the co-host. We expected a few dozen people to show up for our offer of a free glass of wine, but it turned out that we took over the entire bar with 150 to 200 attendees. We went through much more wine than expected!
