Research & Centers

Minnesota Journalism Center Events

Other opportunities for learning and connecting — plus Minnesota news organizations' events

The Minnesota Journalism Center maintains a calendar of training events, workshops, conferences and talks from across journalism and beyond — hosted in person and virtually — that might be of interest to Minnesota journalists.

We also maintain a separate calendar of events hosted by news organizations across the state, which journalists in Minnesota can attend for inspiration, information and to cheer each other's efforts.

Subscribe to the training calendar or newsroom events calendar -- or email us to share events you'd like us to add.

Journalists work together at a table during the MJC's inaugural meeting of its nonprofit and member-supported news cohort in February 2025. Photo by Hannah Reynolds | HSJMC
MPR News host Nina Moini  laughs while holding a microphone at a panel event
MPR News health reporter Erica Zurek, serving as a conference mentor, talks to a University of Minnesota student during the NICAR conference in Minneapolis in March 2025. Photo courtesy of Investigative Reporters and Editors
Hackathon teams work together in classrooms during the MJC's AI + Journalism hackathon in January 2025. Photo by Hannah Reynolds | HSJMC
A journalist writes on a giant post-it note during the MJC's JAM kickoff in February 2025.
Public health reporters speak with a microphone at the MJC and HSP-COMM panel about the challenges of public health coverage in local news in March 2025. Photo by Chris Cooper | UMN SPH

Past Minnesota Journalism Center events

A Conversation about the Health of Local News

100 Murphy Hall

And Findings from a New Minnesota Journalism Research Study

Hearts Divided: How Political Polarization Shapes Our Closest Connections

100 Murphy Hall

Presentation by Emily Van Duyn

The 39th Annual Silha Lecture

Cowles Auditorium, West Bank Campus

The Free Speech Recession and How to Reverse It: Five Lessons from History

Election Fact-Checking: Tools and Best Practices

Online via Zoom

In this RTDNA/Google News Initiative training, we’ll explore ways to fight back against misinformation and disinformation during election coverage.

The 80-Year History of the Minnesota Poll

McNamara Alumni Center

Help us dive into the data of one of the longest-running state public opinion surveys in the country.

Designing the Future of Local News: An AI Workshop at the MNA Convention

Brooklyn Park, Minn.

Minnesota journalists: Kick off the year by developing THAT project -- the one you've been dreaming about launching, if only you had the time and resources. Spend an afternoon with the Minnesota Journalism Center, MNA and Hacks/Hackers to turn your Big Idea into a solid plan.

Centering Ethics, Equity, and Audience in Applications of AI: An MNA convention session

Brooklyn Park, Minn.

Headed to the Minnesota Newspaper Association's 2025 convention in January? Join us for a Friday morning panel discussion exploring ways to use AI tools in your newsroom while centering your community's trust.

AI Hackathon: Making Local Civic Information More Accessible in Minnesota Communities

Join us in reimagining how AI can serve Minnesota's communities and strengthen local civic engagement. Together, we can build tools that make local democracy more accessible and participatory for all.

“High Value Lies: Ethics and Undercover Investigations in the Contemporary News Environment”

Coffman Theater

2025 Silha Spring Ethics Forum

Panel: Covering health and health policy in local communities

The Market at Malcolm Yards

Join us for a timely conversation about the challenges and opportunities in covering public health and health policy in local news, with journalists who cover communities across Minnesota -- and beyond.

How local news orgs are reaching younger audiences — and how you can, too [ZOOM]

Online via Zoom

Join the Minnesota Journalism Center's cohort of nonprofit and member-supported news organizations for a noontime conversation about smart approaches to building trust and relevance with young audiences. 

Northern Exposure: A gathering of visual journalists

Murphy Hall

An anything-but-the-same-old conference to talk photography, video and storytelling

A Community Forum: Free Speech and Academic Freedom at Public Universities

Cowles Auditorium and on Zoom

The community forum will provide an opportunity for faculty, staff and students to share their perspectives on recent and emerging threats to the core rights of academic freedom and free speech.

How to access open records – and how to fight back when you're denied [virtual]

Three experts on Minnesota’s open records and meetings laws will walk you through how to identify the records you might need for a story, what to do to get them, how to negotiate costs and what to do when you’re told no.

Symposium on the Role of Journalism in Covering Public Opinion

Murphy Hall, University of Minnesota-Twin Cities

Second in a three-part symposium series commemorating the anniversary of the Minnesota Poll

Dig Deeper: Using Google tools to find and organize information

This in-person workshop is a partnership of the Minnesota Journalism Center, the Minnesota Society of Professional Journalists and the Google News Initiative

Symposium: The Future of State and Local Opinion Research

Third in our three-part series marking 80 years of the Minnesota Poll

Listeners Like Who? Exclusion and resistance in the public radio industry

Sociologist Laura Garbes will discuss her new book, "Listeners Like Who? Exclusion and Resistance in the Public Radio Industry," with Hubbard School assistant professor Carolina Velloso and longtime public radio producer Sam Choo

(In)Justice Series on Data & Power: Who Owns Your Medical Information?

