Robots. Automation. Artificial Intelligence. The future of work is changing faster than anyone could have ever predicted. At the same time, access to higher education — a crucial component for connecting students to the jobs of the future — remains out of reach for large sectors of the population, particularly in minority communities.
The Poynter Institute and WorkingNation are partnering to produce workshops in 2018 that help journalists connect advances in technology to their storytelling around the future of work and higher education. These free workshops will offer journalists from around the country the opportunity to investigate these issues and equip journalists with the expertise and connections to better report on them.
“The future of work and the future of higher education are some of the most important issues for local reporters to shed light on. Well-informed community leaders will be able to influence the fitness of their local workforce over the next decade. Uninformed communities will be left behind,” said Poynter vice president Kelly McBride. “Poynter is partnering with WorkingNation to help journalists understand the intricacies of these issues so that they are able to better inform the communities they serve.”
WorkingNation is a national not-for-profit campaign dedicated to preparing the American workforce for the changing employment demands of the U.S. economy. The organization is comprised of talented journalists and media executives, making it uniquely qualified to partner with Poynter to carry out these workshops.
“These workshops represent an important step in improving the awareness and understanding of two issues that will have a growing impact on the lives of millions of Americans,” said Jane Oates, President of WorkingNation. “At no cost to them, reporters of all stripes will walk away with a newfound ability to do reporting they otherwise would not have done, more authoritatively, and with greater potential impact.”
The first workshop, “A Journalist’s Guide to Covering the Future of Work” will take place Sept. 27-28 at the Poynter Institute in St. Petersburg, Fla. and feature the following instructors:
- LinkedIn Co-founder Allen Blue
- PBS NewsHour Weekend anchor Hari Sreenivasan
- Washington Post reporter and author of “Janesville” Amy Goldstein
- Kaplan University Partners President and Gallup Senior Advisor, Brandon Busteed
- Workcred Executive Director Roy Swift
- Jobs for the Future CEO and President Maria Flynn
- Chicago Cook Workforce Partnership CEO Karen Norington-Reaves
- S&P Global Ratings Services Senior Economist, Global Economics and Research, Satyam Panday
- WorkingNation President Jane Oates and Senior Business Correspondent Ramona Schindelheim
During the training events, participants will be confronted with pressing issues surrounding the changing nature of work after high school, and whether communities and civic leaders should design a future post-high-school education system that will prepare citizens for productive work. Topic experts will also train journalists to tell stories that expose the opportunity gaps in the post-high-school education system and how to showcase communities as they search for solutions.
Each workshop will take place over a two-day period with 20 to 35 journalists in attendance, including business, economic, general assignment, enterprise, political and workplace reporters.
The impact of the changing world of work and access to higher education is being felt in all types of communities across the country. For this reason, the training sessions will reach a wide range of journalists, including major metropolitan markets and regional population centers as well as smaller communities.
The tuition-free workshops are made possible by a funding grant from Lumina Foundation, an independent, private foundation in Indianapolis that is committed to making opportunities for learning beyond high school available to all.
Lumina Foundation endowed WorkingNation with a major grant in 2017 to support original video and digital journalism and other efforts that increase awareness and understanding about the future of work.
WHAT: Poynter/WorkingNation: A Journalist’s Guide to Covering the Future of Work
WHERE: The Poynter Institute, St. Petersburg, Fla.
WHEN: September 27-28, 2018
