Ideas that challenge / comfort / inspire
Stephen Goforth
While many academics may scorn the idea of outsourcing article summaries to generative AI, a new investigation by researchers at Ontario’s University of Waterloo found peer reviewers rated abstracts written by humans—but paraphrased using generative AI—far more highly than those authored without algorithmic assistance. -Inside Higher Ed
Biden ratchets up AI chip war with China - Axios
AI enters Congress: Sexually explicit deepfakes target women lawmakers – 19th News
The case for a Hippocratic Oath for artificial intelligence – Global Government Forum
U.S. Prepares New AI Chip Restrictions to Close China’s Backdoor Access – Wall Street Journal
Trump names Musk ally David Sacks "AI & crypto czar" to coordinate policy – Axios
AI without limits threatens public trust — here are some guidelines for preserving communications integrity – The Conversation
How US AI policy might change under Trump – MIT Tech Review
What the departing White House chief tech advisor has to say on AI – MIT Tech Review
How do you tame AI? Scientist sees a need for regulating bots like drugs or airplanes - Geekwire
A plan to democratize access to powerful AI tools gets a last-ditch push in Congress – Semafor
Western Europe lags behind the United States in Al and IT spending - McKinsey
Canada launches Canadian Artificial Intelligence Safety Institute – Canada
AI didn’t sway the election, but it’s eroding voters’ grip on reality - The Washington Post
Biden Administration Outlines Government ‘Guardrails’ for A.I. Tools – New York Times
Studies Show AI Triggers Delirium in Leading Experts – Information Technology & Innovation Foundation
Biden’s Farewell to China’s Tech Sector: A New Type of Forbidden Chip - Wall Street Journal
What the US can learn from the role of AI in other elections – MIT Tech Review
Gov. Gavin Newsom vetoes AI safety bill opposed by Silicon Valley – LA Times
Who Will Win the 2024 US Election? We Asked ChatGPT - Newsweek
White House orders Pentagon and intel agencies to increase use of AI – Washington Post
Cognitive Scientist Gary Marcus Says AI Must Be Regulated. He Has a Plan. - Wall Street Journal
Prompt Injection - Like prompt engineering (where a user is good at writing AI prompts), but, in this case, with the goal of working around AI to produce harmful content. Hackers use carefully crafted prompts or text-based instructions to manipulate generative AI systems into sharing sensitive information or perform unintended actions by making the model ignore previous instructions.
More AI definitions here
Publishers are selling papers to train AIs — and making millions of dollars – Nature
Can AI fix the peer review bottleneck? Top journals weigh in - News-Medical.Net
Can Google Scholar survive the AI revolution? - Nature
Rethinking Reviewer Fatigue AI’s place in a broader discussion - EON
Writing assistant, workhorse, or accelerator? How academics are using GenAI – London School of Economics
Can AI review the scientific literature — and figure out what it all means? – Nature
The great AI witch hunt: Reviewers’ perception and (Mis)conception of generative AI in research writing – Science Direct
Can AI be used to assess research quality? – Nature
Scholarly Publishing World Slow to Embrace Generative AI – Inside Higher Education
National Academies President on How to Use Generative AI Responsibly in Scientific Research – JAMA
Study of ChatGPT citations makes dismal reading for publishers – Tech Crunch
Experts fail to reliably detect AI-generated histological data – Nature
AI-authored abstracts ‘more authentic’ than human-written ones – Times Higher Ed
AI’s computing gap: academics lack access to powerful chips needed for research – Nature
AI-generated survey responses could make research less accurate – and a lot less interesting – Stanford
The sheriff’s department in a country just southwest of Nashville has deployed AI-powered dashcams despite the limited budget for law enforcement in the sparsely populated county, according to GovTech. Meanwhile, police in a California town are using AI tech “to transcribe video recordings taken on officers' body-worn cameras and create a first draft of a police report,” according to another GovTech report.
