#DBEISymposium logo

Online schedule

32 sessions confirmed • Updated October 25 • All times are ET

IRE's first symposium on diversity and inclusion will be an online event Oct. 21-22, allowing members to join safely from home as the pandemic continues.

➡️ Click here to register

The symposium will take place from noon to 4 p.m., Eastern U.S. Time, to allow for participation across the United States and around the world. Training sessions will be recorded and made available to attendees for later viewing.

Registered attendees will get an email with instructions on how to access the conference platform shortly before the event.

Meantime, you can browse through the sessions below or search by session title, speaker name or keyword. The symposium will include a mix of panels, small-group conversations, networking and master classes, which are 2- to 3-hour deep-dive workshops. New sessions and speakers will be added to the schedule as they are confirmed.

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Showing 32 of 32 sessions

Thursday, 10/21

Sessions starting at 11 a.m. ET

networking

Welcome & networking

🕙 Thursday (10/21) • 11 – 11:45 a.m. ET (45m)

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Description

In this opening session, IRE's executive director Diana Fuentes, deputy executive director Denise Malan, and Director of Diversity and Inclusion Francisco Vara-Orta join IRE Board President Mark Walker and Vice President Katrease Stafford to kick off #DBEI21.

We'll also will give an overview of the conference schedule, tips on using the Guidebook platform and connecting with other attendees, before breaking into small groups to network with your fellow IRE members.

Speakers

Diana Fuentes, IRE & NICAR 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Kat Stafford, Associated Press 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Francisco Vara-Orta, IRE/NICAR 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Mark Walker, The New York Times 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Sessions starting at 12 p.m. ET

demo

Using data to track equity where you live

🕙 Thursday (10/21) • 12 – 1 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

A look at ABC Owned Television Stations' Equity Report, a data-driven measure of equity across 20 quality of life areas in the 100 largest metro areas in the United States, including how we’ve used it to cover important stories on our local stations and nationally for ABC News. And, how you can use the Equity Report’s data to tell important stories in the communities you cover.

Speakers

John Kelly, ABC Owned Television Stations and ABC News 👇

John is a reporter, data journalist and editor. His investigative work has won Edward R. Murrow Awards in 2020 and 2021 and the Goldsmith Prize for Investigative Reporting in 2020, and he was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Investigative Reporting in 2017. He leads data journalism for ABC Owned Television Stations and ABC News. John previously led USA Today Network's data and investigations team and was a data journalist and investigative correspondent for the Associated Press.

On Twitter: @jkelly3rd

Mark Nichols, ABC News 👇

Mark Nichols is a senior manager of data journalism for ABC News, developing data-driven investigative stories and projects for ABC's World News Tonight, Nightline, Good Morning America, Live and digital content for abcnews.com. He also works with the data team that serves ABC Owned Television Station affiliates in New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco, Houston, Raleigh-Durham and Fresno.

On Twitter: @nicholsmarkc

master class

Master Class: How to inject DEI into your newsroom’s DNA

🕙 Thursday (10/21) • 12 – 1 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

Don’t know how to add a diverse, equitable lens to your newsroom and coverage? This session has you covered. Over the last three years, The Baltimore Sun has successfully launched an award-winning Diversity Committee and DEI desk. During this session you will learn what it takes to add both to your newsroom and win awards and grow readership with new audiences in the process.

This session will cover

— the keys to implementing a successful diversity committee.

— how to launch a DEI desk.

— how to launch a DEI beat.

Speaker

John-John Williams IV, Baltimore Sun 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

panel

Educators: How to include investigating inequity into your curriculum no matter the course

🕙 Thursday (10/21) • 12 – 1 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

Learn from two veteran educators about how to infuse your curriculum and individual classes with lessons about diversity, inclusion, equity and anti-racism beginning with program objectives to professional development to readings and assignments.

Speakers

Dorothy Bland, University of North Texas 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Laura Castañeda, USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism 👇

Dr. Laura Castañeda, Ed.D., is a professor of professional practice and the associate dean for Diversity, Inclusion, Equity and Access at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism. She has been a staff writer and columnist for The San Francisco Chronicle, The Dallas Morning News and The Associated Press. She also has freelanced for a range of publications from NBC Latino.com to USA Today’s Hispanic Living to TheAtlantic.com.

