Network social media strategy

Instagram (and TikTok) have seen news consumption increase over the past three years. Users of these social platforms also tend to be younger, more diverse and more closely align with our target audiences.


More training on Social:

To the Point 101 — Why we’re doing it and what successful TTP looks like

We know our younger digital readers are seeking scannable, easy-to-digest content. Here’s what it is (and isn’t), how our efforts so far are helping us reach readers with premium and metered content and some successful examples on how newsrooms are putting it to use and making it a priority.


More training on Reporting & Writing:

Data visualization: InfoGram 201

Students will use datasets to build more advanced maps and single chart graphics.


More training on Design:

Data visualization: Canva and Venngage 201

Students will use a set of data points and data sets to build static and interactive graphics. We also will show how Flourish interfaces with Canva, since Canva now owns it.


More training on Design:

Data visualization: Datawrapper 301

A deep dive on building choropleth and location maps. In 75 minutes we will build three maps, based on both US and global data. We will work on a more advanced chart and focus more on adding tooltips and footnotes in the charts.


More training on Investigative:

Reddit: How journalists can use the platform to grow audience, find sources and more

With 430 million active users, Reddit is a gold mine of opportunity for journalists — but diving in can be challenging. In this session, we’ll help you learn how to confidently navigate the platform to discover and promote stories, find sources, cultivate relationships with new and existing audiences, and more.


More training on Social:

Google MyMaps 301

Students will build layered maps. We will show them how to work multimedia into the map. We’ll use real data they can download. Bonus: We also will show how to use PhantomBuster to scrape data OUT of Google Maps.

Click here to download the handout used in the below recorded workshop.


More training on Design:

Data visualization: Flourish 201/301

Easily turn your data into stunning charts, maps and interactive visuals for your stories. We will unlock the advanced features and settings in Flourish that will help you animate and bring your stories to life, while remaining true to our styles and branding.

Prerequisite: The training will build on what we did here. The prerequisite focuses on the database portion; this follow-up will be more about the wide range of visualizations one can do with this tool.

Over 75-90 minutes, our guide, Mike Reilley, will supply students with a series of datasets and walk them through how to build an interactive map, parliament chart, time ticker, animated chart, etc. We also will show how to build midterm election candidate bios in Flourish.

Download the handout used in the below recorded workshop.


More training on Design:

How to tell a story in 60 seconds or less on vertical video

Learn how to easily tell a story for audiences on TikTok, Instagram or YouTube. Led by Wisconsin DOT Manager Lainey Seyler and producer Brooke Eberle, the session give tips on planning, creating and writing a script for vertical videos.


More training on Social:

Instagram for journalists

What are all these Instagram terms I hear and why do they matter to my work? Get a crash course on the basics of Instagram and how the platform can help your stories reach a different audience in this one-hour course led by Des Moines Register Audience Strategist Brian Smith.


More training on Social:

Twitter tips for journalists

Learn how to plan out a Twitter Thread, why Twitter Moments are important and get a refresher on the basics of the platform in this one-hour session led by Detroit Free Press Audience Editor Brian Manzullo.

USA TODAY’s Audience and Operations Editor Felecia Wellington’s guide to Twitter: Spaces

Buck County Courier-Times reporter Christopher Ullery’s template for creating a Twitter Thread


More training on Social:

Storytelling Studio and video tools

How to access and use our dynamic, custom and high-impact storytelling tools, including the “In-Depth Framework.”


More training on Photography:

Canva 101

Grace Pateras from the Florida-Georgia DOT gave a walkthrough of some of the best tips and tricks for using Canva. Among the many time-saving features she showed were Background Remover, Positioning, Text Spacing and Text Effects. She also provided a handy shortcuts sheet and showed a lot of great Canva examples from across the network.


More training on Social:

Extending the reach of our video through social

Our 2022 coverage strategy puts video closer to the center of our work, because it’s more central to our audiences’ expectations.


More training on Social:

Basic databases in Google Flourish and other tools

Do you have a dataset you want to feature in your article as a table or a searchable database? There are a few easy tools to help you show your work: Google Flourish, Airtable and Tableizer. 

Links to tools: 

Google Flourish (set up a free account prior): https://flourish.studio/

Airtable: https://airtable.com/

Tableizer: https://tableizer.journalistopia.com/

Data to Build the Tables and Databases

COVID-19 Cases/Deaths by County: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/114DjZZqJFxoOV_4lxgyzDH9X-kveXDOH/edit?usp=drive_web&ouid=101717595278789621083&rtpof=true

Football Coach Salaries: https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/10UnuNnB0McI_g2Qhxl91GRp_ZQ3i-0AU

Link to PowerPoint:  https://docs.google.com/presentation/d/1kP6atqFTMi9kwq-PuWBnNky_pXMAaTN5/edit?usp=drive_web&ouid=101717595278789621083&rtpof=true


More training on Investigative:

50 tools for writing well with Roy Peter Clark

Organized into four sections, “Nuts and Bolts,” “Special Effects,” “Blueprints for Stories,” and “Useful Habits,” this series is infused with more than 200 examples from journalism and literature.


More training on Audience Engagement: