A project of the University of Vermont’s Reporting & Documentary Storytelling program.
A project of the University of Vermont’s Reporting & Documentary Storytelling program.
Do you want to make strong contributions to your local news outlet? Do you need to brush up on your journalism skills and develop the confidence to be a local reporter? You’re in the right place!
Democracy counts on informed and engaged citizens. And it starts with local news. The University of Vermont’s Community News Service is hosting journalism training courses for citizen reporters.
Attendees should participate in all five sessions (about one hour) and complete at least two news stories that will be published, with editing support from the instructors. The trainings are weekly, via ZOOM on Tuesday evenings at 7 p.m., from June 14 to July 12. The trainings are free but the spots are limited to 12 students.
Please sign up via this FORM. Given the crisis in local news, preference is given to citizens who plan to write news stories for local media outlets — to journalism values and standards. DEADLINE TO APPLY IS JUNE 13.
Call or email Richard Watts at rwatts@uvm.edu with any questions.
The schedule is below:
Tuesday, June 14 @ 7 p.m. News Fundamentals + Intro
We will tackle the fundamental questions around news judgment, what a reporter’s role is and other foundational topics. What is news? How do we judge if a story is newsworthy? What is the role of a reporter in society?
Tuesday, June 21 @ 7 p.m. Community News and Democracy (With Meg Little Reilly)
A thriving democracy relies on an informed and engaged electorate. Local news, in particular, is essential to civic engagement, trust, voter participation, and community vitality. Now more than ever, it can be a critical tool to help combat misinformation and polarization. In this session, we will discuss the role that local news plays in supporting healthy local democratic practices.
Tuesday, June 28 @ 7 p.m. Interview and Research Techniques
This lesson explores the most important tool in a reporter's toolbox: The interview. How does a reporter conduct a successful interview? How does a reporter conduct comprehensive research to make sure a story is on solid footing?
Tuesday, July 5 @ 7 p.m. News Photography + Art
We'll look at how to successfully capture strong news photos, and how to choose "art" — a reporter's term for a visual element accompanying an article. What makes a strong photo? How do you take a strong photo with limited equipment, usually just a cell phone?
Tuesday, July 12 @ 7 p.m. Local news writing, conflicts and ethics & next steps
This lesson looks at how to conduct yourself as an ethical reporter and goes over some best practices. What does it mean to be an ethical journalist? How has journalism ethics changed through the years? What legal rights do we have, and what are the limits of those rights? What questions do you have. Have you finished your stories??
Certificates of Citizen Reporters
Participants who complete the trainings and publish at least one article that meets the standards and values of the CNS and our media partners will be recognized with a CNS Citizen Reporter certificate.
About the instructors:
Richard Watts is the founder of the Community News Service, a student-powered partnership between the University of Vermont and local community newspapers in Vermont and the Director of the Center for Research on Vermont. Richard is a former reporter and holds a master’s degree in journalism from Syracuse University and a PhD related to media studies from the University of Vermont.
Carolyn Shapiro is a freelance journalist and longtime reporter and writer at daily newspapers from upstate New York to southeastern Virginia. She has penned stories for The New York Times, Boston Globe, Seven Days and FedTech magazine. She also teaches advanced journalism at Champlain College in Burlington. She loves to talk about journalism and, when she's not doing that, walking her her two boxers and eating Vermont cheese.
Justin Trombly is the editor of Community News Service. He coordinates with our media partners, workshops stories with student reporters and helps build CNS' effort to strengthen Vermont journalism. He's been a reporter at VTDigger, the Tampa Bay Times, the Buffalo News and local papers in upstate New York.
Thanks to generous support from the College of Arts & Sciences, the Office of Engagement and other donors these trainings are offered at no cost to participants.