On Twitter: @lauracastaneda

panel

Covering the financial industry and its impact on communities of color

🕙 Thursday (10/21) • 12 – 1 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

Despite laws that forbid discrimination that have been on the books for decades, disparities in lending among financial institutions are evident today, at big national institutions, small community banks, credit unions and mortgage lending firms. This stubborn trend contributes to a wealth gap in the U.S. that breeds disenfranchisement. The panelists will discuss story ideas that can be done in any newsroom to investigate and expose these patterns and resources available to journalists looking to hold financial institutions accountable in their communities.

Speakers

Jennifer Forsyth, The Wall Street Journal 👇

Jennifer S. Forsyth has served as deputy chief of investigations at The Wall Street Journal since 2014. She helps to manage a team of 15 reporters and an investigative researcher. Previously, she was the Journal's national editor. She is a member of the IRE board of directors.

On Twitter: @ForsythJenn

Emmanuel Martinez, The Markup 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Ebony Reed, The Wall Street Journal 👇

Ebony Reed, a Kansas City-based journalist, is a co-author of the upcoming book, “The Black Dollar.” She is also the New Audiences Chief at The Wall Street Journal when she’s not on book leave. Prior to joining The Journal, Ebony held reporting, editing, innovation, strategy and business roles at the Associated Press, The Detroit News, The Plain Dealer, Boston Business Journal and the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute at the Missouri School of Journalism.

On Twitter: @ebonyreed

Dave Schechter , WFAA 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

panel

Lessons learned from covering my hometown

🕙 Thursday (10/21) • 12 – 1 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

My reports exposed corruption and racist behaviors within the Prince George’s County Police Department (PGPD), a nationally respected law enforcement agency and the birthplace of the Law Enforcement Officers' Bill of Rights. That legislation was duplicated by departments across the country eventually providing protection to officers like Derek Chauvin. PGPD failed to change and diversify along with the community it serves. Prince George’s County, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, DC, is one of the largest and most affluent majority African-American counties in the country. It’s my hometown and my beat.

As a result of my reporting, I was blackballed by the county's government for more than a year. Press releases didn’t make it to my inbox, my questions were ignored at press conferences, and some PIO’s regularly called my managers in an attempt to discredit my work. In the end, the county spent millions of dollars settling discrimination and use of force lawsuits against the department, fired police leadership and is now working to change the department’s culture. The road here was isolating and difficult.

In this presentation, I will leave fellow journalists with tips for how to overcome these roadblocks. We’ll discuss how to tell hard investigative stories while still covering your beat in spite of obstacles that may hit close to home.

Speaker

Tracee Wilkins, NBC4 Washington 👇

Tracee Wilkins is the Prince George’s County Bureau Chief for News4 and an Emmy award winning reporter. As Bureau Chief, Wilkins has moderated gubernatorial debates and covered U.S., state and local elections and politics. Her investigations have exposed discriminatory behavior in police agencies, igniting policy and leadership changes. Wilkins also covers land use, government, education and crimes impacting county residents.

On Twitter: @TraceeWilkins

panel

DBEI showcase

🕙 Thursday (10/21) • 12 – 1 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

This session will highlight great investigative work by journalists of color and those from other historically marginalized communities

Speakers

Yoohyun Jung, San Francisco Chronicle 👇

Yoohyun Jung is a data reporter for The San Francisco Chronicle. She previously worked as a data journalist for Honolulu Civil Beat, a watchdog news organization in Hawaii. Born in Seoul, Yoohyun began her career in Arizona, where she worked for two of the state's largest newspapers, covering everything from criminal justice to education. She is also an alumna of Reveal's Investigative Fellowship and The New York Times Student Journalism Institute.

On Twitter: @yoohyun_jung

Laura Morel, Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting 👇

Laura C. Morel is a reporter at Reveal from the Center for Investigative Reporting, where she's covered immigration since 2018.

On Twitter: @lauracmorel

Sessions starting at 1:30 p.m. ET

conversation

Learn about the IRE/JournalismMentors.com program

🕙 Thursday (10/21) • 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

Learn more about the partnership between IRE and JournalismMentors.com, which has allowed IRE to expand its mentorship program year round. We'll show you how to sign up -- either as a mentor or mentee -- and how to get the most out of the program.

