AccessFest 2025 will run from Thursday, October 9, to Saturday, October 11 online. Most sessions will be video-recorded and made available to attendees afterward.
Click here to register. More details will be added to this schedule as they are confirmed.
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Showing 27 of 27 sessions
Thursday
Sessions starting at 10 a.m. ET
Welcome to AF25! Overview and networking event
Time: Thursday, October 9, 10 – 10:30 a.m. (30m)
Location: Zoom
In this opening session, IRE's executive director Diana Fuentes and Director of Diversity and Inclusion Francisco Vara-Orta kick off #AF25.
We'll give an overview of the conference schedule, give tips on how to make your conferenfe experience the best it can be, how to stay connected with other attendees after AccessFest wraps and the we'll break into small groups to network with your fellow IRE members.
Speakers
- Diana Fuentes, IRE & NICAR
- Josh Hinkle, KXAN
- Francisco Vara-Orta, IRE & NICAR
Sessions starting at 11 a.m. ET
Data reporting for smaller newsrooms
Time: Thursday, October 9, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. (1h)
Location: Zoom
Description coming soon.
Speaker information coming soon.
Disclosing AI in investigative journalism: What audiences want and how newsrooms can respond
Time: Thursday, October 9, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. (1h)
Location: Zoom
Description coming soon.
Speaker information coming soon.
How to make sure your interviews are accessible
Time: Thursday, October 9, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. (1h)
Location: Zoom
Description coming soon.
Speaker information coming soon.
Use FOIA to launch your next investigation
Time: Thursday, October 9, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. (1h)
Location: Zoom
Description coming soon.
Speaker information coming soon.
When government data disappears: How to cross-check, preserve, and investigate
Time: Thursday, October 9, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. (1h)
Location: Zoom
Description coming soon.
Speaker information coming soon.
Sessions starting at 12:30 p.m. ET
Covering immigration on any beat
Time: Thursday, October 9, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. (1h)
Location: Zoom
Description coming soon.
Speaker information coming soon.
How AI can make your reporting more (or less) accessible
Time: Thursday, October 9, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. (1h)
Location: Zoom
Description coming soon.
Speaker information coming soon.
Investigating for-profit health care
Time: Thursday, October 9, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. (1h)
Location: Zoom
Description coming soon.
Speaker information coming soon.
Navigating record requests within the criminal legal system
Time: Thursday, October 9, 12:30 – 1:30 p.m. (1h)
Location: Zoom
Description coming soon.
Speaker information coming soon.
Sessions starting at 4 p.m. ET
Accessibility awareness for charts and interactives
Time: Thursday, October 9, 4 – 5 p.m. (1h)
Location: Zoom
Description coming soon.
Speaker information coming soon.
Covering special education: Ways to investigate and tell compelling stories
Time: Thursday, October 9, 4 – 5 p.m. (1h)
Location: Zoom
Description coming soon.
Speaker information coming soon.
How to safely interact with federal officials
Time: Thursday, October 9, 4 – 5 p.m. (1h)
Location: Zoom
Description coming soon.
Speaker information coming soon.
Shining a light on immigration enforcement at the state and local level
Time: Thursday, October 9, 4 – 5 p.m. (1h)
Location: Zoom
Description coming soon.
Speaker information coming soon.
Friday
Sessions starting at 11 a.m. ET
Designing entrepreneurship systems that work for you
Time: Friday, October 10, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. (1h)
Location: Zoom
Description coming soon.
Speaker information coming soon.
Finding and using historical documents in investigative stories
Time: Friday, October 10, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. (1h)
Location: Zoom
Description coming soon.
Speaker information coming soon.
How tax breaks disproportionately harm students of color
Time: Friday, October 10, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. (1h)
Location: Zoom
Description coming soon.
Speaker information coming soon.
How to build a disability-led newsroom from the ground up
Time: Friday, October 10, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. (1h)
Location: Zoom
Description coming soon.
Speaker information coming soon.
Reporting about, for, and with Gender Expansive Communities
Time: Friday, October 10, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. (1h)
Location: Zoom
Description coming soon.
Speaker information coming soon.
Sessions starting at 1 p.m. ET
Covering Indigenous Communities better with solutions journalism
Time: Friday, October 10, 1 – 1:30 p.m. (30m)
Location: Zoom
Description coming soon.
Speaker information coming soon.
Working with sensitive and hard-to-reach sources
Time: Friday, October 10, 1 – 1:30 p.m. (30m)
Location: Zoom
Description coming soon.
Speaker information coming soon.
Sessions starting at 2:30 p.m. ET
Covering U.S. territories
Time: Friday, October 10, 2:30 – 3:30 p.m. (1h)
Location: Zoom
Description coming soon.
Speaker information coming soon.
Saturday
Sessions starting at 11 a.m. ET
Digital accessibility basics
Time: Saturday, October 11, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. (1h)
Location: Zoom
Description coming soon.
Speaker information coming soon.
Introduction to data journalism
Time: Saturday, October 11, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. (1h)
Location: Zoom
Description coming soon.
Speaker information coming soon.
The internet is forever: How to uncover hidden information
Time: Saturday, October 11, 11 a.m. – 12 p.m. (1h)
Location: Zoom
Description coming soon.
Speaker information coming soon.
Sessions starting at 12:15 p.m. ET
Coordinating a public records audit in your community
Time: Saturday, October 11, 12:15 – 1:15 p.m. (1h)
Location: Zoom
Description coming soon.
Speaker information coming soon.
Sessions starting at 1:30 p.m. ET
50 free government data sets in 50 minutes
Time: Saturday, October 11, 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. (1h)
Location: Zoom
Description coming soon.
Speaker information coming soon.