Resources for Journalists

The McCormick Foundation's grantees and partners offers several opportunities for journalism training and professional development. Check out the opportunities below:

Apply for a training fellowship to attend one of the 2011 McCormick-Poynter Specialized Reporting Institutes below. Ethnic media and Chicago-area journalists are encouraged to apply.

• The effects of the economic crisis on families April 4-5, 2011- The Suburban Newspapers of America Foundation and AP Managing Editors Foundation held this April training in Chicago. Check out resources from the workshop, posted on Poynter's NewsUniversity page.

• Track the impact of stimulus funds on communities May 10-12, 2011- The New England Center for Investigative Reporting at Boston University held a workshop to help reporters track the impact of stimulus funds on their communities; click here for resources from the workshop.

• Reporting the census June 16-17, 2011- Arizona State University's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication will hold a June training on reporting the census. More information coming soon.

• Covering the crisis in funding public pensions June 1-3, 2011-The Society of American Business Editors and Writers will hold this June training in Phoenix. Registration for this workshop has closed, but check out Poynter's News University resources page in the coming weeks for workshop resources.

• Political polling June 17-18, 2011- American University's School of Communications will host this June workshop. More information coming soon.

• Islam in the Bible Belt August 21-23, 2011 Middle Tennessee State University's School of Journalism will hold this August workshop. For more information and to apply, click here.

Other fellowship and grant opportunities:

• George Polk Grants For Investigative Journalism- The George Polk Awards grants are given to experienced reporters from newspapers, radio or television to pursue specific investigative projects. The intent is to provide short-term relief to journalists and also to promote investigative articles on the Web.
• 2011 Dart Center Ochberg Fellowships- a unique seminar program for mid-career journalists who want to deepen their knowledge of emotional trauma and improve coverage of violence, conflict and tragedy. Application deadline, July 27, 2011. Click here to apply.

  
  

Awards:

• It’s time to highlight your innovative online work. J-Lab’s annual contest rewards the process of journalism as much as the end result, with a grand prize of $10,000 and special distinction awards totaling $6,000. Applications are now open. Deadline: June 6. Click here for more information and to apply.

Also, check out these resources and interesting research:

New Media Toolkit- An online toolkit with tutorials and resources for nonprofits and others to learn to use social media and digital media tools.

Chicago is the World- ethnic media project led by journalist Steve Franklin at the Community Media Workshop.

OurChinatown -This Asian American Journalists Association’s Executive Leadership Program project is led by a unique multidisciplinary team, which includes experts in community development, online editorial and digital production.

Paper and Database Trails -This slideshow from IRE (Investigative Reporters and Editors) explains how to get useful public documents and data.

Web for Watchdogs -Also from IRE, this slideshow explains how to be a "smarter searcher" on the Internet.

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News Literacy Resources

Looking for information on news literacy? Need curriculum or teaching ideas? Check out these resources below.

• Free News Literacy Curriculum and Training Opportunities: Stony Brook University makes its full news literacy curriculum and teaching resources available to teachers. To request the materials or to apply for a fellowship to attend a news literacy summer training institute, go to http://www.centerfornewsliteracy.org/ or e-mail Dean Miller at dsmiller@notes.cc.sunysb.edu. 

• Digital News Literacy Classroom and Online Resources: The Newseum is beta testing a digital classroom that contains video resources and lesson plans for news literacy. 

• News Groups for Teachers and Students. The NewsTrust has an online platform that provides credibility rating tools for digital news. The site also has a classroom news group feature for teachers to discuss and share news: www.Newstrust.net/schools. Check out NewsTrust CEO”s Fabrice Florin’s presentation, ripe with information about how to help improve a students’ new media “diet.”

• Setting Learning Goals for News Literacy. Prof. Geanne Rosenberg of Baruch College directed the November 2010 Inaugural High School News Literacy summit for New York City high school students, educators and observers from journalism and youth media institutions. Baruch also hosted an adjacent dinner/brainstorming session for news/media/digital/information literacy experts and educators. As you set your own news literacy goals, check out the News Literacy Learning Goals that came out of the convening.

• The News Literacy Project is an educational program that gives instructors the resources they need to incorporate news literacy into their programs by providing reference materials, expert guest speakers and instructor coaching. For more information about The News Literacy Project, please visit their Web site. If you are interested in incorporating news literacy into your after-school program, please contact Peter Adams at peteradams@thenewsliteracyproject.org. These resources are offered to interested parties at no cost.

Have a resource that you'd like to share? E-mail us at jliao(at)mccormickfoundation.org. 

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