ONA Weekly #558: Two-part Training On AI For Freelance Journalists

Two-part training on AI for freelance journalists

We’re offering two opportunities specifically for freelancers to learn ways to leverage AI tools to streamline the reporting process. Add them to your calendar:

• Led by Mike Reilley, the 60-minute AI for Freelancers Training on May 14 will cover the basics of writing prompts and examples of integrating AI to help with story pitches, workflow, FOIA requests and research. You’ll leave the session with a guide with practice exercises and plenty more resources to explore.
• Then, join us again for the AI Mini-Lab for Freelancers on June 4 for a low-stakes, 45-minute play session to practice alongside your peers.

Registration is free for both sessions, thanks to generous support from AI in Journalism Initiative funders Microsoft, the Patrick J. McGovern Foundation and The Joyce Foundation.

Awards deadline approaching

Submissions for consideration in the 2025 Online Journalism Awards are due May 15. Journalism produced by news organizations or independent journalists, anywhere in the world, between April 15, 2024, and April 2, 2025, is eligible. We’re looking to honor inspiring work across 24 award categories, including climate change reporting, collaborations, audio storytelling, public service, sports reporting and student journalism.

From the ONA Slack

• Do you have suggestions for courses on social video or similar professional development opportunities?
• Share tips and feedback about your experience with Mailchimp’s SMS service.
• Are you (or is someone you know) interested in a speaking opportunity about content distribution and monetization?
• Reach out with questions and ideas to share the PBS News Student Reporting Labs’ On Our Minds Season 5, which is available for free rebroadcast and distribution.

Mark your calendar

• 👋 Ongoing: Pitch a virtual session
• April 30: Advanced AI Data Journalism Tools
• May 8: Case Study (Part 2): How to Grow Audience and Sustainable Revenue with NHPR Podcasts 
• May 13: AI Innovator Collaborative
• May 14: AI for Freelancers
• May 15: Entries due for the 2025 Online Journalism Awards Deadline!
• May 15: Applications due for Online Journalism Awards Screeners and Judges Deadline!
• May 19–20: ONA x Newsroom Robots AI Leadership Summit (Detroit)
• June 3: What I’ve Learned About 60,000+ Headlines 
• June 4: Mini-Lab: AI for Freelancers 
• June 10: AI Innovator Collaborative
• June 12: How To Take AI From Buzzword to Newsroom Backbone NEW!
• June 20: Building Resilient News Organizations Through Adaptive Strategy and Rapid Experimentation
• June 20: Early Bird Registration for ONA25 Deadline!
• July 8: AI Innovator Collaborative
• Aug. 12: AI Innovator Collaborative
• Sept. 10-13: ONA25 in New Orleans 
• Oct. 14: AI Innovator Collaborative
• Nov. 11: AI Innovator Collaborative
• Dec. 9: AI Innovator Collaborative                

Career opportunities

ONA’s Career Center is an excellent resource for jobs, fellowships and internships in digital journalism. Recent postings include:

• Editor-in-Chief, Montana Free Press
• Senior Health Reporter/Editor, El Tímpano
• International Co-Director and Faculty Member, Global Business Journalism Program, International Center for Journalists
• Music Editor, Miami New Times
• Journalist in Residence / Assistant Professor of Practice, Mercer University
• Health Reporter, KERA/North Texas Broadcasting
• Editor, C&EN — Print Magazine (Part-time), American Chemical Society
• 2025 Media Fellowship, Nova Institute for Health
• Clinical Assistant / Associate Professor (Global Reporting), Arizona State University
• Politics Reporter, CalMatters
• Executive Editor, Capital & Main
• Staff Writer, Voice Media Group
• Founding Executive Director, Lee Caplin School of Journalism & Media, Florida International University
• General Assignment/Enterprise Reporter, WESA
• Communications Director, KERA/North Texas Broadcasting
• Director of Product (Product Editor), CalMatters
• Radio Promotions and Traffic Coordinator, Georgia Public Broadcasting
• Associate Director of Development, SciLine, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS)

On our radar

• Apply for funding to attend the 2025 Radically Rural summit Oct. 7-9 in Keene, New Hampshire)
• The origins of Patch’s big AI newsletter experiment, Nieman Lab
• The cloud is dead: A series on living with legacies of resource extraction, Data & Society
• AI Index 2025: State of AI in 10 charts, HAI at Stanford University
• From summaries to assisting in investigative reporting, how the FT uses AI, WAN-IFRA
• When the world connected on Skype, Rest of World