While most news fundraising teams focus on small donor campaigns and larger grants, legacy giving is an untapped opportunity to further support local journalism. Join The Lab Link, the alumni network of the LMA Lab for Journalism Funding, for our next webinar on Jan. 14 to learn how planned gifts — often made through a will or trust — can become a strategic cornerstone of newsroom resilience. You’ll learn how to invite supporters into meaningful legacy conversations, articulate long-term impact and create clear giving pathways that honor a donor’s values and desired influence. Guided by our panel of estate planning experts and newsroom leaders who’ve built legacy-giving initiatives, you’ll learn how to unlock a philanthropic pathway that safeguards your newsroom’s future. Speakers: Desirnai’ Hicks, senior partner success strategist, FreeWill Arif Nuri, account executive and partner lead, FreeWill Anna January, director of philanthropy, Wisconsin Watch Emmet Liston, senior philanthropy officer, Wisconsin Watch

Join NEFAC 30 Minute Skills for the first of two introductory lessons on health care reporting, led by journalist Felice J. Freyer, formerly of The Boston Globe and Providence Journal. Freyer will explain why a foundation of health care knowledge is important for all reporters, regardless of their beats. During her class, she’ll share:

• Helpful resources for those new to this coverage area.
• An overview of the U.S. health care system.
• Best practices for journalists reporting on health care issues.

Speaker:
Felice J. Freyer – Freyer has been a health care reporter for most of her career. As a freelance journalist and in long stints as a staff writer at the Boston Globe and the Providence Journal, she covered all aspects of health care and medicine.

The most consequential midterm election stories — who is organizing, how money and messaging are taking shape, and which issues are reshaping voter priorities — are already unfolding, long before the first votes are cast.

Join the National Press Club Journalism Institute and OpenSecrets for a free webinar that will prepare journalists to cover the midterms with financial data top of mind. This interactive session, on Friday, Jan. 16 at noon ET, will focus on OpenSecrets’ campaign finance tools that can support your local and regional political reporting in 2026 and beyond.

OpenSecrets launched in 2021 following a merger between the National Institute on Money in Politics and the Center for Responsive Politics, which expanded users’ access to a vast collection of campaign finance data on state and local races, as well as lobbying data.

During this one-hour, virtual session, participants will learn:
– How to find, download, and incorporate public data into their elections-focused storytelling on deadline;
– How to explore Open Secrets’ “Get Local!” donations tracker and other reliable tools; and
– Strategies to strengthen their midterms coverage in 2026 through accountability journalism.

In the spirit of transparency, this session is also open to interested members of the public.

NEACE is kicking off the year with a FREE webinar on January 21st from 11 a.m. to noon. The webinar will feature two leaders from The Boston Globe diving into one of the hottest topics in our industry: Digital Retention — Balancing Subscriptions and Revenue.

Why the Recipe Matters – The Stakes for Local Print and Digital Retention:
· The Base of the Stair-Step Strategy
· The Recipe for Offers: Stair-Step Stop-Save
· Agent Execution: The Chef in the Kitchen
· The Supporting Ingredients: Culture, Training, and QA

Presented by:
Mark Tibbetts / Director of Customer Service at Boston Globe Media
Auni Small / Training Coordinator for Customer Service at Boston Globe Media

Inbox competition is fiercer than ever — yet email remains one of the only channels publishers and brands truly own.

Register for this live webinar, where E&P brings together industry experts to break down what’s actually working in email marketing today. No theory. No hype. Just practical strategies being used right now to build trust, grow audiences, and generate measurable results.

You’ll hear how newsletters and one-to-one email programs are evolving beyond “blasts” into high-value products — and how lean teams are pulling this off without adding complexity. Whether you’re running a newsroom, selling sponsorships, or managing campaigns for local advertisers, this session will show you how email can become a reliable growth engine instead of a constant scramble.

Register to learn how to:

Reenergize your newsletters into high-performing products readers look forward to
Grow and monetize engaged audiences without spamming or burning out your list
Leverage automation and personalization to scale email while keeping the human touch
Prove value to advertisers and clients with metrics that matter in today’s privacy-changed landscape

o help journalists better understand and report on the developing legal issues of AI and IP, join the National Press Foundation and a panel of experts for a wide-ranging discussion around the stakes, impact and potential solutions. Experts in technology and innovation, as well as law and economics, join journalists in this free online briefing 12-1 p.m. ET on Thursday, January 22, 2026.

Register for this free webinar for a variety ways to participate:

– Tune in live to submit questions to the panelists during the Q&A.
– Send questions for the experts in advance to anne@nationalpress.org.
– Receive the recording after the event.

This event is sponsored by The Copyright Alliance and NSG Next Solutions Group. The National Press Foundation is solely responsible for its content.

Dream big about your next story pitch, and join us for this free webinar featuring section editors for top outlets, including KFF Health News, the Cut, and New York Magazine! These editors are looking for impactful stories and sharp reporting from all over the country, and this is your chance to learn how to wow them. Get inside information about rates and contract terms, and make a connection.

Speakers:
Genevieve Smith, features editor for The Cut/New York Magazine
Kytja Weir, national editor for KFF Health News

Moderator:
Jamila Bey, Freelancer

Every publisher is trying to figure out, “Should we block AI bots from scraping our content? And how do we actually block them?” Website visits to ChatGPT, Claude, Google Gemini, and others have exploded, and some publishers say AI-generated answers are hurting their website traffic.

Join 30-year digital media veteran, Eric Shanfelt, as he shows you how AI actually impacts different types of publishers, how blocking AI bots impacts your visibility and website traffic, loopholes that AI companies use to scrape your content, and how to block AI bots effectively (HINT – it’s more than robots.txt).

Speaker info:
Eric Shanfelt
Founding Partner, Nearview Media
eric@nearviewmedia.com

For months now, colleges and universities across the country have been quietly — and sometimes abruptly — dismantling diversity, equity, and inclusion infrastructure as a result of mounting state and federal policies and actions. Scholarships connected to race or ethnicity are being eliminated. DEI offices are being renamed or shut down. Boards are pressuring campuses to remove racial equity policies. Student support programs designed for marginalized students are being scaled back or cut altogether.

Experts emphasize that colleges are, at times, overcomplying with these new restrictions. Others worry about the impact on students and college communities. What is the general flow of state policy? What strategies can reporters use to track and understand federal measures that restrict DEI? How are higher education officials responding? Who should reporters talk to about the purpose of DEI and its impact on schools and students?

Join the Education Writers Association’s webinar on Thursday, Jan. 29 at 1 p.m. Eastern as many state legislative sessions begin. Get helpful context, background information, resources and story ideas on the DEI landscape in higher education.

Hear from a policy analyst, civil rights lawyer and journalist who can provide attendees with insights into policies and legislation from the state house to the White House.

Reporters can expect to walk away with tools to stay ahead of the story and avoid missing critical developments happening in legislative halls, federal agencies, college campuses and classrooms.

Speakers
– Arthur Coleman, founding partner, EducationCounsel LLC
– Heidi Tseu, assistant vice president of national engagement, American Council on Education
– Brooklyn Draisey, higher education reporter, Iowa Capital Dispatch (moderator)