Should You Write with Gen AI – Harvard Business Review
To Use AI or Not to Use AI? A Student’s Burden – Inside Higher Ed
The distinct human writer becomes more essential – Harvard’s Nieman Lab
How Indigenous engineers are using AI to preserve their culture – NBC News
Harvard Is Releasing a Massive Free AI Training Dataset of nearly 1 million public-domain books – Wired
How to identify AI-generated text: 7 ways to tell if content was made by a bot – Mashable
Over half of longer English-language posts on LinkedIn are AI-generated – Wired
TV Writers Found 139,000 of Their Scripts Trained AI – The Ankler
Is Grammarly AI? Notre Dame Says Yes – Inside Higher Ed
Stanford Professor Accused of Using AI to Write Expert Testimony Criticizing Deepfakes – Gizmodo
AI Companies Are Trying to Get MIT Press Books – 404Media
There’s No Longer Any Doubt That Hollywood Writing Is Powering AI – The Atlantic
What genre of writing is AI-generated poetry? - Statistical Modeling, Causal Inference, and Social Science
What Kind of Writer Is ChatGPT? – New Yorker
HarperCollins Confirms It Has a Deal to Sell Authors' Work to AI Company - 404Media
Why Watermarking Text Fails to Stop Misinformation and Plagiarism – Data Innovation
National Novel Writing Month faces backlash over allowing AI: What to know – Washington Post
How to Tell If What You're Reading Was Written By AI - Lifehacker
Can a Start-Up Help Authors Get Paid by A.I. Companies – New York Times
Google unveils invisible ‘watermark’ for AI-generated text – Nature
The Difference Between Editing Human vs AI Writing - Rebecca Dugas on Substack
Writer Ted Chiang on AI and grappling with big ideas – NPR
AI is My Research & Writing Partner. Should I disclose it? – Wired
Writers Guild Calls on Studios to Take “Immediate Legal Action” Against AI Companies – Hollywood Reporter
You can now ask Claude to mimic your writing style – Tech Radar
University of Reading researchers “slipped 63 AI-generated submissions into the school’s examination system. Even with no editing or efforts to hide the AI usage, 94 percent of those went undetected, and nearly 84 percent got better grades than a randomly selected group of students who took the same exam. The issue with such tools is that they usually perform well in a lab, but their performance drops significantly in the real world. ArsTechnica
What: This webinar series will help you discover open and hidden sources, refine your investigative skills, and learn how to navigate information challenges in climate journalism.
Who: Iryna Ponedelnik Project Manager
When: 6 am, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Network for Border Crossing Journalism
What: We'll explore the fascinating neuroscience behind chatbot learning, walk you through the step-by-step process of designing your own chatbot, and equip you with essential dos and don'ts for effective implementation.
Who: Margie Meacham is an expert in adapting AI technology to accelerate learning and support performance. She teaches training organizations around the world how to leverage AI for education and training.
When: 3 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Training Magazine Network
What: This webinar series will help you discover open and hidden sources, refine your investigative skills, and learn how to navigate information challenges in climate journalism.
Who: Iryna Ponedelnik Project Manager
When: 6 am, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Network for Border Crossing Journalism
What: Share your questions about Bluesky, what you’re thinking about in this space, the successes/challenges of your experimentation on it.
