Kristen Hare has covered local news for Poynter for nine years and has been a regular fixture in Poynter seminars like Leadership Academy for Women in Media. Now Hare is Poynter faculty, with a portfolio that includes the yearlong Poynter-Koch Media and Journalism Fellowship and training on covering the American Rescue Plan Act. Her upcoming online seminar, Level Up: Critical Skills for Local Reporters, is a masterclass-level training for working reporters.
As a longtime journalist who follows local news closer than almost anyone, I wanted to ask Hare more about the essential skills local reporters need to succeed in today’s media environment and how this new training will help unlock new opportunities for dedicated reporters in their current jobs.
Mel Grau: “Level Up” is one of the first programs you’ve designed from start to finish. From a big picture perspective, what is your goal?
Kristen Hare: Retention of local talent! So many local journalists leave not just because the industry is tough but because there’s no one to help them grow where they are. I see Level Up as a solution for newsrooms that want to keep great reporters and for great reporters who want to grow.
Mel: This training is billed as “critical skills” for local reporters. Broadly, what are those skills?
Kristen: The skills that will keep you satisfied over a long career in journalism, which are both hard and soft skills. The hard skills: reporting and writing, investigations, trauma-informed interviewing, fact-checking and audience development. The soft skills: how to advocate for your work, why work-life chemistry is a better frame than work/life balance and how to build passion projects.
Mel: We have a pretty stellar guest faculty roster. Why did you reach out specifically to these folks?
Kristen: These are all people I’ve learned from who bring so much to help you get to the next level.
- Erin Ailworth, editor of newsroom talent at The Wall Street Journal, knows what it’s like to cover trauma and how to approach those stories.
- Maria Carrillo, former senior deputy editor at Tampa Bay Times, brings decades of editing experience and will inspire you to find and tell stories that are all around you.
- Kathy Lu, Poynter adjunct, teaches about building a self-editing practice into your work.
- Alex Mahadevan, director of MediaWise, teaches how to combat mis- and disinformation and fact-checking skills we all need.
- John D. Sutter, CNN contributor, MIT fellow and National Geographic Explorer, takes us through different formats for storytelling.
- Cheryl W. Thompson, correspondent, investigations at NPR, brings us investigative journalism 2.0, with basics to get you started and then get beyond the essentials.
Mel: In addition to offering six live training sessions, you’re creating other ways for participants to engage with each other and with the material, including a companion pop-up newsletter. Tell me more about that.
Kristen: I love the audience for Local Edition, Poynter’s newsletter for and about local journalists that’s now in its sixth year. Newsletters are such a smart way to learn, reinforce learning and build community.
For Level Up, participants will get a weekly email with highlights, resources, interviews with experts that dig even deeper into the week’s topic and previews of what’s coming next. Participants will also take part in weekly challenges where they’ll apply their learning to daily work and share their experiences with a cohort of other talented journalists in a dedicated community forum. They’ll reflect on their work, learn from the experiences of other reporters and get advice from our experts.
Mel: Who are you hoping will apply for this program?
Kristen: Ambitious reporters who want to fast-track their career development by growing in their current newsroom should apply. Freelance journalists will also benefit from this masterclass level instruction.
Mel: Anything else you think people should know?
Kristen: This program is built to meet the needs of local reporters, who have packed schedules and endless deadlines. Those two things don’t mean you can’t keep growing. Apply by Tuesday, Sept. 6!
