Archived PNA Foundation Training – 2018-2021

Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association Foundation Logo

PNA FOUNDATION WEBINARS AVAILABLE 24-7

Still inexpensive, still valuable and now more convenient.

No matter in what department you work, the PNA Foundation is your source for news media training. In addition to half and full day workshops held in Harrisburg and across the state, we offer a growing slate of webinars. Typically, our webinars last one hour or less and cover a variety of topics, traditional as well as cutting-edge. Check our calendar for the latest schedule.

We encourage you to take advantage of webinars at scheduled times. However, if you are unable to attend or find yourself needing information at a later date, our webinars are recorded, archived and available for purchase.

A list of sessions from 2018-2021 can be found below. More recent available sessions are available here.

To request a copy of a webinar, email the PNA Foundation or phone 717-703-3003. Please note the code and original date of the webinar when ordering. Upon receipt of payment, a link to the video recording will be emailed to you.

Purchase three or more sessions and receive a 20 percent discount. All rates apply to PNA and PSNE members only. Non-members: please add a $5 processing fee.


Sponsored by the Calkins Foundation, the PNA Foundation’s Leading Local: The Media’s Impact on Diversity, Inclusion and Equity is a series of webinars focusing on systemic racism and bias and how news media companies in Pennsylvania can combat it. View the entire list of sessions on the Leading Local webpage.


PNA Foundation Fellows Funds were instrumental in the creation of Spotlight PA’s groundbreaking statewide diverse source database.  We encourage all Pennsylvania newsrooms to utilize this valuable resource as they work to improve diversity efforts and better reflect the communities they cover. Explore the database and search for sources by name, area of expertise and location by clicking here.


EDITORIAL/NEWSROOM

2019 AP Stylebook: New Entries and Updates, June 13, 2019 (E0619) $10.00

Wondering what new and updated entries you’ll find in the 2019 AP Stylebook?  Hear all about them from AP Stylebook editor Paula Froke.  This presentation recaps changes editors have made on Stylebook Online since last year and detail the changes – large and small – taking effect in late May, 2019.  Stay up to date and attentive to writing rules.  Appropriate for editors as well as reporters.

Be Prepared: Safety For Journalists Covering Protests, March 25, 2021 (E0325) Free for PNA members

Sean Stajkowski, Intelligence Analyst at the Pennsylvania State Police, Pennsylvania Criminal Intelligence Center, will present on threats to the news media during protests. His presentation will include trends in physical threats, mitigation techniques, and suspicious activity reporting.

The 2020 Census and Its Impact on Pennsylvanians, Jan. 10, 2020 (W0120) Free for PNA and PA Broadcast Association members

Get the facts about the upcoming 2020 Census and why every household’s answers matter for Pennsylvanians.  Find out how technology plays a role in providing new and easier ways everyone can respond and learn how responses are kept safe and confidential.  As the federal government’s largest statistical agency, the Census Bureau collects and provides the most current data about America’s people, places and economy. We will explore ways the press equips viewers, readers and listeners with the knowledge to respond quickly and with the confidence that their responses matter in shaping the future. Reporters, managers and assignment desk editors will find this webinar useful in planning coverage of this once-in-a-decade count – the largest peacetime operation the government undertakes.

How the Clean Slate Act Could Affect Your News Reporting, Aug. 15, 2019 (E0815) $10.00

PA’s new Clean Slate Act automatically seals all criminal records for people with charges not resulting in convictions and summary offenses and low-level misdemeanors committed by people who have not incurred any other charges within ten years.  How could this affect your coverage, your use of police logs, etc.  How concerned should you be about defamation suits?  Hear from PNA’s Media Law Counsel Melissa Melewsky.

Community Engagement: Creating A Successful Spanish-Language Section, Oct. 8, 2021 (E1008) Free for PNA members This is the fifth of the PNA Foundation’s special diversity webinar series Leading Local: The Media’s Impact on Diversity, Inclusion and Equity.

Be a voice.  Recognize and reach more readers and increase engagement in your community by creating Spanish-language products.