Who: Bluesky’s Emily Liu
When: 4 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Online News Association
The GPT era is already ending something has shifted at OpenAI – The Atlantic
Harvard Is Releasing a Massive Free AI Training Dataset of nearly 1 million public-domain books – Wired
Their Job Is to Push Computers Toward AI Doom – Wall Street Journal
Google Unveils A.I. Agent That Can Use Websites on Its Own – New York Times
Former OpenAI researcher raises $40 million to build more empathetic audio AI – Reuters
Meta rolls out internal AI tool as it pushes into business market – Financial Times
Perplexity expands its publisher program – Tech Crunch
The UC Berkeley Project That Is the AI Industry’s Obsession – Wall Street Journal
The Furious Contest to Unseat Nvidia as King of A.I. Chips – New York Times
OpenAI looks at chatbot ads – Axios
Amazon Announces Supercomputer, New Server Powered by Homegrown AI Chips – Wall Street Journal
OpenAI explores advertising as it steps up revenue drive – Financial Times
Amazon eyes news partners for revamped AI Alexa voice assistant – Axios
Labelers training AI say they're overworked, underpaid & exploited by big US tech companies - CBS News
Who's winning the AI race – Axios
OpenAI hits pause on video model Sora after artists leak access in protest – Washington Post
The AI War Was Never Just About AI – The Atlantic
Stanford’s AI Center names US the top AI ecosystem, China follows – Semafor
The future of Windows is cloud and AI – The Verge
TV Writers Found 139,000 of Their Scripts Trained AI – The ankler
Five Canadian news media outlets sue OpenAI for copyright breach – Al Jazeera
Biden’s Farewell to China’s Tech Sector: A New Type of Forbidden Chip - Wall Street Journal
Researchers Use AI To Turn Sound Recordings Into Accurate Street Images – University of Texas
Samsung has developed an audio eraser feature for smartphones that will allow users to erase unwanted sounds from videos – Data Company
Former OpenAI researcher raises $40 million to build more empathetic audio AI – Reuters
The Most Hyped Bot Since ChatGPT Remember Sora? – The Atlantic
OpenAI’s video generator, Sora, aims to kickstart the AI video era – Washington Post
NVIDIA's new AI model Fugatto can create audio from text prompts & modify existing sound files - Engadget
Randy Travis’s beautiful baritone was lost. AI helped him sing again. - Washington Post
Polish radio station ditches DJs, journalists for AI-generated college kids – The Register
Adobe Firefly Video Model: How AI is Changing the Future of Video Editing - Unite
There’s a New Hit Podcast That Will Blow Your Mind: The hosts aren’t human. – Wall Street Journal
Podcast: AI and Voice Replication - Illusion of More
Adobe’s AI video model is here, and it’s already inside Premiere Pro – The Verge
Talking through AI and the future of music with will.i.am – Semafor
Amazon is allowing Audible narrators to clone themselves with AI - The Verge
This Hit Music Radio Station Is Fully AI-Generated – Radio World
Amazon's AI Generator Tool Can Now Create Audio Ads – AdWeek
How To Create And Customize An AI Podcast With Google’s NotebookLM – Forbes
Zoom will let AI avatars talk to your team for you - The Verge
Mariah Carey Responds to Claims Her Spotify Wrapped Video Was Made With AI – Hollywood Reporter
Natural language processing - This is type of machine learning that makes human language intelligible to the machines. The first step is tokenization. Text is divided into units called tokens and then transformed into vectors—where the words are represented by numbers. These word vectors are lists of numbers. More than 1,000 numbers can be used to represent a single word—meaning that word vector has a high dimension—it’s very nuanced. A low dimension for a word vector means the list of numbers is low—not as nuanced but easier to work with. A deep learning model (typically a transformer model) uses these vectors to understand the meaning of words and determine how they relate to one other. For instance, king would relate to man while queen would relate to woman.
More AI definitions here
For the foreseeable future, we’ll still need pro video editors who master the technical details of visual storytelling. But for many everyday situations — trimming a meeting recording, pulling social media clips, or gathering quick highlights — natural language editing may soon be a widely-adopted accelerator of the process. It’s not mature yet, but it’s poised to make video editing accessible to everyone who can describe what they want. AI is beginning to democratize creative work that used to require technical expertise.
Jeremy Caplan of WonderTools
What: Learn: What to expect when working as an independent photographer. How you can attract clients and build your portfolio. The best business practices for new freelance photographers.
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: The New England First Amendment Coalition
What: Ways that teachers can build classroom structures and culture that promote the ethical use of AI.
Who: Paul Cancellieri, a National Board-Certified science teacher.