Speakers

Diana Fuentes, IRE & NICAR 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Adriana Lacy, Independent journalist 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Kat Stafford, Associated Press 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

demo

Learn how to craft a winning public records request

🕙 Thursday (10/21) • 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

Join Mark Walker, FOIA Coordinator and reporter from The New York Times, as he walks you through the basics of filing a public records request. Bring all your questions and FOIAs for this master class in getting the data and docs you need to hold those in power to account.

Speaker

Mark Walker, The New York Times 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

demo

Mapping Census data to show disparities in your community

🕙 Thursday (10/21) • 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

In this demo, learn more about how to use the Census Bureau's data to investigate relationships between demographics and various beats, from the environment to education.

Speakers

John Harden, Washington Post 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Angel Kastanis, The Associated Press 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

panel

Is there a future for me in journalism?

🕙 Thursday (10/21) • 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

In this free-flowing, conversational session, panelists tackle the tough question many of you have probably asked yourselves: Is there a future for me in journalism? And if so, what would that look like? Panelists will discuss different career paths in journalism, making the leap from reporter to editor, and switching platforms and working for non-traditional and nonprofit newsrooms.

Speakers

Adeshina Emmanuel, Injustice Watch 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Ramon Escobar, CNN 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Barbara Rodriquez, The 19th* 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Sessions starting at 3 p.m. ET

demo

Making your investigative journalism accessible to people with disabilities

🕙 Thursday (10/21) • 3 – 4 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

Of the top 1 million websites, 97.4 percent of them have errors that make them inaccessible to people with disabilities. That includes news sites, which have a variety of barriers to people with disabilities. This session will be an introduction to the tips and tricks that reporters, data visualizers, editors, and developers need to know so that they can create investigative projects accessible and usable by all people, including disabled users.

Speaker

Patrick Garvin, Missouri School of Journalism 👇

Patrick Garvin spent 15 years working in newsrooms at daily newspapers, including The Boston Globe, where he worked on information graphics and digital presentations. He now works as a front-end developer at Maritz Global Events in St. Louis. He also teaches web design at The Missouri School of Journalism. He works with individuals and organizations to make their digital work more accessible for people with disabilities.

On Twitter: @PatrickMGarvin

demo

Holding yourself accountable for story selection

🕙 Thursday (10/21) • 3 – 4 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

Your audience and your community are not the same thing. In this session, we’ll talk about how and why to go beyond your current audience and cover the entire community. And, spoiler alert: If you do it right, you can get more of your community to become your audience.

Speakers

Patti DiVincenzo, IRE/NICAR 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

John Ketchum, The American Journalism Project 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Anna Nirmala, The American Journalism Project 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Francisco Vara-Orta, IRE/NICAR 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

panel

How climate change is impacting marginalized communities

🕙 Thursday (10/21) • 3 – 4 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

Climate change has an outsized impact on marginalized communities. This session will discuss the various impacts reporters should be covering, including housing, business, agriculture, and mental and physical health, along with tips on how to be successful covering marginalized communities and communities of color.

Speakers

Nada Hassanein, USA TODAY 👇

Nada Hassanein, environmental and health inequities reporter at USA TODAY, writes enterprise features on environmental justice, climate equity and health disparities among marginalized and vulnerable communities. She was previously a social issues reporter at the Tallahassee Democrat, reporting on health and other issues. There, she completed a project on children’s health disparities in Florida’s capital city with support from the USC Annenberg Center for Health Journalism.

On Twitter: @nhassanein_

Dianna Hunt, Indian Country Today 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

panel

Avoiding stereotypes when reporting on the LGBTQ+ community

🕙 Thursday (10/21) • 3 – 4 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

LGBTQ+ people want and deserve fair, accurate and inclusive coverage. Knowing and respecting your colleagues from that community can also make your newsroom’s coverage better. Along with sharing helpful resources, this candid discussion among LGBTQ+ journalists will focus on navigating the newsroom, elevating LGBTQ+ stories and balancing personal identities with work. We will also answer audience questions and encourage anyone to participate in an open and respectful way.

