Reporting Academy Engages Citizens in Local Journalism
Do you care about your community and want to know what’s going on? Do you worry that the people around you don’t understand the decisions your township and school board make? Do you feel like journalists don’t know your community?
Point Park University's Center for Media Innovation introduces its Citizen Reporting Academy, a fully online certificate program to help individuals become citizen reporters and take control of their community’s local story.
Industry-leading professionals will teach classes on how to conduct interviews, create stories and photographs, market your work – and make money!
Testimonials
"The Citizen Reporting Academy was a great experience! I learned a lot about the type of journalist I want to be for my community. The classes were all very hands-on and the professors were all so knowledgeable and ready to help. The opportunity to meet and collaborate with other 'future journalists' during this process was truly invaluable. The Citizen Reporting Academy helped me build the knowledge, skills and confidence to pursue writing for my local newspaper." – Leanne Gilmore
This certificate program introduces citizens to the basic tenets of journalism to better prepare them for identifying local news, creating content and sharing it with the people around them in a financially rewarding way.
Over the course of 16 weeks, participants will learn from industry experts through a combination of asynchronous work and live speaker sessions. The program begins with an introduction to citizen reporting and then dives into the fundamentals of journalism, monetizing and marketing, information gathering and storytelling. Topics covered include media literacy, freedom of information, interviewing, and multimedia storytelling.
Participants are expected to invest three-to-seven hours per week on coursework. A dedicated instructor will assess the learner’s progress and provide feedback on publishable content. Those who complete the program will receive a virtual badge and certificate of completion from the School of Continuing and Professional Studies.
Successful graduates of this program will enhance, but not replace, local reporting in communities by expanding the reach of existing local newsrooms and filling gaps in places known as news deserts.
The Center for Media Innovation owns and delivers the program, which has been developed in partnership with Neighborhood News Network and Trib Total Media.
Registration Closes: Wednesday, Jan. 15, 2025
Program Begins: Monday, Jan. 20, 2025
Program Concludes: Friday, May 9, 2025
Introduction to Citizen Reporting
Learn the basics of local news publishing: what it is and why it matters. Learn how to overcome your fear of journalism in order to become citizen reporters. Topics include:
- Introduction to media literacy
- The role of the media in American Democracy
- Community engagement – getting to know your neighbors
- What types of stories can you report on?
- How does the lens of journalism allow you to see your community in a new way?
- Incorporating visuals using smartphone technology
Community Reporting
Learn how to cover a local meeting, discern the key takeaways and share that information with the public. Topics include:
- Identify newsworthy points in a meeting agenda
- Understand the basics of what you can share
- Prioritize information to be shared
- Interpret budgets
Media Literacy
Learn to assess the veracity of speakers and how to evaluate written sources for accuracy. Topics include:
- Explain who “the media” is
- Demonstrate the difference between objectivity and subjectivity
- Learn to verify information
- Identify false information
- Distinguish between mis- and dis-information
Media Ethics & the Law
Learn how to use your platform to inform and help others while ensuring your reporting is not harming others. Topics include:
- Learn the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics
- Recognize how to report truthfully while minimizing harm
- Implement accountability and transparency when reporting
- Understand the basics of libel laws
Social Media
Learn about the importance of engaging with various social media platforms to build an audience. Topics include:
- The pros and cons of social media, identifying recent inclusions
- Understand the differences between various platforms
- Clarify how the rules for social media differ from "traditional" journalism
- Determine which platforms are most useful for the projects you want and what it means to go (locally) viral
Monetizing & Marketing
Learn about monetizing your work and understand the role of revenue sources. Topics include:
- Overview of different ways to monetize a news website (e.g., advertising, subscriptions, donations)
- Pros and cons of each strategy
- Direct vs. programmatic
- Understanding how ad networks work
- Different subscription models (e.g., free, paywall, freemium, membership)
- Understanding the legal requirements for monetizing a news website (e.g., privacy policies, advertising disclosures, political policies)
- Learn how to create a revenue share model/sell an ad on Neighborhood News Network platform
Interviewing
Learn how to interact with strangers in order to gain the necessary information to tell a story. Topics include:
- Understand how to talk to strangers and ask open-ended questions
- Uncover the motivation of interviewees and what they are willing to share
- Discuss the importance of hostile interviews and uncovering hidden information
Freedom of Information
Learn about the rules around access to information and how to efficiently and effectively obtain data. Topics include:
- Learn what constitutes public information
- Determine what types of information can be requested
- Distinguish between federal and state information, including the specificities of your state
- The process to file a FOIA request
- Understand privacy and redaction rules and what recourse might exist
Multimedia Storytelling
Learn about the importance of incorporating visuals and art using simple tools like a smartphone. It will cover the basics of photography, video and podcasting. Topics include:
- Create photographs that incorporate a focus on framing, lighting and representation of people
- Write strong captions
- Understand the basics of editing photos, videos and audio clips including the tools for building a studio
- Review available software
- Apply storyboard techniques for various types of stories
Cost
Register Online
Register online at catalog.pointpark.edu.
For more information, contact SCPS@pointpark.edu.