Initially started as a three-month-long project, La Voz de Chatham is now a permanent part of The Chatham News + Record (North Carolina). Articles are posted on multiple platforms and are dedicated to providing essential information for the county’s Spanish-speaking community.

Bill Horner, editor/publisher, and Victoria Johnson, lead reporter, will explain how this worked at a small, local paper with limited resources and how you can replicate their model.  They’ll share insights into how they got started, how much time, money and staffing were needed, how they’re engaging readers and measuring impact, what worked and didn’t work both in print and digitally, and more.

Copyright: Protect Your News Company, Sept. 24, 2020 (E0924) Free for PNA members

From practical do’s and don’ts to specifics on trolls, this session is just what you need to protect your company from expensive lawsuits.  PNA Associate Members Charlie Kelly and John Marty of Saul Ewing Arnstein and Lehr will discuss the attacks of the copyright trolls.  Charlie and John have  been involved in nearly a dozen copyright troll cases in 2020 involving the infamous plaintiff, Adlife Marketing and Communications, Inc., and will discuss how to spot a troll and how to respond to a troll copyright demand letter or lawsuit. In addition, the session will include practical steps newspapers — and their advertising departments, in particular — can take lawfully to obtain copyright licenses and protect themselves against the common Industry missteps upon which copyright plaintiffs prey.

COVID-19 Vaccinations: Can Employers Require Employees to be Vaccinated? Jan. 28, 2021 (E0129) Free for PNA members

With the rollout of COVID-19 vaccines, a host of questions about who may receive the vaccine and when have arisen. Your workplace and your workers’ safety and health are of upmost importance. But, can you require your employees to be vaccinated?  There are a number of considerations that an employer should review when determining whether its employees will be mandated to be vaccinated. Precedent, ADA and religious exemptions, specific COVID-19 requirements, emergency and experimental use issues, union agreements as well as liability will be explored. Benjamin C. Dunlap, Jr., Esq., of Nauman Smith Shissler & Hall will lead this discussion, offering direction and explanations.

Defamation, Libel and Other Concerns of Newsgathering, Jan. 22, 2021 (E0122) Free for PNA members

News happens quickly, especially in the midst of a pandemic, political drama and racial unrest. Are you being careful to avoid lawsuits and litigation throughout your coverage? Melissa Melewsky, PNA’s Media Law Counsel, offers advice on protecting you and your news organization from libel and defamation suits. If you’re gathering news in Pennsylvania, you need to know about defamation, invasion of privacy and other causes of action. Online issues can be especially daunting. And, the ongoing pandemic as well as PA’s Clean Slate have had effects on access and coverage.

Amplifying Diverse Voices in Your Coverage and Newsroom, May 21, 2021 (E0521) Free for PNA members. This is the second of the PNA Foundation’s special diversity webinar series Leading Local: The Media’s Impact on Diversity, Inclusion and Equity.

From small to large newsrooms, diversity, equity and inclusion are being successfully addressed.  Whether it’s been done by focusing on particular audiences, establishing a database of diverse sources, creating different language editions, hiring a more diverse staff or reporting on certain topics, how have they moved forward?  We’ll learn the paths – from baby steps to leaps – that have made a difference, grown readership and amplified diverse voices.

Seeing the Whole Community: Diversity and Inclusivity through Design, Aug. 12, 2021 (E0812) Free for PNA members. This is the fourth of the PNA Foundation’s special diversity webinar series Leading Local: The Media’s Impact on Diversity, Inclusion and Equity.

Communities, readers and audiences want to see themselves reflected in your local news coverage.  Not just through words and stories, but also through the visuals, photos, art and designs in your various print and digital products.  Doing so requires you to look, listen and learn. This session will help editors and reporters visually cover their whole community.  Topics include visual inclusion, intention and diversity as well as making tough visual calls.

Best Practices and Creative Ideas for Drone Photos, May 8, 2019 (E0508) $10.00

John A. Pavoncello, staff photographer at The York Dispatch and Jimmy May, photographer at the Press Enterprise in Bloomsburg, are teaming up to present this webinar. This seminar is geared to both editors and photographers.

