ASPIRING JOURNALISTS

A series of programming presented by the Washington Press Club Foundation

The Washington Press Club Foundation is pleased to host a series of webinars connecting aspiring journalists to Washington, DC reporters, editors and bureau chiefs. These programs are specifically designed for journalism students to gain practical insights into the changing culture and practices of media organizations as preparation for your future job search.

These webinars are free, last one hour, and include a Q & A component. For those not able to join the live event, a recording will be available on our website.

For more information on the upcoming series or to add your email to our mailing list email: programs@wpcf.org

2025 -2026 Series

October 10, 2025 1 pm EST

JOURNALISTS AS STORYTELLERS

No longer just the arena of a feature writer, all reporters can incorporate great storytelling techniques into breaking news pieces. Engaging an audience while reporting the news is the hallmark of a great journalist. Hear from our panel of seasoned professionals who have developed strategies that enhance their stories while still delivering straightforward hard news pieces. We’ll also discuss how mastering multiple skills, from editing your own pieces to using multiple formats will attract the attention of newsroom managers.

November 14, 2025 1 pm EST

OTHER PATHWAYS- Opportunities in Alternative Media

As audiences’ habits change, alternative pathways to deliver the news are emerging. From legacy media outlets creating new products to entice their existing customers to entirely new business models appearing, different jobs in journalism are also appearing. We’ve assembled a panel of successful journalists who will share how they followed nontraditional routes to build their careers in news.

December 5, 2025 1 pm EST

IMPACT OF AI IN THE NEWSROOM- Current and Future

How are journalists using AI and what direction is it taking in the newsroom? Will it affect basic reporting or even eliminate jobs? What AI skills are hiring managers looking for and what can you do while still in school to enhance your AI marketability? These topics and more will be addressed by our panel of journalists and news managers.

February 13, 2026

CREATING YOUR OWN OPPORTUNITIES 1 pm EST

If finding an internship or landing your first job is not falling into place as planned, what can you do to further your journalism career and discover new opportunities? From freelancing to working on community publications to podcasts to exploring alternative media, hear from a panel of journalists who, at one time, all found themselves in a similar position and what they did to advance their careers.

March 6, 2026

BUILDING SOURCES 1 pm EST

Developing and maintaining sources are the backbone of a successful journalism career. As a new journalist how do you go about building your network of sources, how to do you identify a source and how do you maintain that relationship? What are the rules and ethics of working with a source? What to do about a reluctant source? We’ve assembled a panel of journalists and previous key sources who will share how they worked together to find common ground.

April 24, 2026

WHO ARE YOU PUTTING OUT INTO THE WORLD- How to Market Your “Best Self” 1 pm EST

Who are hiring managers seeing when they look at your resume, clips and social media? Do they see a future star for their company or someone still trying to find their way? Hear from a panel of seasoned journalists using successful strategies to stay flexible yet focused so as job opportunities emerge they best position themselves to be a top candidate. Joining them will be hiring managers who will offer their perspective on how they review incoming applications and assess what puts your resume into the “yes” pile.

2024-2025 Series

Internships and Fellowships- Navigating the Changing Newsroom Job Market

To watch this webinar click here

Covering a Turbulent Election Cycle

To watch this video, click here

Reporting History In Real Time -Covering News When You are Part of the Story

To watch this webinar click here.

AI in the Newsroom- Current Impact and Future Directions

To watch this webinar click here.

Networking and Sources- New Techniques to Build a Solid Source Base

2023-2024 Series

Covering Elections- Local, Congressional And Presidential To watch, click here

How to Develop Sources To watch, click here

Strategies to Help You Score Your First Job To watch, click here

2022-2023 Series

Diving for Documents and Data To watch, click here

How to Use Social Media In Your Reporting To watch, click here

Get your Start as a Political Reporter by Covering Congress To watch, click here

What Hiring Managers are Looking For To watch, click here

2021-2022 Series

Public Interest or News Bias: Why do Some Stories Dominate and Others Fade Away To watch, click here

Policy and Political Reporting: Add Policy Expertise to your Resume to Better Your Job Prospects To watch, click here

Social Media: From Reporting Tool to Managing your Brand To watch, click here

Covering the Midterms To watch, click here

The Care and Feeding of Sources To watch, click here

2020-2021 Series

Covering Race and Racial Injustice in America To watch, click here

Covering the Campaign During COVID To watch, click here

COVID and Getting a Job in Journalism To watch, click here

Covering Chaos: Skills for Effective Reporting from the Front Lines To watch, click here

The First 100 Days: Covering a White House Transition and the Role of a White House Reporter To watch, click here

Think Local: Jumpstart your Career at Local News Outlets and Trade Publications To watch, click here