When: 3 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Solution Tree, Education Week
What: Hear from a panel of accomplished alumni discussing their work within the field of writing, editing, and publishing, including advice on getting hired and rewards and challenges of the industry. Participate in a lively Q&A session with the full range of panelists. Engage in interactive breakout sessions for personalized advice and valuable networking.
Who: Lucy Feldman, Senior Editor at TIME; Suzy Becker, Author & Illustrator; Natasha Noel AM Writer, Poet & Educational Leader; Taylor Michael Freelance Journalist & Adjunct Instructor.
When: 6 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Brown University Women's Network (BWN) and the Women's Launch Pad
What: A webinar looking at how journalists can make use of technologies and techniques within forensic audio analysis to enhance their investigations.
Who: Founder and Director of Investigations of Earshot, Lawrence Abu Hamdan; Beauregard Tromp,
convenor of the African Investigative Journalism Conference.
When: 7 am, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: The Wits Centre for Journalism, International Fund for Public Interest Media
What: Three senior reporters based in countries that have faced key elections during 2024 will discuss innovative techniques, cross-border collaborations, and the critical importance of investigative journalism in fostering transparency and accountability in elections. The panel will address why investigative journalists should remain hopeful and how their work is more essential than ever to protect the integrity of democracies worldwide.
Who: Poonam Agarwal is an acclaimed investigative journalist from India; Ewald Scharfenberg is an award-winning investigative journalist and co-founder of Armando.info, a leading investigative journalism outlet in Venezuela; Thandi Smith has worked for Media Monitoring Africa for about 12 years and is currently Head of Programmes for the organization; The moderator is Sheila Coronel, director of the Stabile Center for Investigative Journalism at Columbia Journalism School and a pioneering investigative journalist from the Philippines.
When: 9 am, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Global Investigative Journalism Network
What: Discover how AI is shaping the future of marketing, from content to experience and everything in between. You’ll find out: What brand-aware AI is, and how to leverage it for better content; Strategies to enhance your brand voice, rather than flatten it, using AI; Tips for integrating this approach into your existing workflows.
Who: Michele Fisher, Global Director, Business Strategy, Microsoft; Kelly Masters Senior Product Marketing Manager, Sitecore.
When: 1 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: AdWeek
What: The December meeting of the AI Innovator Collaborative, a regular gathering for ONA members already using AI in journalism to connect and share ideas.
When: 3 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free to ONA members
Sponsor: Online News Association
What: Global trust in news, the pace of technological change and the future of journalism.
Who: Bill Gross CEO, ProRata & Chair, Idealab; Faye D’Souza Journalist & Entrepreneur.
When: 10:30 am, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Washington Post, The Ey Organization
What: We will explore what conversational AI is as well as the risks, benefits, and considerations when utilizing this technology. Key learning objectives for this session include: Understanding what conversational AI is and looking at examples, such as ChatGPT; Recognizing what responsible use of conversational AI looks like; Identifying strategies for educating adult patrons about the implications of using conversational AI.
Who: Michael Spikes, Director of the Teach for Chicago Journalism project and a lecturer at Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism; Kristen Calvert serves as the Events & Programs Administrator for Dallas Public Library.
When: 1 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: American Library Association
What: We'll explore the fascinating neuroscience behind chatbot learning, walk you through the step-by-step process of designing your own chatbot, and equip you with essential dos and don'ts for effective implementation.
Who: Margie Meacham is an expert in adapting AI technology to accelerate learning and support performance. She teaches training organizations around the world how to leverage AI for education and training.
When: 3 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Training Magazine Network
What: How to integrate new technologies like virtual reality, 3D printing, and podcasting equipment to foster equitable content creation. The session will highlight ways to ensure these technologies are accessible to all users and how they can be used to elevate underrepresented voices in media production. Following the presentation, attendees will join breakout rooms for further discussion and connection.
Who: Paris Whalon is the Student Success Librarian for Media Literacy at the University of Tennessee, Knoxville.