Speakers

Josh Hinkle, KXAN 👇

Josh Hinkle is KXAN’s director of investigations and innovation, leading the station’s duPont and IRE Award-winning investigative team on multiple platforms. He also leads KXAN’s political coverage as the executive producer and host of “State of Texas,” a weekly statewide program focused on the Texas Legislature and elections. Josh teaches broadcast journalism at St. Edward’s University in Austin. In 2021, he was elected to the IRE Board of Directors.

On Twitter: @hinklej

Olivia Sanchez, The Hechinger Report 👇

Olivia Sanchez covers higher education for The Hechinger Report. Olivia previously covered local and state government for The Capital Gazette newspaper in Annapolis, Maryland. Olivia earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Portland and a master's degree in journalism from the University of Oregon.

On Twitter: @oliviarsanchez

Tuck Woodstock, independent 👇

Tuck Woodstock is a queer, biracial journalist and equity educator based in Portland, Oregon. Perhaps best known for his intrepid coverage of the 2020 Portland protests, Tuck is also the creator of the award-winning Gender Reveal podcast and the co-founder of Sylveon Consulting. Tuck has been featured as a gender educator in the New York Times, the Washington Post and NPR, among other outlets. Learn more at tuckwoodstock.com.

On Twitter: @tuckwoodstock

Friday, 10/22

Sessions starting at 12 p.m. ET

A conversation with Cheryl W. Thompson

🕙 Friday (10/22) • 12 – 1 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

In her decades of work, Cheryl W. Thompson has always embraced the importance of diversity and inclusion in her work and mentoring of many younger journalists. Her track record on covering justice speaks for itself: an investigative series that traced the guns used to kill more than 500 police officers in the U.S. earned her an Emmy, a National Headliner, an IRE, a White House News Photographers Association and other awards. In 2015, her reporting found that nearly one person a week died in the U.S. after being Tasered by police. She has won numerous other awards, including two Salute to Excellence Awards from the National Association of Black Journalists, and was named NABJ's Educator of the Year in 2017. She was part of the Washington Post team that won the Pulitzer Prize for national reporting in 2002 for Sept. 11.

Thompson is a member of NABJ, teaches investigative reporting as an associate professor at George Washington University and serves as past president of Investigative Reporters and Editors.

Come learn life lessons and get career advice from one of investigative journalism’s trailblazers.

Speakers

Cheryl W. Thompson, NPR 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Mark Walker, The New York Times 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

conversation

Building (online) harassment-resistant newsrooms

🕙 Friday (10/22) • 12 – 1 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

To both recruit under-represented groups and encourage the coverage required to engage similar readers, newsrooms must build support mechanisms to combat one of our industry's greatest existential threats: online harassment and abuse.

Join this talk to learn how other media companies have created processes that both create early interventions and reactively support reporters facing trauma intended to intimate their work.

Speaker

Jeff Larson, Yahoo 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

demo

The poor pay more: How bad economic development policies exacerbate school funding inequities

🕙 Friday (10/22) • 12 – 1 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

A relatively new accounting rule found in financial spending reports called GASB 77 has revealed spending inequities when it comes to schools with higher numbers of free and reduced lunch, usually Black and Latino students. In some places, analysis of GASB 77 has found, poor students are more likely to lose critical funding to corporate tax abatements (subsidies). Get ideas for using the data to tell those stories where you are.

Speaker

Christine Wen, Good Jobs First 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

panel

Investigating inequities in education

🕙 Friday (10/22) • 12 – 1 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

Despite decades of integration efforts, discrimination and segregation persist in America’s educational systems -- divides that have deepened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Learn how to use data to examine disparities in schools and how to sharpen investigations to drive changes for more equitable educational opportunities.

Speakers

Adam Harris, The Atlantic 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Alex Harwin, EdWeek 👇

Alex Harwin is a quantitative research analyst for the EdWeek Research Center. She works on a variety of projects, including marquee annual reports such as Quality Counts and data-driven reporting in collaboration with the Education Week newsroom.

Blanca Vazquez Toness, The Boston Globe 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Stephanie Wang, Chalkbeat 👇

Stephanie Wang is the bureau chief for Chalkbeat Indiana. She previously covered education and diversity issues for the Indianapolis Star, and she has also worked for the Tampa Bay Times. Stephanie is originally from Boston and is a graduate of Northwestern University.

