As the 2025–2026 respiratory season unfolds, public health communicators face the challenge of translating evolving science into clear, trusted messages for the public. This webinar will provide a situational update on what we know about the season so far, what has happened to date, and what uncertainties remain. We’ll explore what these developments mean for communicators, focusing on practical strategies to convey accurate, timely information while building trust with diverse audiences. The session will conclude with an open Q&A, giving attendees the chance to raise questions and share experiences from their own work.

Don’t wait until an extreme weather event strikes to learn how climate change is fueling changes to our weather systems.

As the peak of the Atlantic hurricane activity approaches amid a historic wildfire season, join Covering Climate Now and Climate Central for a special webinar highlighting emerging climate attribution research on autumn’s extreme weather events. This Prep Your Climate Coverage session will also explore how fall temperature and severe storm trends are changing, spotlight how journalists have reported on the human impacts of these events, and offer vetted language to make the climate connection in your own reporting this fall.

As trust in news media declines and more Americans tune out stories they find too negative or exhausting, solutions journalism — defined as rigorous reporting on responses to social problems — offers a path forward. This approach doesn’t shy away from serious issues but reframes them through the lens of collective agency and possibility.

Join the Solutions Journalism Network for a two-part training covering the fundamentals of solutions journalism and how to integrate it into your beat or newsroom.

This training is designed for journalists and editors who want to incorporate more solutions journalism into their coverage, whether or not they’ve had experience with it before.

In part one, we’ll cover the fundamentals of solutions journalism and the value this editorial approach brings to beat reporting, You’ll learn the steps for crafting a solutions story for every platform, how to avoid common pitfalls, and how to use the 16,000 solutions stories in the Solutions Story Tracker, to discover promising responses in other communities.

In part two, we’ll share tips and techniques for embedding a solutions focus in beat reporting — strategies developed through our work with more than 80 newsrooms covering elections, democracy, housing, education, and other issues that are important to their communities. We’ll also share how solutions coverage has helped equip audiences with the information they need to hold elected officials accountable for addressing pressing social challenges.

Attendees will receive worksheets to help track their progress, access to curated tips and resources, and recordings of both sessions. Whether you’re new to solutions journalism or looking to deepen your practice, this series will equip you with practical skills and tools for your beat.

This training is part of the Advancing Democracy webinar series, brought to you by the Solutions Journalism Network and its partners, Hearken, Trusting News, and Good Conflict.
Date & Time
Sep 3, 2025 02:00 PM
Sep 17, 2025 02:00 PM

When personal identity and professional beat intersect, journalism gains powerful depth. This webinar features journalists who report on issues that directly impact the communities they belong to, such as reporters who are trans covering trans rights or reporters who are immigrants reporting on immigration. Join the Trans Journalists Association and the Institute for Independent Journalists in an honest conversation with reporters and editors who will share best practices for navigating these dual roles with integrity, empathy, and rigor. Learn how lived experience can inform reporting while upholding the highest standards of journalistic ethics and impact.

Speakers:

• Drew Costley, New Orleans-based freelance journalist and editor
• Denny Agassi, freelance journalist focused on LGBTQ+ rights
• Annabel Rocha, Chicago-based freelance journalist covering reproductive rights
• Ruxandra Guidi, Arizona-based independent journalist, creator of the podcast Happy Forgetting

Moderator: Adam Rhodes, IRE training director, freelance journalist, and TJA board member emeritus