John and Jimmy cover:  What you need to know about getting certified, buying and publishing drone footage; What are the best practices?; What drone photos work and what ones don’t work?; Creative ideas for drone photos that every newsroom can use.

Facebook Live for Newsrooms, Jan. 18, 2019 (E0119) $10.00

Learn best practices for using Facebook Live as one of your social media tools. Panelists John Misinco and Kayla Dwyer from The Morning Call/themorningcall.com and Stephanie Sadowski of LNP/Lancaster Online will discuss the mechanics of doing Facebook Live feeds for best results and what types of news events draw the biggest audiences. If you’ve never used Facebook Live, you will learn what to do. If you already use it, you will pick up some best practices. We’d also love to hear about your experiences during the webinar.

Gerrymandering: Beyond the Political Hyerbole, Oct. 3, 2019 (W1019) Free to PNA members

The issue of legislative redistricting (and more frequently, its extreme version – gerrymandering) has been top of mind in recent years. Pennsylvania’s General Assembly is charged under the U.S. and State Constitutions with revisiting state and Congressional legislative districts after each National Census every ten years. And just this summer, the United States Supreme Court handed down a ruling declining to find federal jurisdiction over state redistricting, punting the issue squarely back to the states to sort out on their own, at least for now.  Draw The Lines PA staff will present a legal and factual overview of redistricting and a tour of the Draw The Lines PA digital mapping platform and contest.

Ten Steps to More Inclusive Reporting, June 18, 2021 (E0618) Free for PNA members. This is the third of the PNA Foundation’s special diversity webinar series Leading Local: The Media’s Impact on Diversity, Inclusion and Equity.

Explore ten steps that you and your newsroom can take to produce more diverse, equitable and inclusive reporting.  This session features a Reynolds Journalism Institute Fellows project completed by Melba Newsome, RJI Fellows Class of 2020-21. Using research and findings from her fellowship, Newsome will outline the necessary steps and lead participants through an evaluation of published journalism for diversity and inclusive reporting. From common challenges to rethinking the whys and wheres of diverse sources to understanding and overcoming barriers, Newsome details what you can do to be more inclusive storytellers.

Winning Ways: Investigative Reporting Done Right, Oct. 28, 2019 (E1028) $10.00

Investigative journalism at its best. Hear from PNA award-winning investigative journalists.  Jo Ciavaglia of the Bucks County Courier Times has won many awards over her illustrious career. Most recently, she won a Keystone Award for “Death of a Little Angel” an investigation into the death of a 19-month-old girl in an unlicensed and illegal home day care. She is joined by Sarah Hofius Hall, Joe Kohut and Jim Lockwood of The Times-Tribune, Scranton, winners of the 2019 John V.R. Bull Freedom of Information Award.  Presented by the PNA Foundation and the Pennsylvania Society of News Editors (PSNE).

Improving Your Coverage of Local State Legislators, Aug. 8, 2019 (E0819) $10.00

The PA State Legislature has a big impact on citizens through a variety of issues, ranging from taxes to abortion. Find out how you can improve coverage of your local state legislators. Learn how to cut through the fluff and hold local legislators accountable for their votes. Look beyond press releases while exploring bills, committees, seniority, calendars and other topics that impact your coverage. Featuring Mark O’Keefe, who spent much of his 45-year career in newspapers as a reporter and editor covering the state Legislature.

Preparing for Online Misinformation: Election Crisis Simulation and Master Class with First Draft, Oct. 2, 2020 (E1002) Free for PNA members

You’re a journalist, it’s October 18, 2020, and online misinformation about the election and COVID-19 are colliding online to sow confusion and fear about the safety of the vote. What do you report and how?  During this session, you will be guided through a real-time crisis simulation that highlights the very real challenges that lay ahead and what we can do to prepare. Followed by a master class on election misinformation tactics and techniques to ensure you are prepared for the remainder of 2020 and beyond.  Learn how to effectively handle misinformation to protect your news organization and your communities from harmful information.  Featuring presenters from First Draft, an organization working to empower people with knowledge and tools to build resilience against harmful, false, and misleading information.

