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The 2024 Cision and PRWeek Global Comms Report

Find out how 400+ PR and comms leaders worldwide are approaching the way they work in today’s media landscape.

August Events for Journalists to Boost Their Skills in the Newsroom

Aug. 8-Sept. 4: How to cover the climate crisis — and fight disinformation

This four-week, instructor-led course is organized by the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas and sponsored by the Google News Initiative. The course will teach you how to spot climate disinformation, identify climate-related stories, and write about climate change in ways that will reach your audience and potentially persuade them. The course is open to any journalist, podcaster or writer — including those who don't specialize in climate reporting.

Aug. 16-18: LMA Fest

Head to downtown Chicago for the Local Media Association's event focused on helping attendees grow their businesses. Topics will cover reader revenue, branded content, philanthropy funding for journalism, video advertising, newsletters and more.

Aug. 17-19: Design Influencers Conference

This unique conference is designed for interior design influencers, content creators and brands. Attendees will learn how to generate partnerships and boost their know-how in marketing, social media, e-commerce and more. The in-person event will take place in Atlanta.

Aug. 21-23: Reporting on Water: A Training Workshop for Journalists

This two-day program will be hosted by The Institute for Journalism & Natural Resources, in partnership with the Uproot Project. It is targeted to journalists of color that are starting to write about the environment. You'll learn about the challenges facing our freshwater resources, the do's and don'ts in environmental journalism, and how to translate complicated science into readable, compelling articles for your audience.

Aug. 22: Power of Diverse Voices: Writing Workshop for Journalists of Color (*application deadline)

Apply now for this competitive seminar from Poynter, which will take place in November in St. Petersburg, Florida. The popular training "helps journalists of color find their voice and build skills for writing opinion pieces and personal essays." The lineup of instructors includes a managing editor, TV critic, professor, columnist and more.

Aug. 23-26: Podcast Movement

Podcast Movement brings together thousands of podcasters and industry professionals from around the world to learn, grow, and evolve and improve the podcast community. It will feature workshops, sessions, networking events, parties, and an expo. The 2022 event will be held in Dallas, Texas.

Aug. 25-27: National Native Media Conference

After being postponed due to the pandemic, NAJA's rescheduled annual conference will take place in Phoenix, Arizona, with some sessions to be held at the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at Arizona State University. The event will "feature Indigenous media professional development and address evolving COVID-19 coverage and best practices through training and workshops to support journalists covering Indigenous communities."

Aug. 26-27: Pinners Conference (California)

This conference and expo for creatives and DIYers will take place in Pomona, California. The event was rescheduled due to COVID and has added a number of new workshops for attendees. Macrame, candle making, macarons 101 and an intro to photography are just a few of the unique classes to choose from.

Sept. 6: Level Up: Critical Skills for Local Reporters (*application deadline)

This interactive, virtual training from Poynter will take place throughout October and November. You'll attend weekly master-class sessions and receive career skill advice and training. Learn skills to boost your reporting expertise and propel your career forward. Attendees will hone their skills in a variety of areas, including narrative writing, investigative reporting, audience growth and building a relationship with their editor.

Sept. 7-10: FinCon

FinCon is where "personal finance content creators and brands create better content, reach their audience, and make more money." Money nerds in the blog, podcast, freelance and influencer spaces will head to Orlando, Florida, for several days of educational sessions and networking opportunities. TedTalk-style presentations will be available, in addition to nearly 70 breakout sessions for tracks like Money Conversations, Video, Social Media, Freelancing, Entrepreneurship and more. Plus, there will be optional field trips to the Magic Kingdom and Universal Studios!

 

 

Rocky Parker

Rocky Parker is the Digital Content Lead at Cision and has been with the company since 2010. In addition to writing content for Beyond Bylines and the Cision blog, she works with journalists, bloggers, and content creators to create their targeted newsfeeds from PR Newswire for Journalists. Rocky also counsels on SEO and content writing best practices.