Across federal agencies, universities, research labs, and corporations, sources are going silent. Fear of retaliation has chilled people who once spoke confidentially to journalists. Some are being polygraphed. Some are being investigated. Some are being fired. Many are simply too afraid to talk at all.

This silence threatens the public’s right to know.

Join Freedom of the Press Foundation, the Association of Healthcare Journalists, and the Society of Environmental Journalists for “Silenced Sources: When fear of retaliation muzzles facts,” a webinar at 2 p.m. EST on Tuesday, Dec. 9, on what happens when whistleblowers, researchers, students, and federal employees are intimidated into staying quiet.

We will be joined by:
– Lizzy Lawrence, Food and Drug Administration reporter at Stat News
– Grace Hussain, solutions correspondent at Sentient Media
– Emily Spatz, editor-in-chief of The Huntington News
– Sharon Lerner, reporter at ProPublica
– Harlo Holmes, chief information security officer and director of digital security at Freedom of the Press Foundation
– Moderator Caitlin Vogus, senior adviser at Freedom of the Press Foundation

Our panel will examine:
– How escalating threats are shaping reporting on health, science, the environment, and campus news
– How to approach vulnerable sources ethically
– How to verify information when anonymity is necessary
– What tools like SecureDrop can do to keep sources safe

This crisis affects every beat, every newsroom, and every reader. When sources are silenced, the truth is silenced with them.

In this dynamic session, Shannon Kinney of Dream Local Digital joins David Buonfiglio and Jeff Gallop of AdApt Media Sales to share three pitfalls to avoid in your sales process and efforts, quick tips and tools to implement immediately, and how to prioritize your efforts. As a bonus for all attendees, we’ll generate a FREE list of 100 prospects for your sales team to act on immediately and recommendations on how to nurture them to close more business!

To help journalists report on the U.S. childhood vaccine schedule with clarity, context and accuracy, the National Press Foundation will hold an online briefing Dec. 11, 1-2 p.m. ET. This webinar, Making Sense of the Childhood Vaccine Schedule, will feature experts in medicine and science, as well as a veteran health journalist, to help improve coverage.

NPF’s panel of experts will address key questions and misconceptions about childhood vaccines, including how the schedule is developed, the timing of vaccines, the role of combination vaccines and the role and safety of vaccine ingredients, like aluminum. Experts will also answer questions from webinar attendees during the Q&A.

This webinar is sponsored by Vaccinate Your Family, a nonprofit that for more than 30 years has championed vaccine access, education and advocacy. NPF is solely responsible for its content.

It’s important to remember that as journalists, we possess a wealth of transferable skills that are in demand outside of the news world. In this webinar, meet a panel of professionals working in communications and content marketing, who can provide practical guidance on finding clients in these spaces. Learn how to break in, determine your rates and protect yourself from conflicts of interest. Leave with fresh contacts for flexing your freelancing in new directions.

Speakers:

Kim Howard, Director of Communications and Marketing at EMDR International Association
David Rynecki, Founder of Blue Heron Research Partners
Candace White, Deputy Director of Communications and Digital Strategy at the Knight First Amendment Institute at Columbia University

Moderator: Benét J. Wilson, Financial Journalist

In this conversation, each panelist will provide a step-by-step look at specific lessons they use with their own students and news partners that use data visualizations, interactives, and short-form/vertical video. They will outline their innovative approaches to incorporating these visual storytelling tools to both engage audiences and equip students for best practices in news products and strategies. Bring your ideas and questions about how news-academic partnerships can help local news not only survive but thrive by leading the way in local newsroom innovation.

Panelists:

• Adriana Lacy, CEO Adriana Lacy Consulting and adjunct lecturer at Brandeis University
• Matt Kiefer, assistant professor at Northwestern University
• Ben Cooley, CCN data visualization engineer
• Amanda Bright, clinical associate professor at the University of Georgia and Cox Institute Innovation Lab director (moderator)

Find out if your idea has the makings of a book and the secrets to getting it published.

Do you need an agent, and how do you get one if you do? How do contracts and royalties work? How is a book publicized and marketed successfully? Learn the answers to these and other questions from the experts.

The panel will include:

• Jane Dystel, the president of Dystel, Goderich & Bourret Literary Management and a literary agent since 1986.
• Thomas Maier, award-winning former Newsday journalist and author of nine books, including two made into prime-time television shows.
• Lisa Pulitzer, a New York Times bestselling author and veteran ghostwriter who has authored, co-authored and/or ghostwritten more than 60 nonfiction books.
• Moderated by Press Club of Long Island board member Bill Bleyer, former Newsday reporter and author of seven regional history books