Learn to Be a Journalist and Cover Your Community… Sign Up Today!

The Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism’s Somerville News Garden project (in association with our Pandemic Democracy Project) is pleased to launch our new Neighborhood Media School with its first group of classes. Sign up today and learn to tell “fake news” from real news… and write basic articles about your community for local news outlets like DigBoston! 

Due to the coronavirus crisis we are holding the classes online and have opened them up to anyone who is interested. No previous training in media literacy or journalism is required to sign up, although being able to read and write English at the high school level will be necessary to participate. Connect to classes using any computer or smartphone with a camera and mic. Web links for each class will be emailed to registrants just before it begins.

Just click the link below each class to register. People living in the Somerville and Boston, MA, USA areas are especially encouraged to apply. Participants must be 18 or older. 

Civic Media Literacy: Understanding Fake News and Misinformation – June 10, 6:30-8:30 pm

This one-time online class with Gino Canella teaches students to think critically about how news is produced and how it circulates. We will examine the complex media ecosystems in which information moves, and discuss how this environment has enabled the rise of “fake news,” political propaganda, and misinformation. The class also considers how (and if) journalists should respond to the label of “fake news” to protect their professional reputation and journalistic authority. Registration is FREE! Initial class size limited to 12 students. Can add more sections if there’s sufficient interest.

Gino Canella is an assistant professor of journalism at Emerson College. He produces documentary films in collaboration with community groups and researches activist media, social movements, and journalism.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE CIVIC MEDIA LITERACY CLASS:
https://binjonline.z2systems.com/np/clients/binjonline/event.jsp?event=2&

Journalism 101 Series

Learn basic journalism skills with DigBoston editors Chris Faraone and Jason Pramas. These short online classes can be taken separately or altogether. Students who complete all four initial classes and accompanying assignments will have the skills they need to write a short news article—and will receive a certificate of completion. Each class will last 1½ hours. Class assignments will be straightforward (and optional for those who do not want to get a certificate). Registration is FREE! Initial class sizes limited to 15 students. Can add more sections if there’s sufficient interest.

Class 1 – Introduction to Journalism – June 9, 6:30-8 pm

Learn what journalism was historically, what it is now, and where it might be going in the future.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE INTRODUCTION TO JOURNALISM CLASS:
https://binjonline.z2systems.com/np/clients/binjonline/event.jsp?event=7&

Class 2 – Interviewing – June 16, 6:30-8 pm

Talking to people to get information for news articles is generally considered the most important skill for journalism students to master. Learn how to interview a subject and transcribe the conversation for use in news articles.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE INTERVIEWING CLASS:
https://binjonline.z2systems.com/np/clients/binjonline/event.jsp?event=12&

Class 3 – Research and Fact Checking – June 23, 6:30-8 pm

Learn how to do background research and check the facts you discover before publishing your news articles.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE RESEARCH AND FACT CHECKING CLASS:
https://binjonline.z2systems.com/np/clients/binjonline/event.jsp?event=17&

Class 4 – Writing a Basic News Article – June 30, 6:30-8 pm

Learn to put the information you gather together for your news articles into a simple and clear narrative structure—using Associated Press “inverted pyramid” style.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR THE WRITING A BASIC NEWS STORY CLASS:
https://binjonline.z2systems.com/np/clients/binjonline/event.jsp?event=22&

Chris Faraone is DigBoston editor-in-chief and editorial director of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism. He holds an MS in Journalism and has taught journalism at Salem State University and UMassBoston. Jason Pramas is DigBoston executive editor and executive director of the Boston Institute for Nonprofit Journalism. He holds an MFA in Visual Arts and has taught communications and journalism at Lesley University and UMass Boston.