Newswriting: How to go from mediocre to great, April 13, 2018 (E1804) $10.00

Take just a few minutes to learn some tips for better writing! Russell Frank, writing coach and associate professor of communications, Penn State University, talks about how to improve your writing. According to Frank, it’s a shame when reporters gather all that information (or sit through that interminable meeting) only to write a story so dull that no one’s going to read it. He’ll talk about digging up buried ledes, cutting clutter, writing for your readers rather than for the insiders, separating primary from secondary information and achieving the magical balance between thoroughness and brevity.

Open Meetings, March 15, 2019 (E1907) $10.00

Stay up to date and be prepared. The Sunshine Act might not have changed, but it’s always valuable for reporters and editors to revisit the law. We’ll touch on public comment, executive sessions and other topics that frequently challenge your coverage. Features PNA’s Media Law Counsel Melissa Melewsky sharing invaluable information.

Tips for Taking Better Photos…when you know nothing about photography, July 15, 2021 (E0715) Free for PNA members

Reporters, are you being asked to shoot photos for your stories?  Yet, you aren’t trained in photography and only have a cell phone or basic camera to use?  This session is for you!  Learn the fundamentals of photojournalism and improve your visual storytelling through this one-hour webinar led by award-winning photographer Jimmy May.

Planning and executing news enterprise: Staffs of all sizes can succeed, December 5, 2018 (E1218) $10.00

Enterprise reporting can work in your newsroom! Solid, sometimes investigative, very local enterprise stories give our readers information they need and cannot get anywhere else. You can dig beyond the surface and ask questions readers want answered. And, you can do it, even with a small newsroom staff, through planning. Dennis Lyons shares his knowledge on planning, getting started and moving forward to complete successful enterprise stories in your newsrooms. For editors of all sizes looking to enhance coverage of their local communities.

Unlocking Police Records & Mining Databases with the Right-to-Know Law, May 7, 2019 (E0519) $10.00

In the course of newsgathering, reporters often find themselves requesting criminal records and attempting to access databases for valuable story information.  Hear from Erik Arneson, executive director of Pennsylvania’s Office of Open Records and Melissa Melewsky, PNA’s media law counsel, as they offer suggestions for access while sharing examples from court and case files.  Enhance your watchdog journalism efforts with this valuable training.

Right to Know: Open Records Basics, Changes and More, Feb. 5, 2021 (E0205) Free for PNA members

In the past year, pandemic-related access laws have impacted agencies’ duties and public access rights, making this session more important than ever. Melissa Melewsky, PNA’s Media Law Counsel, reviews Pennsylvania’s Right to Know Law while defining aspects of the law and citing specific cases and examples. She’ll take a closer look at any changes, including how Act 77 affected access. Melissa will be joined by Paula Knudsen Burke, Pennsylvania’s Local Legal Initiative Attorney with the Reporters Committee for Freedom of the Press. Paula will detail some of the cases she’s handling as well as how she can assist you with legal matters.

Self-Editing for Today’s Journalist, Friday, February 26, 2021 (E0226) Free for PNA members

Today’s newsrooms are digital first and even more so now that reporters and editors are working remotely during the pandemic. There’s often no safety net, and not much time, to have stories, headlines, cutlines, etc., reviewed and edited before readers receive them.  Learn how you can prevent mistakes and streamline the editing process with careful self-editing. Tips will be presented by Shane Fitzgerald, Pennsylvania State Editor, USA Today Network and Executive Editor, Bucks County Courier Times and The Intelligencer.

Self-Help Webinar: Strategies for Coping and Living More Fully, December 9, 2020 (E1209) Free for PNA members

As the holidays approach, give yourself the gift of self-care. These are unsettling and challenging times which are affecting not only our physical health, but our emotional well-being.  As the winter days get shorter and the pandemic rages on, we’re faced with seasonal depression as well as continued political, social and racial unrest.  How can you find hope, joy and acceptance amid the distressful changes and chaos?