On Twitter: @stephaniewang

panel

Source diversity audits

🕙 Friday (10/22) • 12 – 1 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

A growing number of media outlets are tracking the diversity of their sources so they can better understand whose perspectives are represented and whose are left out of news coverage. Learn how to strengthen coverage of your community by conducting a source diversity audit and what steps other news organizations have taken to more accurately depict readers, listeners and viewers.

Speakers

Ju-Don Marshall, WFAE 👇

Ju-Don Marshall is chief content officer and executive vice president of WFAE in Charlotte. She helped launched tech company LifePosts and has led the Center for Cooperative Media, EverydayHealth.com, Beliefnet.com and washingtonpost.com. Ju-Don serves on the boards of Greater Public, the National Trust for Local News, the N.C. Open Government Coalition and the Carolina Beacon. She is also an adviser to Report for America, the N.C. Local News Workshop and the Center for Journalism & Liberty.

On Twitter: @jemarsha11

Suzanne McBride, Columbia College Chicago 👇

Suzanne McBride is a professor of journalism and dean of the School of Graduate Studies at Columbia College Chicago. She also works as an editor at the Chicago Sun-Times and runs the local news web site AustinTalks.org, which covers Chicago's West Side. She has lectured in Asia, Canada, Europe and the United States, and in 2012, she was a Fulbright Scholar in Ireland, where she taught at the Dublin Institute of Technology.

On Twitter: @sgmcbride

Mary Mitchell, Chicago Sun-Times 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Andrea Wenzel, Temple University 👇

Andrea Wenzel is an assistant professor at Temple University, a fellow with Columbia University’s Tow Center for Digital Journalism and co-founder of the Germantown Info Hub. Prior to completing her PhD at USC Annenberg, she spent 15 years as a public radio producer and international media development consultant. She is the author of "Community-Centered Journalism: Engaging People, Exploring Solutions, and Building Trust."

On Twitter: @andreawenzel

panel

Management: Retaining and cultivating equitable spaces for a diverse newsroom

🕙 Friday (10/22) • 12 – 1 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

Diversity is not just about numbers. It's about listening to all voices, and making your newsroom a place where opportunity and growth are accessible to that talent pool. In this session we'll discuss how newsroom leaders can recruit, retain and cultivate diverse talent, as well as how to clearly define and enact DEI policies.

Speakers

Nicole Carr, ProPublica 👇

Nicole Carr is a reporter with ProPublica covering criminal justice and racial inequity. Her most recent work centers on one of Georgia's largest school districts, its relaxed pandemic protocols and the COVID spike that followed. Those stories have been featured on Apple News podcasts, CNN and CBSN. Carr also teaches journalism at Morehouse College. Prior to ProPublica, Carr was an investigative reporter with WSB-TV, where she earned four SE Regional Emmy awards.

On Twitter: @NicoleFCarr

Paul Cheung, Center for Public Integrity 👇

Paul Cheung leads The Center for Public Integrity as CEO to reverse the causes and effects of inequality by using investigative reporting to hold powerful interests accountable. Previously, he served as a director at the Knight Foundation to scale the use of artifical intelligence, improve business sustainability solutions and combat misinformation. Cheung has 20 years of experience in leading digital transformation at NBC, AP, Miami Herald and The Wall Street Journal.

On Twitter: @pcheung630

Cristina Silva, USA TODAY 👇

Cristina Silva is the deputy managing editor for enterprise for USA TODAY, overseeing a team of national correspondents. She previously worked as news director for Newsweek, where she helped manage an international newsroom of more than 60 editors and reporters. Cristina has written for the Associated Press, the Tampa Bay Times, the Boston Globe, the Miami Herald, Salon, International Business Times and NPR.

On Twitter: @cristymsilva

Sessions starting at 1:30 p.m. ET

panel

Holding the police accountable

🕙 Friday (10/22) • 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

Journalists who have covered police accountability issues from many different perspectives will share examples of projects they've done and the lessons they learned from them.