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Media Education Lab
What: We’ll explore ways to fight back against misinformation and disinformation during post-election coverage. We’ll use tools such as Google Fact-Check Explorer to track fact-checked images and stories. We’ll use reverse image search and other Google tools to check election claims. We’ll break down doctored video and audio with WatchFramebyFrame and Deepfake-o-meter. We’ll also look at the innovative Rolliapp.com to track disinformation spreaders on social channels. Participants get a handout with links to tools and exercise materials.
Who: Mike Reilley Senior Lecturer, University of Illinois-Chicago.
When: 3 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: RTDNA/Google News Initiative
What: Members of the National Council of Innovative Instructional Leaders will identify challenges, offer suggestions, and discuss the necessary mindsets and critical components of a successful AI launch and implementation. They’ll also highlight key takeaways from NCIIL’s recent report, Shaping Education for Generation Alpha in an Era of AI.
Who: Jeff McCoy, Associate Superintendent for Academics, Greenville County Schools (SC); Kimberley Markus, CEO, Education Advisors; Casey Rimmer, Executive Director of K-12 Curriculum and Instruction, Union County Public Schools (NC); Shawn Bird, Deputy Superintendent, San Antonio Independent School District (TX); and Jennifer Ferrari, CEO and President, ERDI.
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Education Research and Development Institute
What: This session will provide valuable insights into the current media landscape, Gen Z’s news consumption habits, and practical strategies for local newsrooms and independent publishers to effectively reach and engage this crucial demographic.
Who: Award-winning journalist and digital consultant Adriana Lacy.
When: 2 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free (though you have to sign up for a newsletter)
Sponsor: Indiegraf
What: Should educators adapt and find ways to increasingly incorporate generative AI in the classroom? How do schools educate students about this ever-growing technology, its language models, prompt engineering, and the possible positive uses? Should an “Introduction to AI” course be incorporated into curricula? If so, what would be its content? We will explore these emerging questions during this session.
Who: Karen Rezach, Director of the Ethics Institute, Kent Place School (NJ); Kimberly Pearson, Director of Technology, Kent Place School (NJ); and a Panel of High School Students.
When: 3 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: The Ethics Institute at Kent Place School, Artificial Intelligence in Education
What: This session is designed to show you how to harness the power of ChatGPT, an advanced AI language model, to craft compelling gamification concepts and storylines that captivate your audience.
Who: Monica Cornetti, Founder and President, Sententia Inc.; Rasha Morsi, Ph.D. Professor of Computer Science and Director of the Creative Gaming and Simulation (CGS) Lab, Norfolk State University; Musbah Abdulgader, Ph.D. Assistant Professor, Norfolk State University.
When: 3 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Training Magazine Network
What: How to recognize the types of online harassment journalists face most often; When to ignore online harassment and when to take action; What to do when online harassment crosses into illegal territory; Steps you can take right now to help protect your digital presence.
Who: Tat Bellamy-Walker, Program Manager of Digital Safety Training and Resources (Media) at PEN America; María Salazar Ferro, Director of Newsroom Safety and Resilience at The New York Times; Greg Lipper, a D.C.-based litigator with extensive experience in criminal defense and investigations, and First Amendment and media law.
When: 11 am, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: National Press Club Journalism Institute
What: Learn how to find work in content marketing, branding, communications and other fields that are adjacent to journalism, and how to adjust to the different demands of this work. Panelists will discuss how to network to good clients, handling yourself ethically, and what kinds of organizations are eager to hire journalists
Who: Ricardo Baca, founder and CEO of Grasslands; Mary Melton, Editor-at-Large, Alta Journal; Stacy Brooks Whatley, Chief Communications & Marketing Officer, American Counseling Association.