Featuring licensed clinical psychologist Dr. Robin Avery, this session offers an opportunity to consider not only coping strategies, but also how to live more fully.  With Dr. Avery’s help, we’ll answer the questions of what have we learned from 2020 as well as what we have learned about ourselves.  And, find ways to move forward in creating lives worth living.  Appropriate and available to anyone looking to help themselves.

A Tutorial of Spotlight PA’s Diverse Source Database, December 8, 2020 (E1208) Free for PNA members

Amid the national conversation about race, equity, and inclusion, newsrooms in Pennsylvania are grappling with their own history of discrimination and systemic racism in staffing and coverage. Spotlight PA’s diverse source database—funded by the PNA Foundation Fellows Fund for the Future—seeks to make Pa. news coverage more equitable moving forward. Come learn more about the database and how to use it to ensure all of our work better reflects the communities we serve.

What Spotlight PA, PA Post and Pennsylvania Capital-Star Can Offer You, Feb. 20, 2020 (W0220) Free for PNA members

Christopher Baxter, editor in chief of Spotlight PA, and Russ Walker, executive editor of PA Post, will be joined by John Micek, editor in chief of PA Capital-Star, as they discuss what their projects offer, what they’re doing and how your newsroom can work with them.

Spotlight PA is a collaborative newsroom dedicated to producing investigative journalism that holds powerful private and public forces to account.  PA Post, launched by WITF Public Media, delivers multimedia digital coverage of Pennsylvania’s public policies, politics and statewide issues.  The Pennsylvania Capital-Star is a nonpartisan, nonprofit news site dedicated to honest and aggressive coverage of state government, politics and policy.

The Sunshine Act: Pennsylvania’s Open Meetings Law – March 18, 2021 (E0318) Free for PNA members

Can’t miss! This session includes an important review of the Sunshine Act as well as a chance to meet the new Executive Director of the PA Office of Open Records. Melissa Melewsky, PNA’s Media Law Counsel, reviews Pennsylvania’s Open Meetings Law, touching on public comment, executive sessions and other topics that frequently challenge coverage. She takes a closer look at any changes, including how the pandemic has affected public access.  Melissa is joined by Liz Wagenseller, the newly-appointed Executive Director of the PA Office of Open Records. During this introduction, Liz shares her thoughts and visions for the OOR and will take questions.

Understanding the Value and Finding Stories in Public Notices, March 5, 2019 (E1908) $10.00

From story ideas to government accountability, learn how important public notices are to newspapers.  Jim Lockwood, staff writer at The Times-Tribune, Scranton, and five-time winner of the PNA Foundation’s Public Notice Journalism Award, leads this valuable webinar, on how to dig into important – yet often unnoticed – local issues by checking your notices.

The Safe Harbor Bill and What It Could Mean for You, Sept. 19, 2019 (E0919) Free

The News Media Alliance has been closely watching and advocating for the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act, which would provide a safe harbor for publishers to collectively negotiate with tech platforms such as Facebook and Google. Hoping to create an even playing field for the free and diverse press, the Journalism Competition and Preservation Act creates a temporary safe harbor for news publishers to band together to negotiate with online platforms to protect Americans’ access to trustworthy sources of news online. Introduced by both the U.S. House and the Senate judiciary and antitrust committees, the bill also aims to protect a free market, jobs and the marketplace of ideas. The majority of Americans are “more concerned” that not enough is being done to address the “relentless spread of fake news on their platforms,” representing “a seismic shift in the public’s perception” in a short time on the issue, according to an Axios-SurveyMonkey poll. According to the 2018 Edelman Trust Barometer, 63% of people say they can’t tell the difference between good journalism and falsehood online. Learn how what happens in Washington could affect your local news company. Presented by Danielle Coffey, Senior Vice President of Strategic Initiatives and Counsel for the News Media Alliance, which represents 2,000 news media outlets worldwide.

