Point Park launches Citizen Reporting Academy online certificate program to boost community journalism

The face of American journalism is changing as more communities find themselves without local media coverage.

Point Park University’s Citizen Reporting Academy, a fully online certificate program, aims to give citizens the chance to fill in those gaps.

“A lot of people are already doing the work of journalism without realizing it’s journalism,” said Andrew Conte, managing director of the Center for Media Innovation at Point Park. “This program gives them the credentials and confidence to say, ‘I’m going to do this in a responsible and reliable way that helps my community.’ ”

From social media administrators already volunteering to find out and share what is happening in their community to high school and college students who are specializing in something else but see the value in local reporting, this flexible, self-directed program is open to all.

The program kicks off this fall, presented by the university’s Center for Media Innovation and its new School of Continuing and Professional Studies. A pilot of the program was run with Trib Total Media, giving students the opportunity to work with Trib editors and publish stories on TribLIVE Local, its growing network of community sites.

Trib Total Media will continue to partner on the Citizen Reporting Academy and is providing scholarships to the first cohort of the program.

Jennifer Bertetto, president and CEO of Trib Total Media, hopes these 12 scholarships will support members of the community doing similar work through social media or user-generated content portals, which is content published online by nonstaff members of the Trib.

“We hope to teach students about ethics, Right-to-Know requests and a more solid foundation that should allow them to produce better content,” Bertetto said. “The first cohort can lead the way about what responsible reporting looks like.”

Those who complete the program will have the opportunity to be paid for any stories approved for publication on the Trib’s TribLIVE Local sites. The sites operate on artificial intelligence technology provided by MeSearch Media Technologies Ltd.

“Trusted user-generated content is an essential supplement to professional journalism and empowers communities of all sizes to be fully informed and engaged,” said Joe Lawrence, who is passionate about the Trib’s technology efforts and also serves as CEO of MeSearch and general counsel for the Trib. “… Upon completion of the Citizen Reporting program, writers will receive the trusted contributor badge and our readers can trust the content they’re providing.”

The reporting academy is unique when it comes to equipping community members with the skills necessary to write for their local newspapers.

“It is a unique program, the first of its kind in the country,” Lawrence said. “It’s a tremendous opportunity for those who want to get the word out about things happening in their community.”

Conte investigated the phenomena described as local news deserts in his 2022 book, “Death of the Daily News: How Citizen Gatekeepers Can Save Local Journalism.” He researched the city of McKeesport after The Daily News closed and observed how the absence of a local newspaper meant community members needed to step in to fill the role through social media coverage.

“While there has been good work, it is sometimes mixed in with overly negative reporting and inadvertent, or sometimes purposeful, misinformation,” he said.

He believes the solution to news deserts lies in partnering with the community members already promoting reliable news and equipping them with more tools.

“I feel that we’re at the beginning of a revolution,” Conte said. “There was so much disruption and pain over the last 15 years, but there are a lot of good things, too, like people taking a bigger role in the news and not just consuming but being a part of the news process.”

Trib Total Media is working closely with Point Park University to create the curriculum.

“It will be engaging and informing and fun, and students will learn things they can use again whether reporting or posting on social media,” Bertetto said.

The cost is $300 per course or $2,500 for the nine-course certificate. The first cohort begins Sept. 11, 2023. You can sign up now for a special introductory discount price of $1,800 with the code journalism.

For more information and to register, visit CitizenReporting.org.