In an era of rapid technological advancement, the lines between improved care, data surveillance, and profit have become increasingly complex. This conversation brings together experts and practitioners to examine how data is collected, shared, and used in the name of public health—and how those practices often deepen existing inequities. From genetic testing kits, wearable fitness trackers, and apps that manage pregnancy or mental health to digital medical records and predictive algorithms, panelists will explore how personal health information is weaponized or commodified, often without true consent or transparency. Together, we will ask: who really owns your health information—and who benefits from it? In a world where patients’ digital medical records are fifty times more valuable than financial information, what does consent look like when data is currency? And how can communities reclaim agency over their own bodies and information in systems that too often exclude or exploit them?

Chile in Their Hearts: A Conversation with journalist John Dinges

Join us for a conversation with journalist John Dinges, one of few American journalists present for the coup in Chile and the establishment of the dictatorship of Gen. Augusto Pinochet. 

Know your rights: Protest safety & police interactions for journalists

As Minnesota journalists prepare for the possibility of National Guard deployments and a possible increase in the presence of federal agents in the state, the Minnesota Journalism Center and the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press are partnering to offer training on journalists’ legal rights and responsibilities.

Marc I. Yarosh Lecture: Journalism Ethics at a Time of Political Violence, with The New York Times' Ernesto Londoño

This new annual Hubbard School lecture series at the puts professional journalists in conversation with students about complex ethical issues that they've encountered in the course of everyday reporting.

(In)Justice Series on Data & Power: Who Gets to Define “Latino”?

What does it mean to be Latino, and who gets to decide? This conversation challenges the flattening of Latinidad in the United States and makes space to explore its complexity, power, and contradiction. Too often, Latino communities are reduced to trauma, immigration headlines, or abstract data. These narratives are real and urgent, but they are incomplete. They reflect the weight we carry but not the worlds we are creating in spite of it. They miss the agency, imagination, and leadership Latines bring to culture, politics, the economy, and daily life. 

Staying safe on any assignment: Situational awareness training for journalists

As Minnesota journalists cover an increase in immigration enforcement across the state, the Minnesota Journalism Center and the International Women's Media Foundation are partnering to offer training on staying safe on any newsroom assignment.

Liberal Arts in Action: Responding to This Historic Moment

Dialogue on the Day of Truth and Freedom

Chat with a safety expert: How editors and news leaders can keep their teams safe

A virtual conversation to support Minnesota editors and news managers as they work to keep their teams safe

Supporting your newsroom in turbulent times: A session for Minnesota journalists

Join the Minnesota Journalism Center and the Global Center for Journalism and Trauma for a one-hour training for Minnesota news managers, editors and peer supporters across the newsroom on how to effectively support trauma-exposed staff and contributors in a trauma-drenched news cycle.

(In)Justice Series on Data & Power: Is AI the Biggest Gatekeeper?

In a world increasingly shaped by algorithms, who gets seen, and who gets erased? From racial bias in image generators like DALL·E and Midjourney to opaque algorithms on platforms like Spotify, TikTok, and Instagram, AI systems are quietly curating our cultural landscape. This means the algorithm—not us—is most frequently the one deciding whose art is visible, whose stories are elevated, and which creators get left behind. This event explores how artificial intelligence is shaping the future of art, culture, and representation, often in ways that reinforce historical bias and gatekeeping.

Trauma-Informed Reporting & Resilience for Student Journalists

How can student journalists cope with stress, trauma and burnout in the face of mounting crises and pressures — while still doing the work of being a student and a journalist?

Reflecting on a crisis, charting a path forward: A resilience workshop for Minnesota journalists

As we navigate this pivot point — taking stock of all that we've seen and experienced, and looking ahead to the next phase of this moment — the Minnesota Journalism Center invites you to spend part of your Saturday morning with other Minnesota journalists for a retreat-style workshop led by the Global Center for Journalism and Trauma (formerly the Dart Center) on Feb. 21.

Covering the Paralympics: A virtual conversation

Join a Paralympian, a sports researcher and a sports journalist for a conversation about inclusive coverage ahead of the Winter Games

Domestic Hostile Environment and First Aid Training for Student Journalists

This intensive, two-day HEFAT training certification course — specifically for University of Minnesota student journalists — is designed to prepare journalists and media professionals for the hazards they may face while working in today’s challenging environments across the United States. 

Domestic Hostile Environment and First Aid Training for Local Journalists

This intensive, two-day HEFAT training certification course is designed to prepare journalists and media professionals for the hazards they may face while working in today’s challenging environments across the United States. 

Two newspaper boxes sit at the entrance to the Brainerd Dispatch newspaper offices in north-central Minnesota.

About the Minnesota Journalism Center

We support more vibrant, equitable and sustainable news ecosystem in Minnesota through educational initiatives, applied research and engagement with journalists and newsrooms across the state.

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