New England Newspaper & Press Association

New York Times investigative reporter Chris Hamby and STAT reporter Bob Herman, who covers the business of health care, will be featured in a May 21 webinar on how journalists can report on the hidden and lucrative alliances health insurers have with cost-containment companies, pharmacy benefit managers (PBMs) and employee benefits consultants.

The webinar is the second in a collaboration between The Association of Health Care Journalists and Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) and is being offered as part of the organization’s “Follow the Money” series, with financial support from NIHCM.

In April, Hamby reported that MultiPlan, a company in New York City that helps health insurers keep costs down, and its health insurer clients have a large and mostly hidden financial incentive to cut payments for policyholders’ claims as much as possible. The result can be patients paying more than they would otherwise.

During this webinar, hosted by AHCJ health policy beat leader Joe Burns, Hamby and Herman will discuss the tools and outline the tips and strategies they used to uncover these hidden agreements and how all healthcare journalists can report on this important story.

According to the latest study from the Reynolds Journalism Institute, 56% of active journalists are mostly pessimistic about journalism, with this number rising to 83% among former journalists and journalism managers. Burnout is an “occupational phenomenon,” but most of us don’t have the power to change the organizations we work for.

In this self-reflective session — led by Sam Ragland, API’s vice president of journalism programs — journalists will contribute anonymously to a series of prompts to learn actionable insights for reassessing and repairing their relationships with work. Created specifically for those working within a news organization, this session will help journalists:

• Assess where they sit on the stress spectrum
• Understand what is inside and outside of their control
• Self-prescribe a set of actions to combat their unique blend of burnout

To support journalists and their well-being during Mental Health Awareness Month, API is offering this free, interactive webinar.

About Sam Ragland: Sam is an award-winning local newsroom leader who thought she was immune to burnout. She wasn’t. And since the start of the pandemic, she’s been studying the hazards of being a journalist, collaborating with trauma therapists and getting certified in digital wellness to coach and support journalists in their stress response. Using her tenure as an editor at the Palm Beach Post and USA TODAY, Sam has developed trauma-informed leadership practices and trained more than a thousand journalists across the world.

Basic tips on developing a low-cost community asset map.

In many communities, people see reporting by the remaining news outlets to be about, rather than for them. This is especially common in historically marginalized communities where people may feel socially distant from journalists even if they are in relatively close geographic proximity. And this is why community asset mapping is an important piece of infrastructure for news organizations as they work to improve their DEIB practices.

In this session, Letrell Crittenden, Ph.D. will walk participants through the creation of a community asset map. Participants will learn:

• The difference between sources and assets
• The benefits of asset-mapping before source-listing
• The types of community assets
• The strategy and execution of creating an asset map

Participants will leave the session with a starting point for the asset map and the next steps to complete it and then continue to iterate upon it. Any journalist, no matter their specialty in the newsroom, can benefit from this foundational skill.

About the New England Equity Reporting Fellowship:
The program was created in 2021 by the Granite State News Collaborative, New England News Collaborative, New England Newspaper & Press Association, and Solutions Journalism Network, in partnership with the Endowment for Health. The program aims to improve news reporting and coverage in New England on issues of race and identity and to create an inclusive newsroom culture for the participating journalists and newsrooms.

How do American audiences view election news? And what simple steps can you take to build your community’s confidence in your election coverage?

In this free webinar, API will discuss both research and strategies for engaged election coverage this year, including:

• New findings on how Americans view national and location election news, pulled from API’s work with the Media Insight Project.
• Simple structures and tools for authentic community engagement, pulled from our API Inclusion Index program, that can inform and build trust in your election reporting.

News leaders who attend can plan to leave with an understanding of common attitudes Americans have toward election news in 2024 plus frameworks for community engagement to implement.  We will also highlight additional resources to turn for support.

This session will include 30 minutes for Q&A to discuss election engagement strategies with peers and experts.

