Resources for Educators
Many of the courses are offered free of charge. View the full course catalog here: https://www.poynter.org/newsu/
Webinars
Each Poynter News University Webinar lasts about 60 to 75 minutes during which a specific topic is being addressed. Some webinars include handouts.
This one-hour webinar will help you conduct stronger interviews from Joshua Johnson, host of the public radio program “1A.”
Cost: Free
Fact-checking reporter Daniel Funke and digital tools reporter Ren LaForme will share some of the best tools, tips and methods for verifying information online.
Cost: Free
This webinar discusses several of the most common non-rules that you can stop wasting time on, plus several rules you need to keep to ensure clarity and credibility in your writing.
Cost: $29.95
Data and documents talk when others won’t. They tell the truth when others lie. They let you see the big picture, protect you and lead you to real humans you can interview.
Cost: $29.95
This session will guide you through building lessons to help your students move from making snapshots to committing acts of visual journalism. It will help you understand the difference between memory triggers and news photography.
Cost: $29.95
Self-directed Courses
This course will help journalists understand what constitutes fair use of content, particularly online content, and debunk copyright myths.
Cost: $29.95
Finding and fixing the most common style, grammar and punctuation errors. This self-directed course guides you through the basics of grammar, spelling, punctuation and AP style. The course has four content sections that focus on the most common mistakes and teach you how to avoid them.
Cost: Free
Build or refine your process for making ethical decisions — before you’re faced with a tough call on deadline.
Cost: Free
Gain a solid grounding in the process of editing and the range of skills that give text a professional polish.
Cost: $14.95
In this course, you’ll examine your own assumptions about race and ethnicity. You’ll learn how to approach this delicate topic with confidence, and you’ll explore a framework to help you and your news organization make more thoughtful and informed decisions about word choices.
Cost: Free
This course was created by the International Fact-Checking Network at the Poynter Institute and the American Press Institute, and funded by the Google News Initiative. Designed for college students as a self-directed course or as a resource for classroom instructors, the approximately 90-minute course includes lessons on identifying reliable sources in fact-checking, debunking viral misinformation, and deciding whether a statement is really checkable.
Cost: Free
Are you new to the reporting process? Starting on a new beat assignment? This course will help you identify the key issues and sources on your beat, learn how to determine what’s included in your beat and develop the resources to focus your coverage.
Cost: Free
In this self-directed course, you’ll learn the foundational concepts for reporting, writing, editing and producing multimedia. You’ll also gain insight into how journalists think and make editorial decisions.
Cost: Free
Do you or your students struggle with the basics of composition and writing? The “Language Primer” focuses on the fundamentals, giving you unlimited access to essays, practice drills and feedback. When you’re ready, take the “final exam” for each section to see how much you’ve learned.
Cost: $19.95
This course will show you how to be a better listener.
Cost: Free
Separating fact from opinion and identifying trustworthy news sources online can be challenging. Learn to identify credible news resources and evaluate information you find on the Internet and elsewhere.
Cost: $19.95
News Sense explores the basic building blocks of news stories. You’ll examine the who, what, when, where, why and how of events and see how the answers to those questions shape news coverage.
Cost: Free
Your guide to writing about numbers accurately, ethically and elegantly, with a quick review of how to calculate the basics.
Cost: $19.95
This interactive video course will teach you what you need to know about being a better interviewer and allow you to put those lessons into practice.
Cost: Free
Whether you’re reporting news or telling a story, you know you have to entice your audience instantly. That’s the job of the lead.
Cost: Free
In this five-part module, you’ll learn everything you need to write more effective audio narratives, from generating an idea to recording your story.
Cost: Free