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: The Institute for Independent Journalists
AI scans RNA ‘dark matter’ and uncovers 70,000 new viruses – Nature
AI could soon be making major scientific discoveries. A machine could even win a Nobel Prize one day – The Conversation
AI's scientific path to trust – Axios
AI-Assisted Genome Studies Are Riddled with Errors – The Scientist
AI helps scientists track ‘twangy’ whales – Washington Post
Unleashing the power of AI in science-key considerations for materials data preparation - Nature
AI scientists are producing a host of new theories of how our brains learn – The Economist
Ex-Meta scientists debut gigantic AI protein design model - Nature
AI model harnesses physics to autocorrect remote sensing data - Phys.org
Could science be fully automated? A team of machine-learning researchers has now tried. - Nature
A new ‘AI scientist’ can write science papers without any human input. Here’s why that’s a problem – The Conversation
How do you tame AI? Scientist sees a need for regulating bots like drugs or airplanes - Geekwire
AI-generated images threaten science — here’s how researchers hope to spot them – Nature
Japanese scientists were pioneers of AI, yet they’re being written out of its history - The Conversation
AI System Spots Early Warning Signs Of Alzheimer’s Through Mouse Behavior – Science Blog
“Tricking an AI detector into labeling human-written content as machine-made is surprisingly simple. With just a little rephrasing, what was previously flagged with "100% confidence" as AI-generated can suddenly be labeled ‘Likely original.’" -Mashable
AI Jesus' avatar tests man's faith in machines and the divine – Associated Press
We need to start wrestling with the ethics of AI agents – MIT Tech Review
Military takes on question of when AI is the right thing to do – Military Aerospace
The Technology for Autonomous Weapons Exists. What Now? – Undark
OpenAI is funding Duke University to research ‘AI morality’ – Tech Crunch
An Introduction to Explainable AI (XAI) – KD Nuggets
Mickey Mouse Smoking: How AI Image Tools Are Generating New Content-Moderation Problems – Wall Street Journal
AI firms must play fair when they use academic data in training – Nature
Is Using AI tools innovation or exploitation? 3 ways to think about the ethics – The Conversation
Publication Ethics in the Era of Artificial Intelligence – Journal of Korean Medical Science
Police officers are starting to use AI chatbots to write crime reports. Will they hold up in court? – Associated Press
Shedding light on AI's black box – Axios
End-of-life decisions are difficult and distressing. Could AI help? – MIT Tech Review
UN adopts first resolution on artificial intelligence - AP
How Pope Francis became the AI ethicist for world leaders and tech titans – Washington Post
AI models can vastly increase job candidate pools. It might also improve diversity. – Semafor
Can AI police itself? Experts say chatbots can detect each other’s gaffes. – Washington Post
Is AI my co-author? The ethics of using artificial intelligence in scientific publishing – Taylor & Francis
When it comes to using AI in journalism, put audience and ethics first - Poynter
The role of legal teams in creating AI ethics guardrails – Legal Dive
New Book Explores Promise and Perils of AI for Scientific Community – Annenberg Public Policy Center
AI without limits threatens public trust — here are some guidelines for preserving communications integrity - The Conversation
"Half of all men reported having used generative AI over the previous 12 months, while only 37% of women did. Studies show that women are less likely to trust technology and that men are more likely to be confident in their tech savvy." -Bloomberg
Three experts discuss the rise of low-quality content and its implications for the profession, the news industry and the public sphere. – Reuters Institute
Discussing the future of journalism: From conflict to AI – Vatican News
The AI Reporter That Took My Old Job Just Got Fired – Wired
Creating an AI chatbot to speak to a country’s budget – Reuters Institute
Particle launches an AI news app to help publishers, instead of just stealing their work – Tech Crunch
The Washington Post's new generative A.I. tool, "Ask The Post" – Washington Post
AI firms need media more than they admit – Axios
'Garbage in, garbage out': AI fails to debunk disinformation, study finds – VOA News
How Journalism Groups in Africa Are Building AI Tools to Aid Investigations and Fact-Checking – Global Investigative Journalism Network
Using AI to sift through federal regulations for news tips – Fast Company
94% of people want journalists to disclose their use of Al – Trusting News
Using AI in PR: Experts explain how AI is enhancing PR workflows – Muckrock
When it comes to using AI in journalism, put audience and ethics first - Poynte
Three predictions about AI’s impact on FOIA and how you can help – Muckrock
How is AI being used in journalism? – IBM
Lawrence student journalists recognized for fighting district’s use of AI surveillance – Lawrence Times