Speakers

Samah Assad, CBS Chicago 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Andrew Ford, Arizona Republic 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Cassandra Jaramillo, Dallas Morning News 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Simone Weichselbaum, NBC News 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

panel

Building and maintaining a database of diverse sources

🕙 Friday (10/22) • 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

Hear from journalists across the nation who are leading the way on making sure our sources better reflect the communities we live in and the issues we cover -- from creating innovative source databases to comprehensive ways of tracking diversity of sources newsroom-wide.

Speakers

Caroline Bauman, Chalkbeat 👇

Caroline Bauman connects Chalkbeat with our readers as the community engagement manager. She previously served as Chalkbeat Tennessee’s community editor and reported on the state-run Achievement School District. She first came to Chalkbeat as a reporting intern. Bauman has a master's degree from the University of Missouri as a Thurgood Marshall Fellow.

On Twitter: @CarolineBmn

Chris Baxter, Spotlight PA 👇

Christopher Baxter is executive director and founding editor in chief of Spotlight PA, which produces unique accountability and investigative journalism about the Pennsylvania state government and urgent statewide issues. In more than a decade as an investigative reporter and editor, his work has led to significant change in the form of new laws and regulations, criminal investigations, civil actions, resignations and more.

On Twitter: @cbaxter1

Lauren Chapman, Indiana Public Broadcasting 👇

Lauren is the digital editor for Indiana Public Broadcasting, a statewide public media reporting collaboration. Before working in public media, she worked in commercial TV, newspapers and a basketball magazine.

On Twitter: @laurenechapman_

Neena Satija, The Washington Post 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

panel

How media organizations can support reporters facing online abuse

🕙 Friday (10/22) • 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

In the face of rampant online abuse, our phones and laptops have become hostile environments, disproportionately impacting women, POC, and LGBTQIA+ reporters. Ultimately, undermining leadership’s efforts to create more equitable and inclusive newsrooms.

Join this conversation to:

-Understand the nature and intent of online harassment

-Discover how editorial leaders and experts are handling online abuse inside their newsrooms.

-Learn concrete strategies to better protect and support reporters targeted online for their identities and profession

Speakers

Leigh Honeywell, Tall Poppy 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Jareen Iman, Amazon 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Karen Mahabir, Associated Press 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Sean Sposito, Yahoo 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Viktorya Vilk, PEN America 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

panel

Investigating disability issues

🕙 Friday (10/22) • 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

As many newsrooms increase coverage of inequity issues, stories involving disability issues are still rare. Policies from policing to voting to education all can lead to discrimination against those with disabilities. This session will provide an overview of disability policy and give tips, resources and story ideas for tackling these investigations in your own newsroom.

Speakers

Beth Haller, Towson University 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Jennifer LaFleur, Center for Public Integrity 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Sara Luterman, 19th* News 👇

Sara Luterman is the caregiving reporter at 19th* News. She is based outside Washington, D.C. Prior to The 19th, she worked as a freelancer covering disability policy, politics and culture for publications including The Nation, The American Prospect and Vox. Her reporting in The Nation was shortlisted for the 2021 Deadline Club Mosaic Award. In addition to her work at the 19th, Sara is a contributing editor at Radiolab.

On Twitter: @slooterman

Cara Reedy, Disability Rights Education & Defense Fund 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

panel

Management: Encouraging investigations on the race and culture beats

🕙 Friday (10/22) • 1:30 – 2:30 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

Building a Race and Culture team is about more than recruiting diverse journalists - it’s also ensuring that investigations into inequity and injustice have a place on the newsroom rundown every day. Broadcast news executives discuss how they’ve built their teams for success while meeting the challenges of making diverse reporting an integral and vital part of the news cycle.

Speakers

Cindy Galli, ABC News 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Grady Tripp, TEGNA 👇

Grady Tripp is chief diversity and inclusion officer for TEGNA, where he oversees all aspects of TEGNA’s diversity strategy, including attracting, retaining and growing diverse talent at all levels of the company, developing programs to enhance awareness and accountability in diversity issues and leading the company’s D&I employee working group. Prior to TEGNA, Grady worked in various people leadership roles across six different industries in four different countries.

