October Journalist Events Covering AI, Mental Health, Memoir Writing and More
Welcome to Blogger Events, a monthly column of upcoming blogger and journalist events that we think you should know about. Plan even further ahead and bookmark our page with upcoming events for the entire year.
October is full of unique learning opportunities for journalists and bloggers. The topics vary widely and include AI in the newsroom, how to cover vaccines, mental health for journalists, SEO for the news industry and more.
Keep reading to see what’s coming up.
Oct. 1-Dec. 3: AI Training Course
This is a 10-part program from Women in Journalism. Sessions will blend expert-led instruction with real-world examples and hands-on demonstrations to help attendees develop AI skills, ethical awareness and practical tools to succeed in the fast-moving environment. Sessions will cover different AI tools and chatbots, vibe coding, AI workflow hacks and more.
Oct. 6-27: Mining for Memoir
At the end of this four-week virtual workshop led by Poynter’s Director of Craft Kristen Hare, attendees will know how to craft a story only they can tell by selecting the right kind of memoir, conducting research, planning its structure and understanding how to navigate the publishing industry. Sessions will be held Mondays at noon Eastern in October.
Oct. 8: Vaccines in the news: What to cover and how
This webinar from SciLine will “share insights from scientific research on vaccine safety, efficacy, and communication to equip you not just with the information you should include in your stories about vaccines, but also what research indicates are the most effective ways of sharing that information.” Learn what vaccine effectiveness actually means, get tips for vetting science-related claims about vaccines and more.
Oct. 8-10: Mental Health in Journalism Summit
This is the second edition of the Mental Health in Journalism Summit, which is “dedicated to building collective resilience during uncertain times.” Oct. 8 will offer sessions in Spanish, while English sessions will be scheduled for Oct. 9-10. Newsroom managers, editors, reporters, freelancers, media professionals, academics, members of journalism unions and associations, and mental health experts are encouraged to attend.
Oct. 14: How Journalists Can Use Scraping Tools for Environmental Stories
The Pulitzer Center will host this one-hour webinar, which will focus on helping journalists learn to use web scraping techniques to extract, organize and analyze information at scale for their investigations. Learn about web scraping basics, see real-world examples, and discover tools and platforms that don’t require coding experience.
Oct. 15: AI in Action: Transforming Editorial and Commercial Workflows
During this hour-long virtual session from the Online News Association (ONA), speakers from Reuters will share how they are using AI in the newsroom to support their goals, including driving efficiency and creativity, analyzing data, and forecasting performance.
Oct. 23-24: News Reach Conference
This conference is all about SEO for the news industry. SEO experts, publishers and media professionals are invited to attend to learn about strategies for maximum visibility in the digital news universe, new trends (Google News, AI-supported SEO, etc.), and proven methods for success. The event will take place in Dortmund, Germany.
Oct. 23-30: Women and prisons: Covering the impact of incarceration
Sign up now for this free two-part webinar series from Poynter. Attendees will learn about the unique trends, drivers and impacts of female incarceration. They’ll also receive tips for ethical reporting and building trust with sources who have incarcerated loved ones. Hear from sources with extensive experience on the topic and apply for one of five $10,000 reporting grants.
Oct. 28-30: RTDNA Leaders of Tomorrow
RTDNA’s Young Professional Retreat will “bring together talented journalists, teach and train them to develop and grow leadership skills and challenge them to think critically about the future of the profession and how they can help move it forward.” A unique sensory introduction will be followed by sessions on leadership fundamentals, self reflection and goal setting. It will be held in Laurel Park, North Carolina.
Coming in November…
Nov. 6-8: Pinners Conference & Expo (Utah)
Experience 130 classes to learn the latest trends in beauty, fashion, arts and crafts, cooking, and more. This event is a great opportunity for DIY bloggers and writers to get hands-on experience with the topics they cover. The schedule includes sessions on holiday decor, wood burning, color analysis, Canva tips and much more.
Nov. 11-12: JournalismAI Festival
This annual event, supported by the Google News Initiative, invites “journalists, editors, and media leaders to explore how artificial intelligence is transforming newsrooms worldwide.” The in-person event will take place at Prospero House in London, and virtual tickets are also available. The full schedule is not yet available, but some of the early sessions announced include “The Newsroom Singularity: Has AI Become a Co-Author?” and “How Small Newsrooms Can Compete in the AI Arms Race.”
Nov. 13: Establish (or Improve) Your Email Newsletter
Being able to reach your audience directly via a newsletter provides a strong return on investment (both time and money). This 90-minute webinar from Writer’s Digest University will cover best practices for email newsletters, mistakes to avoid, and the pros and cons of popular newsletter platform Substack.
Did we miss an event? Email the team and let us know so we can add it to our full list of upcoming events for journalists and bloggers.
Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.
Rocky Parker is the Manager of Audience and Journalist Engagement at Cision PR Newswire. She's been with the company since 2010 and has worked with journalists and bloggers as well as PR and comms professionals. Outside of work, she can be found trying a new recipe, binging a new show, or cuddling with her pitbull, Hudson.
