A new year, a renewed sense of service
Like you, the Journalism Institute team started 2021 with renewed resolve and the hope this year will bring with it a sense of, well, normalcy. The new year also gave us a chance to reflect on what we bring forward from 2020: opportunities to connect with professionals in our field (like you!), a challenge to find new ways to serve as your needs evolve, and a chance to reinforce our core values (despite being pulled apart by physical distance),

Thank you for helping to shape the Journalism Institute's work, through participating in our programming and training, through sharing your experiences in our daily newsletter, The Latest, and for standing up for press freedom when it is most needed. We are here for you — please let us know what is on your mind and how we can be of service to you.

Senior Director
PROGRAMS AND EVENTS
COMING UP
Visual journalists have been on the front lines of the pandemic, injured at protests and attacked at the Capitol insurrection. Holding a camera makes those who are reporting on events a visible target for law enforcement or people angry at the media. And working remotely is not an option when you’re the community’s eyes and ears at the scene. So how do we care for photojournalists facing more pressure than ever under exhausting and dangerous circumstances? 

Join the National Press Club Journalism Institute and the National Press Photographers Association for honest answers to this question from visual journalists who understand the challenges and importance of capturing history.

Date: Friday, February 12, 2021
Time: 11:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m. EST

The panel will feature: 

Participants will leave the program with:
  • An understanding of how trauma affects visual journalists and how to provide support
  • Practical guidance for staying safe
  • Tips for active allyship and diversifying storytelling
PROGRAM HIGHLIGHT: COVID vaccine – How to communicate reliably and combat disinformation with Jesse Holland, Nick Sugai, Susan Winckler, and Alison Fitzgerald Kodjak (January 2021)
IN CASE YOU MISSED IT

You can find videos of previous programs on the Institute’s website. Our most recent include:  


WHAT DO YOU WANT TO LEARN?

As we narrow in on educational programs and workshops the Institute will coordinate in 2021, we’d like your feedback on your professional development needs. Please respond to this short survey to give us your input.

WRITING GROUP MEETS MONDAYS, WEDNESDAYS

Writing Through, the Institute's weekly writing group, provides a space for writers from multiple genres to find feedback, prompts to inspire regular writing habits, and a sense of community that had gone missing in the pandemic environment. We invite you to join this community of nonfiction writers, which meets 11:30 a.m. to noon ET Mondays and Wednesdays. Whether you hope to turn a journal entry into a personal essay, you’re a newsroom journalist who wants to improve your work, a memoirist, a biographer, a historian — whatever your preferred nonfiction form of writing, all are welcome. If you’d like to join, please email jmoos@press.org. 

HELP FUND OUR PROGRAMMING

Since the COVID-19 pandemic began, the National Press Club Journalism Institute has waived registration fees for all programs — saving participants tens of thousands of dollars. Donate today to help us continue these important discussions and training sessions.
PRESS FREEDOM
Fallen Journalist Memorial Act becomes law
Work to fund and build the first national monument honoring journalists killed because of their work is under way after the bipartisan Fallen Journalists Memorial Act was signed into law on Dec. 24. 

The Fallen Journalists Memorial Act — passed by Congress on Dec. 2 — authorizes the Fallen Journalists Memorial Foundation to begin planning and raising funds for the memorial’s construction, which will be the first of its kind in the nation’s capital.

"The memorial will honor the reporters, photojournalists, producers, editors and others who have died while performing their jobs as journalists," said David Dreier, Chairman of the Fallen Journalists Memorial (FJM) Foundation. "It will demonstrate to our citizens and to visitors from around the world that our country values a free press, honors the sacrifices of journalists and supports the family, friends and colleagues of the fallen."

The FJM Foundation will lead a multi-year process to raise funds to design, develop, construct and maintain the memorial in compliance with the Commemorative Works Act of 1986, which established detailed standards and procedures for new memorials on federal land. 

The FJM Foundation operates under the auspices of the National Press Club Journalism Institute. For more information, visit fallenjournalists.org. 
Post offers #FreeAustinTice bracelets

The Washington Post Press Freedom Partnership is making its #FreeAustinTice bracelets available free to individuals through The Washington Post Store. To order a free bracelet, click here.
 
The bracelets are part of a campaign again calling for the safe release of American journalist and Marine veteran Austin Tice, who was detained while reporting in Syria more than eight years ago. The partnership, which includes the National Press Club, is encouraging supporters from around the world to support this effort by taking a picture of their bracelet and sharing it on social with the hashtag #FreeAustinTice. Read the full announcement here.

Podcast: Journalism under siege and the struggle for press freedom

Journalism Institute Executive Director Julie Moos discussed current press freedom issues, such as the invasion of the Capitol by domestic terrorists, and the risks faced by reporters in today’s environment on "C-suite Blueprint Radio" this month. "It's a more dire situation than it has been ever before," Moos said. Listen to the recording for more.

Institute active in calling for accountability, access

Press freedom is at the core of Institute work. The Institute and the National Press Club jointly issued 26 statements in 2020 calling for the removal of press freedom barriers and supporting journalists in peril. This year, those include calling for criminal investigations into those responsible for violence and threats against journalists during the Jan. 6, 2021, attack on the U.S. Capitol. 
The National Press Club Journalism Institute promotes an engaged global citizenry through an independent and free press, and equips journalists with skills and standards to inform the public in ways that inspire civic engagement. As the non-profit of the National Press Club, the Institute serves as a beacon for journalism in the public interest.