True Journalism

Overview

This program will equip you with the investigative journalism skills to seek and write about hard facts in the post-truth era. Develop your skills to become an effective storyteller.

While open to everyone, participants are often from the following groups:

• Prospective and current media students
• Young investigative journalists
• Leaders / community organizers from underserved communities
• Social advocates or activists
• Campaign managers

Key outcomes:

• Real-world journalistic experience
• Expanded network of industry peers
• The ability to discern truth from disinformation

Workshops

Weekly interactive sessions are facilitated by experienced journalists and media professionals. Topics of workshops are customized for the needs of each cohort and participants are expected to attend all workshop sessions.

Potential topics include:

• Navigating the media world in the 2020s. Become adept at identifying real, unbiased truth in this time of rampant misinformation and disinformation.
• Asking the right questions and getting honest answers. Establishing yourself as a motivated narrator for truth begins with conducting the most effective interviews you can.
• Negotiating your editorial control. Learn what you can do to ensure that what is ultimately published is accurate and factual according to the investigation you’ve performed.

Project work

Each participant is asked to start a media project that seeks to uncover perspectives not shared by mainstream media. All projects are launched for the benefit of an underserved community who may have limited media access to real facts.

Sample ideas:

• An investigative report that challenges an article published in mainstream media
• A social media campaign with measurable outcomes (ratings, engagement, social impact, etc)
• A short documentary about a social issue concerning a specific community
• Reporting on an active online (or offline) group with a clear agenda / active engagement
  

Mentorship

Each participant is paired with an experienced mentor based on their respective interests and project needs. Mentors are seasoned journalistic or media professionals and serve as project supervisors. They provide feedback along the way and an evaluation report at the end.