The New England First Amendment Coalition launched in 2020 a monthly educational series featuring short, practical lessons on journalism and the First Amendment.
The goal of the program — called “30 Minute Skills” — is to provide reporters and other citizens knowledge they can use immediately in newsgathering, data collection, storytelling and other areas of journalism and First Amendment law.
The lessons are provided in a 30-minute format to accommodate the demanding schedules faced by many working in New England newsrooms.
The program is free and open to the public. Registration for each lesson is required.
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Data Visualization 102
Instructor: Maggie Mulvihill | Boston University
This is the second 30 Minute Skills lesson on data visualization using Flourish, a free tool helpful to those working with large datasets and driving home the visual elements of a story. By viewing this lesson, you’ll learn:
• How to navigate Flourish and use its basic functions.
• How to develop simple visualizations such as charts and maps.
• How to create a searchable database using the software.
Digging Deeper in Broadcast Journalism
Instructor: Kevin Rothstein | WCVB-Boston
Broadcast journalists experience many newsroom demands unique to the industry. This lesson focuses on how anyone involved in gathering information for broadcast news can use investigative techniques in his or her daily work despite the constraints of busy newsrooms and deadline pressures. By viewing this lesson, you’ll learn:
• How to incorporate data into your stories (and convince your editor to let you do so).
• How to use public records to strengthen your reporting.
• How to find exclusives and best pitch them to your manager.
How to Find People Online
Instructor: Izaskun E. Larrañeta | The Day
Whether to locate a hard-to-find source or to dig into the background of someone featured in a story, knowing how to find people online can be an invaluable skill for journalists. By attending this class, you’ll learn:
• What databases — free and paid — are available to help with your search.
• How people can be found through social media accounts.
• Other locations online to find information about potential sources.
How to Interview Hostile Sources
Instructor: Jenifer McKim | GBH News Center for Investigative Reporting
While many difficult interviews can be foreseen, the preparation leading up to them remains crucial and often challenging. Hostile sources can derail an interview — or avoid one altogether — if journalists are not adequately equipped for the confrontation. By viewing this class, you’ll learn:
• How to lay the foundation for a productive interview with a hostile source.
• The strategies needed to keep a confrontational interview safe and on topic.
• Ways to follow up with a hostile source to prevent unnecessary confrontation during future interviews.
Develop a ‘Document State of Mind’
Instructor: Jenifer McKim | GBH News Center for Investigative Reporting
According to investigative journalist James B. Steele, a ‘document state of mind’ is always assuming material with information you need exists and can be found. Reporting with this mindset will not only help you locate difficult-to-find information but it will also strengthen your stories with more context and data. By viewing this class, you’ll learn:
• The principles behind a “document state of mind” and how this perspective can help you.
• Key questions to ask that will lead you to documents and other information necessary for your stories.
• Useful sources of documents and good practices you can immediately incorporate into your reporting.
How to Pitch a Story
Instructor: Maggie Mulvihill | NEFAC, Boston University
Whether you are a student journalist or a seasoned professional, pitching a story can be difficult. It can often be a challenge to anticipate the needs of a particular editor and effectively communicate the value of your story. By viewing this lesson, you’ll learn:
• Why pitching a story is a critical skill for journalists of all backgrounds and employment status.
• How to develop relationships with those who will be considering your pitch.
• How to craft and deliver the most effective pitch for your stories.
How to Invoke the Fair Report Privilege
Instructor: Matthew B. Byrne | Gravel & Shea
According to the First Amendment Encyclopedia, the fair report privilege is a widely recognized, state-law defense to libel actions when journalists report on or republish defamatory statements made by government. By viewing this lesson, you’ll learn:
• How the fair report privilege works and current legal questions about the protection it provides.
• Where to find out if your state has a fair reporting privilege and, if so, its scope of protection.
• Good practices you can begin now to make your reporting more likely covered by the privilege.
Making Democracy Reporting Part of Your Beat
Instructor: Geoff Foster | Common Cause Massachusetts
Coverage of democracy-related issues has found its way across all parts of the newsroom, overlapping with many of the beats assigned to journalists. By viewing this lesson, you will learn:
• How to strengthen your beat coverage with democracy-related stories.
• Potential sources for stories on topics relevant to our democracy.
• Specific democracy-related story ideas that you can immediately begin working on.
Finding High Quality Data for Stories
Instructor: Margot Williams | The Intercept
Before using data cleaning and visualization tools, it’s important to first obtain the most relevant datasets. Your reporting will improve with the quality of the data you use. By viewing this lesson, you will learn:
• How to use tools other than Google to find databases.
• How to find databases from other countries.
• Tips on where to find databases that aren’t online.
Microsoft Excel 102
Instructor: Jenifer McKim | GBH News Center for Investigative Reporting
The first step in database analysis is learning how spreadsheets function and how data can be used to share compelling stories. This is the second of two introductory classes on Microsoft Excel. By viewing this class, you will learn:
• How to create pivot tables from large datasets.
• How to use pivot tables to generate findings for your stories.
• Other basic functions of Excel that can be used to begin database analysis.
How to Balance Newsgathering with Privacy Interests
Instructor: Gregory V. Sullivan | Counsel to Union Leader Corp.
The line between responsible public interest reporting and the invasion of individual privacy can often be difficult to see. By viewing this lesson, you will learn:
• What constitutes “invasion of privacy” under the law.
• The scope of First Amendment protection when reporting in public areas.
• Ways to stay within the legal bounds of privacy when newsgathering.