Send a team to free training in Connecticut, Oregon or Ohio

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, they will be given ongoing consultation after the training to help you complete a story or investigative project. Please note: Preference will be given to newsroom teams, but individual applicants and freelance journalists are encouraged to apply.

The 2016 workshops will be held in three cities:

• Fairfield, CT at Fairfield University, April 12-13

Application deadline: March 4

• Portland, OR at the University of Oregon, May 4-5

Application deadline: April 1

• Columbus, OH at Otterbein University, May 16-17

Application deadline: April 4

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 Fairfield workshop is March 4, 2016. The deadline for the Portland workshop will be April 1, and the deadline for the Columbus workshop will be April 4. 

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.