New England Newspaper & Press Association

Journalists have long been charged with sorting fact from fiction through their reporting. But what happens when readers redefine what they see as truth and what they’ll accept as fact?

In this free instructional program with the National Press Club Journalism Institute, Williamson will share her reporting and research process, along with insights she gained as she connected the dots on how conspiracy theories grow. Williamson, whose critically-acclaimed book “Sandy Hook: An American Tragedy and the Battle for Truth” published this spring, will describe how she threaded together more than 400 interviews, 10,000 pages of court testimony and other records, and on-the-ground reporting to trace a line from conspiracy theories around Sandy Hook to Jan. 6, 2021.New York Times writer and author Elizabeth Williamson is among journalists confronting the rampant rise and spread of conspiracy theories through her reporting and research. Her current work has focused around unraveling the targeted misinformation and lies spread after the 2012 Sandy Hook school shooting in Newtown, Conn., the surviving families’ lawsuits against Infowars conspiracy theorist Alex Jones, and the election disinformation fueling the Jan. 6, 2021 Capitol attack.

Participants will learn to:

• Identify how misinformation and political conspiracy theories have spread;
• Work with sensitivity and clarity while reporting on conspiracy theories;
• Pre-bunk conspiracy theories through early reporting;
• Use trauma-informed reporting methods while working with people suffering tragedy; and
• Organize reporting and deep research to craft a long-form narrative.

Registration is open for this program, which will take place on Friday, June 10 from 11:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. ET.

This is an Online Media Campus NENPA U webinar. Members, please contact Tara Cleary at t.cleary@nenpa.com for the free registration code.

In this webinar:

Think you don’t have enough time for watchdog journalism? Overwhelmed with keeping the daily machine running? Get practical advice for creating a newsroom culture that values public service and accountability reporting, no matter the staff size. The first step is deciding what not to do or to do differently. Some newsrooms are growing audiences while producing less content. The key is using data to determine which types of content are not contributing to audience engagement.

About the presenter:

Chris Coates is the executive editor of the Times-Dispatch in Richmond, Virginia.

A Trenton, Michigan, native, he is a graduate of Columbia College Chicago and has been a business reporter in Los Angeles, managing editor of Illinois publications for the Suburban Journals of Greater St. Louis, editor of the Sioux City Journal, and watchdog editor for The News Journal in Wilmington, Delaware. He also was Central Illinois editor for Lee Enterprises before becoming editor in Richmond in March.

Chris is the former president of the Illinois Associated Press Media Editors board and was the Illinois Press Association’s Editor of the Year for 2019.

NFTs. DAOs. The Metaverse. What’s next and new can be overwhelming and confusing. That’s why this Journalism Creator Summit, hosted by J+ at the Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY, will tackle the universe of Web3.

​This half-day event will feature expert speakers and panelists who will shed light on what’s next in the future of news, separate the real possibilities from the hype, and give you the information you need to step confidently into this new space.

​Stay tuned as we update this page with more details, including our summit schedule & speakers!

​• When? Friday, June 17th, 11:00am – 4:00pm et

​• Where? Zoom! You will receive an email closer to June 17th inviting you to access the event online

​• Cost? Free of charge!

​• What if I can’t make it? All registrants will get access to a recording of the event afterwards – but you must RSVP in advance!

More than 75 percent of Americans say religion is an important part of their lives. How do these Americans see themselves and their faith reflected in news coverage? What does reporting on faith get right and wrong? How do editors and reporters think about who they’re reaching with these stories and who they’ve lost? And how might this coverage build trust in journalism among communities that have been historically misrepresented?

Join us and our distinguished panel to learn:

– How journalists of faith navigate challenges from inside their newsrooms and from inside their faith communities;
– Whose faith is centered in coverage and whose is marginalized, mischaracterized, or misunderstood;
– Which best practices can help extend our community’s understanding of itself.

Panelists include:

– Dawn Araujo-Hawkins, news editor at Christian Century; vice president at Religion News Association
– Alison Bethel, vice president of corps excellence at Report for America
– McKay Coppins, staff writer at The Atlantic
– Nadine Epstein, editor-in-chief and CEO at Moment
– Aysha Khan, journalist and Harvard Divinity School student
– Holly Meyer, religion news editor at The Associated Press
– Bill Mitchell, publisher, CEO, and president at the National Catholic Reporter
– Paul O’Donnell, editor-in-chief at Religion News Service

The conversation will be moderated by Julie Moos, the Journalism Institute’s Executive Director, and will surface suggestions and questions for journalists and newsrooms across the country as they consider how covering people of faith can broaden their reach and build credible connections in the communities they serve. If you have questions about this program, please email Julie Moos at jmoos@press.org.

This free program is supported by an operational grant from the Deseret Management Corporation.