This webinar is part of a seven-part API and AP webinar series to support news organizations’ evolving needs around local elections and democracy.  

Session Moderator

Kevin Loker is a director of strategic partnerships and research at API. He has spent more than a decade at nonprofits supporting journalism and its sustainability, and in roles involving research, peer learning and partnerships. That includes contributing to research studies with the Media Insight Project, API’s collaboration with the AP-NORC Center for Public Affairs Research at the University of Chicago. Currently he is also a Visiting Fellow at the SNF Agora Institute at Johns Hopkins University.

Knowing the essentials of copyright and libel laws is critical for newsroom journalists and independent freelancers — especially in an increasingly litigious media environment.

Media lawyers report a significant uptick in defamation lawsuits brought against journalists by plaintiffs who don’t want to be called on their false narratives or want to punish reporters for their work. Some of these lawsuits are getting farther in the court system than they used to, costing journalists and news organizations precious time and money.

Copyright violations are a risk for media professionals, too. In an era of artificial intelligence and social media, journalists need to be aware of copyright and fair use law when working with digital content, especially when it is easy to cut, paste, and distribute content online.

Attorney Chad Bowman of Ballard Spahr will outline copyright and libel law essentials for today’s media environment and take questions to help journalists and freelancers understand their rights and how to follow the law.

Participants will learn:
– Key legal pitfalls and strategies for journalists when it comes to libel and copyright law
– When to ask questions of an editor while news gathering or using others’ content (i.e. when using quotes, photos, published work, and other media in your stories)
– What to do if you are threatened with a defamation suit
– What independent journalists need to know to protect themselves without the resources of a newsroom

The NPCJI partnered with the National Press Club’s Freelance Team to produce this free program.

As threats against journalists become increasingly common, reporters must take measures to protect themselves while newsgathering. This lesson will focus on online risks and how they can be mitigated.

By attending this class, you’ll learn:

• The necessities for protecting your electronic devices, such as encryption, 2FA, passwords and phishing awareness.

• How to reduce the risk of doxxing.

• How to develop best practices for social media when used for both personal and professional purposes.

Instructor: Stephanie Sugars, U.S. Press Freedom Tracker

The New England First Amendment Coalition launched in 2020 a monthly educational series featuring short, practical lessons on journalism and the First Amendment.

The goal of the program — called “30 Minute Skills” — is to provide reporters and other citizens knowledge they can use immediately in newsgathering, data collection, storytelling and other areas of journalism and First Amendment law.

The lessons are provided in a 30-minute format to accommodate the demanding schedules faced by many working in New England newsrooms. The program is free and open to the public. Registration for each lesson is required.

30 Minute Skills is supported in part by the Estate of Gloria Negri, the late trailblazing journalist who spent more than 50 years at The Boston Globe.

Headlines are the most important starting point of a story. A good one both informs and piques a readers’ interest, encouraging them to read on. But in an era of search engine optimization and short attention spans, writing a good one is harder to do — especially when it comes to political stories.

Join the National Press Club Journalism Institute and Resolve Philly’s Modifier for a free webinar examining the craft of writing and framing a headline for a political story; the different types of headlines to use depending upon the story; and the pitfalls of using sensationalized or misleading language. Participants will practice writing and rewriting a few headlines to get practical experience in producing responsible headlines for your 2024 election coverage.

Instructor Aubrey Nagle, Resolve Philly’s director of practice change, will teach participants how to:
– Rethink the basics: What is the point of a headline?
– Balance SEO needs for story promotion without using misleading language
– Be inspired with ideas for word choices that balance engagement and responsibility
– Practice writing and rewriting headlines

In under an hour, you’ll receive:
* The seven “must-haves” in every media kit
* Examples of media kits from successful publishers
* A media template in (Google Slides) that you can use today

Hosted by Kenny Katzgrau, Publisher of redbankgreen.com and creator of Broadstreet and co-Hosted by the amazing Annette Batson, Advertising Director, Montclair Local.

A free Local Media Association webinar.