School Safety Efforts, an Exclusive Statewide Conference Call with PA Senators, August 15, 2018 Free for PNA members

With schools around Pennsylvania getting ready for Back to School, join our statewide conference call to hear what Senate leaders on school safety have been working on and hear what it is in store for the future on this issue.

Working with the Police to Improve Your Coverage, Sept. 17, 2020 (E0917) Free to PNA and PAB members

In these unsettled times of pandemic restrictions, ongoing protests and economic hardship, learn how journalists can build better working relationships and access important information from law enforcement. The Pennsylvania State Police Communications Office will present an overview of how the PSP works with media outlets throughout the Commonwealth. They will also be available to answer questions.


ADVERTISING

Inserting Digital into Your Sales Calls, April 23, 2019 (A1903) Free for PNA members

Learn how to incorporate digital options into your visits with advertisers. Matt Caylor, PNA’s Director of Strategic Services, offers concrete steps for preparation, strategy and execution. This is a great way for sales managers and ad reps to enhance revenue through various platforms.

Advertising Legal Issues, May 11, 2021 (E0511) Free for PNA members

Melissa Melewsky, PNA’s Media Law Counsel, offers information on legal issues concerning advertising. She’ll look at laws and regulations for housing, employment, automotive, tobacco, beer, and liquor advertising and may answer the questions you have about specific ad content.

Mastering Remote Advertising Sales, April 2, 2020 (AE0402) Free for PNA members

Nothing is status quo these days. Advertisers are wondering if and when their business will return to normal, and you’re relegated to working from your newspaper’s office or from home. During this period of social distancing, how can you still succeed at making meaningful contact with your advertising clients when you’re limited to phone and email options? What do you say to reassure nervous advertisers? How do prospect for new accounts? Which advertising categories are good targets right now? Emmy award-winning media sales coach Ryan Dohrn will share 10 proven ideas to help you retain and secure new business and talk to your advertisers like a pro.

PNA Advertising Symposium, April 19-23, 2021 (PAS2021) Free for PNA members.  Email PNA Events for details on these sessions:

    • Building Better Ads: Advice from the Design Desk
    • Branded Content: A unique, engaging and profitable advertising option
    • Practices from Around the World: Who is winning the revenue war and why?
    • Best Practices for Optimizing Your Programmatic Campaigns
    • Build Better Relationships with Advertising Agencies
    • Proven and Successful Revenue Generating Ideas
    • Data-Drive Advertising: Using data and information to create more effective sales calls
    • Securing Profitable Salespeople

Revenue Webinar: 5 Ways To Grow Your Obituaries, July 17, 2019 (A0719) Free for PNA members

For most publishers, the obituary category is a huge traffic driver and an important classified revenue stream. To help PNA members learn more about this vital revenue category, the PNA Foundation has partnered with Legacy.com to offer a complimentary webinar to help grow your obituary category. Using insights from the 1,500+ newspapers who work with Legacy.com, this session will detail the growing decline in obituary volume nationwide.  Whether you work with Legacy or not, this session is designed to provide you with useful information on issues related to obituaries along with ideas to address them.

Use Research Information to Increase Advertising Sales, Jan. 15, 2019 (A1802) Free for PNA members

Jumpstart your advertising sales efforts in 2019 by utilizing current research statistics and information from Nielsen Scarborough and AudienceSCAN® to demonstrate the power of newspapers to your advertising clients. During this webinar, we will review how to analyze Nielsen Scarborough data, discuss the findings of key research reports that tout the strengths of newspaper readership and advertising and demonstrate how to quickly and easily customize one of the 50+ marketing flyers that PNA has created for your use.