Sessions starting at 3 p.m. ET

conversation

Confronting our social Fault Lines: Pushing past our biases

🕙 Friday (10/22) • 3 – 4 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

Journalism is at a crossroads. The so-called "racial reckoning" of 2020 highlighted the need for the profession to take a deep, hard look at how it has perpetuated structural racism and caused harm to people and communities. That examination must start with those of us who practice the craft of journalism. The conversation between Maynard Institute co-executive director Martin G. Reynolds and Stronghold co-Founder Karena H. Montag, MFT, will provide an opportunity to hear from an experienced practitioner who has worked at the intersection of trauma and restorative practice for more than 20 years, and a long-time journalist who is fighting for equity and belonging across the news media.

This session was planned in collaboration with Maynard Institute.

Speakers

Karena Montag, Stronghold 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Martin Reynolds, Maynard Institute 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

panel

Cultivating and retaining sources

🕙 Friday (10/22) • 3 – 4 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

You've got the sources, now what? Hear from three top reporters on best practices for keeping them. From how to build upon reporter/source relationships to interviewing to keeping in touch long after the story runs.

Speakers

Nicole Dungca, The Washington Post 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Mary Hudetz, ProPublica 👇

Mary Hudetz is a ProPublica reporter based in Albuquerque, New Mexico. She previously worked for the Associated Press, as well as The Seattle Times as a member of the newspaper's investigative team. An enrolled member of the Crow Tribe in Montana, Mary is a past president of the Native American Journalists Association.

On Twitter: @marymhudetz

Angelina Mosher Salazar, WUWM 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

panel

Public records for justice

🕙 Friday (10/22) • 3 – 4 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

This practical workshop will lay out public records to help attendees examine racial justice in their communities, and how to acquire those records. From police abuse, to red lining, to census, to Title IX, this session will provide a list of records to request to expose inequities and make the world a little better.

Speakers

Kamesha Laurry, Reporters Commitee For Freedom of the Press 👇

Kamesha Laurry is the 2020-2022 Borealis Racial Equity in Journalism Fund Legal Fellow for the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press, where her work focuses on identifying, supporting and addressing the legal needs of journalists, reporters and documentary filmmakers of color. Kamesha received her J.D. from Northwestern Pritzker School of Law, where she was an editor for the Northwestern Journal of Law and Social Policy.

On Twitter: @kameshalaurry

Mark Walker, The New York Times 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

panel

It's not just Tuskegee: Investigating stories on race and health

🕙 Friday (10/22) • 3 – 4 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

The pandemic has laid bare the longtime racial health inequalities preventing people of color from accessing the healthcare system. While the media has latched onto historical narratives around why people of color distrust their doctors, these incidences do not always illustrate what makes the U.S. health system inaccessible to marginalized communities. Issues including language barriers, health insurance status, transportation, employment, housing, child care, lack of racial representation among health care professionals, past incidences of medical racism and more can disproportionately impact people of color and opportunities to receive care. As the pandemic continues and we prepare for a post-pandemic world, this panel will help attendees understand the wealth of stories available and how to investigate inequities in health care in their community.

Speakers

Marissa Evans, Los Angeles Times 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Kat Stafford, Associated Press 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

special

Broadcast Show & Tell

🕙 Friday (10/22) • 3 – 4 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

Show & Tell sessions allow you to share your DBEI-focused investigations with colleagues from around the country. Veteran broadcasters will moderate each session. Each slot runs for 15 minutes.

Sign-up here: https://www.signupgenius.com/go/10C0B4BAEA629ABF94-dbei

This session is sponsored by the Napoli Management Group. IRE retains control of content, including the topic and speaker selection, for all conference sessions.

Speaker

Tonya Simpson, ABC News 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Sessions starting at 4:30 p.m. ET

networking

Closing reflection & networking

🕙 Friday (10/22) • 4:30 – 5:30 p.m. ET (60m)

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Description

Let's come together and celebrate IRE's inaugural DBEI Symposium and reflect on some of the lessons learned and connections made. Join IRE's Diana Fuentes and Francisco Vara-Orta, along with board members Mark Rochester and Cheryl W. Thompson for some closing thoughts and one last round of networking with fellow attendees.

Speakers

Diana Fuentes, IRE & NICAR 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Mark Rochester, inewsource 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Cheryl W. Thompson, NPR 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!

Francisco Vara-Orta, IRE/NICAR 👇

Speaker bio coming soon!