Five Canadian news media outlets sue OpenAI for copyright breach – Al Jazeera
Study of ChatGPT citations makes dismal reading for publishers – Tech Crunch
“Researchers and religious leaders released findings from a two-month experiment through art in a Catholic chapel in Switzerland, where an avatar of "Jesus" on a computer screen, tucked into a confessional, took questions by visitors on faith, morality and modern-day woes, and offered responses based on Scripture. Those behind the project said it was largely a success: Visitors often came out moved or deep in thought, and found it easy to use.” -Associated Press
What: We’ll examine the falsehoods that gained momentum in the weeks leading up to the general election and those that have emerged in its aftermath. Drawing from both recent and historical examples, we’ll explore how conspiracy theories influence democratic processes, public trust, and media coverage. Through the lens of media literacy and critical thinking strategies like the SIFT framework, participants will engage with the broader cultural and political impacts of these narratives and discuss tools for navigating misinformation in a polarized landscape.
Who: Wesley Fryer, STEM and media literacy teacher
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Media Education Lab
What: Expertise on creating impactful short-form videos. Learn how to: Use Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts to grow your audience. Create engaging video content that boosts brand visibility. Apply practical techniques for effective video marketing.
Who: Junior Consultant & Photography Expert Gabriela Fialova and Junior Consultant & Digital Content Team Coordinator Austin Moyer.
When: 5 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Small Business Development Center, Widener University
What: Go behind the scenes of the project, that explores the state of ocean reporting, identifies gaps in media coverage, and proposes new ways to enhance storytelling. What environmental editors look for in stories, and explore how to engage audiences with compelling ocean storytelling.
Who: Benji Jones, an environmental journalist and photographer based in New York; Jennifer Adler, an underwater photojournalist based in California; Jessica Aldred runs the Pulitzer Center's ocean reporting fellowships and grants program; Paige Vega, Vox's climate editor.
When: 11 am, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Pulitzer Center
What: Discover how AI tools can improve your nonprofit's website experience and marketing strategy.
Who: Jon Hill, Tapp Network Web Project Manager; Tareq Monuar, Web Developer
When: 1 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: TechSoup
What: Learn more about potential impacts of GenAI on search and discovery and Elsevier’s GenAI literacy program.
Who: Emily Singley Vice President, North American Library Relations Elsevier; Pam Vitu Manager, Customer Engagement Marketing Elsevier; Lingni Zhou Director Product Management Elsevier.
When: 1 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Elsevier
What: This workshop will demonstrate how instructors can enhance writing and research with more effective and comprehensive searches. Participants will need a smart device to explore AI tools such as Perplexity, Consensus, ChatGPT, and Claude along with the session facilitators.
Who: Maria Barefoot Associate Librarian and Online Learning Librarian, University of Delaware; AI Literacy & Content Creation, University of Delaware.
When: 1 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: University of Delaware
What: Explore the basic principles and pillars of solutions journalism, talk about why it’s important, explain key steps in reporting a solutions story, and share tips and resources for journalists interested in investigating how people are responding to social problems. We will also explore additional resources we have on hand for your reporting, including the Solutions Story Tracker, a database of more than 15,000 stories tagged by beat, publication, author, location, and more, a virtual heat map of what’s working around the world.
When: 6 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Solutions Journalism
What: In this workshop, you’ll learn how to leverage ChatGPT to develop rubrics that directly align with your assignment instructions. We’ll ensure that students can easily see the connection between the assignment directions and the rubric criteria, with all requirements clearly reflected in both.
Who: Rachel Lapp, Instructional Designer, University of Delaware,
When: 10 am, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: University of Delaware
What: This is a session for journalism educators and advisors to have a dialogue on how to share criminal justice datasets and reporting resources with student journalists, so they can hit the ground running on topics such as: Conditions in jails and prisons, The political opinions of incarcerated people, Correctional officer shortages, Book bans behind bars.