Strategic Thinking Amid COVID-19 and Other Economic Challenges, June 5, 2020 (A0605) Free for PNA members

We’re facing an unprecedented economic challenge for businesses – both large and small – operating in local communities. No one knows exactly when we will see the light at the end of the tunnel.  However, to survive, businesses and consumers are thinking differently about this “new normal” – doing their best to prioritize between personal, financial, and/or medical necessities.  So how do we do it?  How do we “sell” amid such a tumultuous economic state?  We connect.  Media companies (especially newspapers!) are the heart of these communities and have been for years.  Using our inherent ability to bring communities and people together, news companies need to reignite their position in the marketplace and be the connection between what is needed (by consumers) and where to buy it (retailers/service providers).  It is not selling.  It is not taking advantage of a horrible situation.  It is truly helping to put products and services into the hands of consumers, when and where they need them: at home. Always-popular Renee Tacka leads this webinar and encourages you to think differently.  Throw away “the box.”  It’s time for strategic thinking.


MANAGEMENT/HR

Active Shooter (How to Prepare and Respond to an Active Shooter), August 2, 2018 Free for PNA members

Recent tragedies, including the June 28 shooting at The Capital Gazette in Annapolis, remind us that the risk is real. An active shooter incident can happen in any place at any time. We are offering this training in order to help news companies, newsrooms and individuals to be prepared.

Defining Unlawful Harassment and Minimizing Your Risk, March 1, 2018 (M2018) $10.00

You report the news, but you sure don’t want to BE the news, do you? From Hollywood to PA, the #metoo and #timesup campaigns are going strong. Is your organization ready? Do you or your supervisors know what TRULY defines unlawful harassment and sexual harassment? Are your policies up to snuff with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidelines? Have your supervisors and employees been trained to recognize inappropriate behavior? More importantly, do they know what to do if they witness unlawful harassment of any kind? Led by Karen Young, SPHR, SHRM-SCP, and President, HR Resolutions, this important webinar will help you and your supervisors learn about how to best minimize your risk against claims in this area. For any manager – from publishers and down – who wants to be fully informed and prepared. For any department including news, sales, production, distribution, etc.

Amplifying Diverse Voices in Your Coverage and Newsroom, May 21, 2021 (E0521) Free for PNA members. This is the second of the PNA Foundation’s special diversity webinar series Leading Local: The Media’s Impact on Diversity, Inclusion and Equity.

From small to large newsrooms, diversity, equity and inclusion are being successfully addressed.  Whether it’s been done by focusing on particular audiences, establishing a database of diverse sources, creating different language editions, hiring a more diverse staff or reporting on certain topics, how have they moved forward?  We’ll learn the paths – from baby steps to leaps – that have made a difference, grown readership and amplified diverse voices.

Understanding the Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC) and Making It Work for You, July 7, 2021 (E0707) Free for PNA members

Your company may be eligible for an Employee Retention Tax Credit (ERTC), allowing for large percentage deductions in qualified wages paid per employee per quarter.  If, during the COVID-19 crisis, you chose to keep employees on your payroll, you should explore this option.  This credit could be a significant bonus.  During this webinar, experts from Kreischer Miller will answer questions such as who is eligible for the ERTC, how much can be claimed and how to process your claim.  And, yes, you can claim both PPP forgiveness and ERTC!  Learn more through this complimentary session.

PA Supreme Court, Unemployment Compensation Tax and Independent Contractor Status, June 11, 2020 (ZIN0611) Free for PNA members

New case could affect your independent contractors and workers compensation! Pennsylvania’s Unemployment Statute provides that in order to be an independent contractor,  you must show (a) that the individual is free from control and direction over the performance of the services both under his contract of service and in fact and (b) as to such services such individual is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession or business. In a new PA Supreme Court case, the Court interpreted the second part of that test to determine whether the phrase “customarily engaged in” required an individual to be involved in an independently established trade, occupation, profession or business in actuality, as opposed to having the mere ability to be so involved. In this session, renowned attorney Michael Zinser will explain the Court’s new decision and discuss its impact on the independent contractor status of newspaper distributors and freelance writers and photographers.  We will also discuss drafting recommendations following this decision.

