Level up your content creation skills with freelance journalist Victoria Lim, and discover a wide array of apps, gear, and strategies for shooting high quality photo and videos using a smartphone. In this hands-on demonstration, Lim will also discuss how these skills have helped her to raise her earning potential with existing clients and also helped her to attract new ones.

Hosted by The Institute for Independent Journalists.

With immigration enforcement directives among the most politicized and contentious topics in the U.S., reporters on the beat face growing threats on the ground and online. Local and national journalists covering immigration have to navigate the need to protect themselves and their sources alongside increased pressure to get the story right.

With violent clashes between protestors and masked federal agents, local and federal officials sparring in the public square, and vulnerable communities facing uncertainty during intensifying ICE crackdowns, journalists must cover these sensitive stories while keeping their own safety top of mind.

Join the National Press Club Journalism Institute for a panel discussion with experienced reporters and editors who will speak about their experiences on the ground and in the newsroom. They’ll share:

• guidance for maintaining digital safety while reporting on a sensitive and highly scrutinized topic
• how to prepare for assignments, protect sources and yourself, and what to include in your field safety kit
• an editor’s perspective on risk assessment and newsroom support
• and how to balance public interest reporting with real-world risks

Medill and the Dance Data Project® will offer “Arts & Entertainment by the Numbers: A One-Day Data Journalism Workshop,” a free one-day virtual workshop taking place on Zoom from 9 am to 5 pm ET on Feb. 18. The virtual workshop will cover:

• What “data journalism” means for arts and entertainment
• Spreadsheets 101: Sorting, filtering, and summarizing basic data in Google Sheets — no math required.
• Cleaning Practice: How to fix messy artist names, genres, and labels — and why consistency matters.
• Quick Analysis: How to find simple story patterns (Patterns, Trends, Outliers).
• Visualization Basics: Building a visualization in Flourish, focused on storytelling.
• Finding Credible Data: Where to get trustworthy arts and culture data
• Writing with Data: Turning your finding into a “nut graf” that connects the number to people and context.
• Using AI Responsibly: How to use tools like ChatGPT to speed up cleaning, analysis, and writing while staying accurate.

The workshop will be led by Jill Blackman, Medill lecturer and director of data journalism.

“The goal is for arts and entertainment for journalists to walk away not as data experts, but as data-curious storytellers — ready to use simple tools and clear thinking to make culture reporting deeper, sharper, and more original,” said Blackman.

Registration is now open for the free workshop.