Who: David Eads, Data Editor, The Marshall Project; Nicole Lewis, Engagement Editor, The Marshall Project.
When: 12 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: The Marshall Project, the Student Press Law Center and the Center for Community News at the University of Vermont.
What: A discussion of the best tactics for podcast growth. Get an exclusive look at The Podglomerate's tried-and-true playbook (used for their acclaimed podcast clients like PBS, Netflix, and Harvard) for optimized podcast publicity, marketing, cross-promotions, app features, and paid acquisition.
Who: Webby Award-winning judge Joni Deutsch, SVP of Marketing & Audience Development at The Podglomerate; Nick Borenstein, General Manager, Webby Award
When: 1 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Webby Awards
What: Abusive trolls are joining forces to disproportionately target writers and journalists to intimidate, discredit, and silence. Each and every one of us can be an ally. Join for this interactive training, where we’ll give you the tools you need to intervene safely and effectively when you witness online abuse.
Who: Gisela Pérez de Acha Consultant and Trainer, Online Abuse Defense Program; Amelia Prochaska Training and Facilitation Specialist, Right to Be.
When: 2 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: PEN America and Right To Be
What: In this webinar, we will share how the power of storytelling in tandem with tailored, targeted messaging can help you reach the right audience with your mission to help you fundraise and build loyalty in your community year round. We will also show you the Constant Contact tools you can use to segment and grow your list and discuss how to use AI and multichannel campaigns to reach them at the right place and the right time.
Who: Thomas Nettesheim, Constant Contact Partner Success Manager and Sales Engineer
When: 2 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: TechSoup
What: How to create a consistent brand experience across both digital and physical platforms. You’ll learn: How to maintain brand consistency across various channels. Best practices for aligning digital and offline branding. Ways to enhance customer trust and recognition through cohesive branding.
Who: Branding Specialist Ricky Fitts, Social Media Specialist Casey Remolde.
When: 5 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Small Business Development Center, Widener University
What: Hear from newsrooms from the U.S. and Canada that use API’s Metrics for News (MFN) to launch new products, present journalism in new formats, stop producing what isn’t working and improve reader experiences.
Who: Erin Lebar, Manager of Audience Engagement for News, Winnepeg Free Press; Elizabeth Couch, Director of Audience Engagement, Crain’s City Brands; headshot of Liz Worthington Liz Worthington Director of Product Strategy, American Press Institute.
When: 12:30 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: American Press Institute
What: The impact of AI across industries and the race for global technological primacy.
Who: Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar, Runway CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela and top economic experts.
When: 4:30 Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: The Washington Post
What: The impact of AI across industries and the race for global technological primacy.
Who: Palantir CTO Shyam Sankar, Runway CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela, McKinsey Global Institute director Kweilin Ellingrud and New York University Stern School of Business chief AI architect Conor Grennan
When: 4:30 pm, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Washington Post, IBM
What: This webinar is designed for reporters interested in getting started but with minimal or no knowledge of AI. We will dissect what makes a good AI accountability story, from quick turnarounds to more ambitious investigations, and dig deeper into a few examples.
Who: Gabriel Geiger, an Amsterdam-based investigative journalist specializing in surveillance and algorithmic accountability reporting.
When: 3:30 am, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: Pulitzer Center and the Arab Reporters for Investigative Journalism
What: This virtual briefing will help journalists understand the post-election milestones and planning requirements that presidents-elect must follow to ensure a smooth, effective transfer of power — and what happens when the incoming administration has not followed the traditional process.
Who: Max Stier, founding president and CEO of the Partnership for Public Service; Valerie Smith Boyd, director of the Center for Presidential Transition.
When: 11 am, Eastern
Where: Zoom
Cost: Free
Sponsor: National Press Club, The Partnership for Public Service
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