The Paycheck Protection Program Loan Forgiveness Application, June 17, 2020 (PPP017) Free for PNA members

This webinar will help you better understand the Paycheck Protection Program Loan Forgiveness Application, and will cover:  Loan forgiveness application, Payroll and Non payroll costs, Full-time equivalents (FTEs), Loan computation, Forgiveness documentation and Paycheck Protection Flexibility.  Presenters: Brian Sharkey, Director at Kreischer Miller and leads the firm’s Business Advisory Group and Rich Snyder, Director at Kreischer Miller within the Audit and Accounting Group.  In addition, Rich is a Certified Merger & Acquisition Advisor and has assisted clients with various business advisory services including acquisition due diligence, operational audits and reviews, and bank refinancing.

Respect at Work: Building a Culture of Respect, March 30, 2021 (E0330) Free for PNA Members. This is the first of the PNA Foundation’s special diversity webinar series Leading Local: The Media’s Impact on Diversity, Inclusion and Equity.

Harassment in the workplace is a serious and widespread problem. Respect at Work™ is designed to provide a holistic approach to creating workplace cultures where all employees are valued. Focusing on core tenets of safety, equality, and respect, this training invites participants to explore ways to prevent and respond to disrespectful behavior in their workplaces.

While sexual harassment is what most people think of, it’s important to remember other forms of workplace harassment, such as race, ethnicity, religion, disability, age, etc. Each one of us has all of these identities. Very often, harassment targets more than one of a person’s identities at a time. To create a safe and respectful workplace, we need to be prepared to step in to prevent disrespectful or harassing behavior that targets any aspect of someone’s identity.

What You Need to Know to Safely Return to the Office, May 13, 2021 (E0513) Free for PNA members

It’s been over an year of working remotely during the pandemic and now you may be close to inviting staff back into the newsroom, ad department and other vital areas of your news company.  What should you be thinking about? Listen, talk and learn!  This webinar will feature legal tips as well as an opportunity for a roundtable discussion with your colleagues around the state.

Vincent Candiello, Esq., a member at Cozen O’Connor, Harrisburg, will discuss legal liabilities and potential challenges as well as best practices for an effective return.  What will the new normal look like?  Safety and well-being are of utmost concern.  But, how? What can you require or not dictate as far as masks, distancing, vaccines, illness, etc.  Ensure that you are prepared and not putting yourself, your company and your valued staff at risk.


CIRCULATION

Best Practices for Circulation and Audience Development #1: Digital Subscription Sales, June 10, 2020 (CBP001) Free for PNA members

Learn about the impact of a hard paywall on digital subscriptions, web traffic, and revenue. See the metrics. Discuss the pros and cons.  Presenter: Dave Sickle, Director of Circulation, Republican Herald (Pottsville) & Standard-Speaker (Hazleton)

Best Practices for Circulation and Audience Development #2: AAM Updates and Guidelines, June 24, 2020 (CBP002) Free for PNA members

The coronavirus has most likely impacted your circulation numbers.  Learn of any updates or changes to AAM reporting and audits. And, be sure that you continue to adhere to the rules and guidelines of the Alliance for Audited Media.  Presenter: Joe Salomone, Director, FP&A and Circulation Audit Compliance, The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Inc.

Best Practices for Circulation and Audience Development #3 – Solutions for a Post-COVID-19 World, July 8, 2020 (CBP003) Free for PNA members

The crisis may be easing, but how do you retain subscribers in a hurting economy?  How do you build sales?  How do you manage reduced print days?  These and other questions will be addressed during an open discussion.  Looking for particular solutions and ideas? Presenter: Roque Carrasco, Circulation Manager, The Indiana Gazette

Strategies for Mitigating the Impact of Newsprint Tariffs, August 23, 2018 (C001) Free for PNA members

Calling all circulation managers and directors! Don’t miss this interactive session on what your peers in circulation, audience development and operations departments are doing to save costs as newsprint tariffs loom. No matter the size of your newspaper, you can make changes today that can help keep your presses running and newspapers being delivered. Tools, ideas, suggestions and solutions will be shared.

 


Additional Archived Training Resources:

The Associated Press offers a variety of helpful sessions. Check out their available archived webinars and other training resources at AP Academy.

The Online Media Campus has been providing high-quality webinars for many years, all of which have been recorded and are available for purchase. Visit their website for more information.