The California Journalism Awards gala will be held July 13 at the Sheraton Universal Hotel in Universal City. In addition to the prestigious ceremony celebrating the best journalism in California over the past year, attendees can look forward to an insightful and engaging lineup of afternoon Knowledge and Networking Sessions.
These sessions are included for free with your California Journalism Awards gala ticket and are a great way to make new connections for your career and take home new ideas for your newsroom.
From 2:30 to 3:30 p.m., you won’t want to miss sessions delving into investigative reporting tactics, defending First Amendment rights, exploring AI applications in journalism, and innovative ideas for sustainable business models.
The Investigative Reporting panel features Pulitzer winner Paul Pringle of the Los Angeles Times, Wendy Fry of CalMatters, Noah Biesiada from the Voice of OC and more. Learn how they tackled ambitious projects and gained organizational support.
Protecting press freedoms is always top of mind, so don’t miss the Fighting for Access panel with the First Amendment Coalition’s legal director, David Loy, Jennifer Upshaw Swartz of the Marin Independent Journal, Alexei Koseff from CalMatters and more discussing navigating obstacles to public information in California.
As artificial intelligence rises, the AI in the Newsroom discussion will unpack emerging AI solutions and use cases from innovators like Tim O’Rourke of Hearst Newspapers, James Tyner of the San Francisco Standard, David Lesher of CalMatters and others.
The New Ideas for Sustainability panel will explore novel revenue models, audience engagement strategies, and more to help newsrooms thrive financially, with voices like Emilie Raguso of The Berkeley Scanner and Eric Johnston, publisher of The Press Democrat.
From 4-5 p.m., additional sessions will dive into engaging audiences off social platforms like WhatsApp and texting, producing high-quality visuals on limited resources, the power of newsroom collaboration, and how philanthropic funders can support journalism.
The engaging afternoon will feature insights on improving visual journalism in small newsrooms from Elodie Maillet Storm of CatchLight Foundation, a discussion on collaboration with Janet Wilson of The Desert Sun, and a look at how philanthropic funders support journalism from Armando Carmona with the Inland Empire Journalism Innovation Hub+Fund and Alma Martinez of the Central Valley Journalism Collaborative.
Don’t miss this incredible afternoon of learning and networking with top journalists and leaders across California before the awards gala that evening, celebrating a year of incredible reporting and storytelling making an impact in our state.
Register today to reserve your spot at what is sure to be an insightful and inspiring event! Visit this page for details.
