Apply now for free training in LA, Omaha and Atlanta

Do you have reporters or editors on your staff who would benefit from training to help them produce enterprise and investigative stories?

Thanks to a grant from Sigma Delta Chi Foundation, the Society for Professional Journalists (SPJ) is working with Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) and the New England Center for Investigative Reporting (NECIR) to offer a two-day Watchdog Reporting Workshop for journalists from your region.

We're looking for two reporters, editors or producers from your newsroom who you believe have the desire and the potential to do in-depth investigative stories. No previous investigative reporting experience necessary. This workshop will teach the basics including how to mine the internet for information that leads to compelling stories, how to crunch data, how to conduct an investigative interview and how to investigate businesses and nonprofits.

If your team is chosen, there will be ongoing story consulting to help you complete a project.

Workshops will be held in three cities: Los Angeles, at the University of Southern California, on April 9-10; Omaha, at the University of Nebraska-Omaha, on May 11-12; and Atlanta on June 16-17. The sessions and the follow-up training are free, thanks to the support from Sigma Delta Chi Foundation. You'll be responsible for any travel costs.

To nominate a team for this opportunity, complete this form. The deadline for the Los Angeles workshop will be by the end of the day March 22, 2015. The deadline for the Omaha workshop will be April 12; the deadline for the Atlanta workshop will be May 7.

In your application, you'll be asked to list a specific project you would like to work on following the workshop. Please be as specific as you can, as we want to ensure that we work with news organizations that not only desire to do better work, but are committed to the effort.