As journalism changes and evolves, so too do the tools we use to tell stories. Hear from three journalists who are complementing their publishing careers with, among other things, email newsletters. Learn how they build a paid following with new and emerging tools available online.
This free webinar was held Tuesday, May 3rd.
The evening’s panelists include:
Jackie Bryant: Bryant was recently named Managing Editor of San Diego Magazine. Prior to that, she was a San Diego-based freelance journalist reporting mostly on the cannabis beat. In addition to reporting for a variety of local, state and national digital and print publications, she also writes the Substack newsletter Cannabitch, formerly a weekly column at the now-defunct alt-weekly San Diego CityBeat, is a newsletter covering cannabis culture.
Jodi Ettenberg: A former lawyer, Ettenberg traveled the world for a decade, sharing stories on her award-winning website Legal Nomads. After a lumbar puncture left her disabled in 2017, Jodi now writes about curiosity, resilience and the challenges of big life changes.
Mike Sowden: A former pottery worker-turned-archaeologist-turned-barista-turned-storytelling consultant-turned-freelance travel writer, Sowden now writes a paid newsletter about the science of curiosity – and it all seems to fit together at last. Read his current writing at Everything Is Amazing and absurdly long sciencey Twitter threads here.
Did you know … the San Diego Press Club has been supporting our local media community since 1973? And now, more than ever, community matters!
Take a moment to join or renew your membership in the San Diego Press Club and be a part of this vibrant community.
With your membership …
You support the future through scholarships to local journalism students
Your entry fees into the Excellence in Journalism Awards are discounted
You get exclusive access to social and professional development events, including an event next month for freelancers!
And this month, let us treat you! All active media, retired professionals and public relations practitioners who renew or join this month will be given a chance for lunch on us!
And students, let the Press Club buy your team lunch! The student news staff with the highest percentage of renewed and new members before the end of the month will get pizza delivered to an April staff meeting.
Podcasting is a natural extension of our media universe and can provide an additional opportunity to explore angles and narratives that cannot be accomplished in a traditional broadcast newscast or on the printed page because of space limitations. Companies use podcasting to position their brands as industry thought leaders and provide valuable content to their audiences.
The latest installment of the San Diego Press Club’s Membership Masterclass featured Dr. Nathian Shae Rodriguez and Kinsee Morlan, who engaged in an in-depth discussion about Podcasting. Whether you are an active member of the media, a communications professional, or a podcast fan, you will not want to miss this event!
Our new Membership Masterclass series is designed to present learning opportunities for our members based on industry trends and survey feedback. Both presenters are journalism and media veterans and have successfully expanded their careers into podcasting.
Audience members will learn:
Creating a podcast to tell a story or highlight specific themes, topics, industries
Recommendations on software and technology to improve podcast production
Tips on effective podcast promotion and audience engagement
What’s next in podcasting
And much more!
There will also be an opportunity to get your specific questions answered as well.
About Dr. Nathian Shae Rodriguez
Dr. Nathian Shae Rodriguez is a public speaker, podcast host, and an Associate Professor of Digital Media in the School of Journalism & Media Studies at San Diego State University. He specializes in critical-cultural and digital media studies, critical communication pedagogy, and pop culture pedagogy. His research focuses on minority representation in media, specifically LGBTQ and Latinx portrayals and intersectional identity negotiation, as well as pop culture, identity, radio broadcasting, and issues of masculinity/mascing. Dr. Rodriguez has 10 years of professional radio experience in on-air talent, sales, promotions, and social media marketing and is the host of the Sin Vergüenza podcast. Connect with Dr. Rodriguez on LinkedIn.
About Kinsee Morlan
Kinsee Morlan is an award-winning journalist who’s covered arts and culture in San Diego and Tijuana since 2005. She produces KPBS’ “Port of Entry” podcast and manages the rest of the station’s podcasts. Connect with Kinsee on LinkedIn.
Much of our communication takes place online. Whether it be an email, social media post or news article it is important to communicate effectively. The ability to craft stories, explain complex ideas and present information confidently can give you an edge.
The San Diego Press Club’s Write Better Write Now series is an opportunity for professional writers to share techniques to help you refine your writing. These tools can help you avoid pitfalls, tighten your storytelling and meet deadlines.
Dana Littlefield, an editor at The San Diego Union-Tribune shared tips and advice to help you find your unique voice and improve your writing.
Audience members will learn:
How to find your own voice as a writer, how to make the writing sound like YOU.
How to get unstuck when you feel like you don’t know where to begin a story.
To write to serve the story and inform the reader.
How to write with emotion – without being too heavy, melodramatic or maudlin.
There will also be an opportunity to get your specific questions answered as well.
This event is free to attend for San Diego Press Club members. Guests and non-members are $10. An optional donation of $15 is suggested to cover the nonprofit’s future programming and operational costs. Register on the San Diego Press Club website: sdpressclub.org.
About Dana Littlefield:
Dana Littlefield is public safety editor at The San Diego Union-Tribune. After joining the U-T in 2000, she covered coastal cities in San Diego County before moving to the courts/legal beat. Littlefield has written about numerous high-profile civil and criminal cases and appeared on local and national television to discuss the cases she covered. She currently leads a team of reporters who cover breaking news – including stories about crime, fire and other emergency situations. They also write about policing and social justice, including the protests last summer when thousands took to the streets locally in the wake of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis.
In addition to her duties as editor, Littlefield writes on occasion, including a profile last year of Tameka Jones, mother of 2-year-old Jahi Turner who went missing in San Diego in 2002 while she was deployed on a Navy ship. The story, which described the ongoing mystery of what happened to Jahi and the toll it has taken on his mother, won a 5th place award from the California Newspaper Publishers Association in the profile writing category.
A San Diego native, Littlefield earned her bachelor’s degree in American literature from the University of California Los Angeles and a master’s degree in mass communications from the University of Florida. She has taught journalism classes at Southwestern College and currently holds a lecturer position at San Diego State University. She is a longtime member of the National Association of Black Journalists and is a past president of the local chapter. For more than a decade, Littlefield has been a mentor/instructor in the JSHOP, an annual journalism workshop for high school students hosted by NABJ.
