The hackathon focuses on the persistent absence of a diversity of voices and influence in American news media and facilitates a collaborative, hands-on, solutions-oriented "social hackathon" to address these challenges. Join us from 12:00pm - 7:00pm on Friday, October 26th and from 8:00am - 6:00pm on Saturday, October 27th to be part of the discussion!

Using a team-based “hackathon” style, this immersive event provides an opportunity for newsroom leaders, journalism students and community members to brainstorm practical solutions together. Topics will include:

• The state of diversity in media and what the costs and threats are to society, democracy and trust in journalism

• Creative new ways to practice community and audience engagement

• How to identify and address implicit audience and implicit bias in the newsroom

• Deep listening as a tool to bridge divides and perspectives

• Networking and internship opportunities for students, industry participants and sponsoring organizations

Space is limited. We’re only accepting up to 50 students, 15 newsroom leaders, 10 faculty, and 5 student newsroom leaders since we want this to be a candid, hands-on, networking experience with small teams. Therefore, you must register in order to reserve your spot.

We’re excited to host this event in collaboration with The American Press Institute Creating a Culture of Listening project, and in partnership with Morgan State University School of Global Journalism and Communication's Institute for Social Justice Journalism.

Program Details

To help us shape an agenda that’s most meaningful and beneficial to both student attendees and newsroom attendees, we ask that you please complete a short survey to help us get a sense of where you’re coming from and how we can steer the conversation to best address these challenges.

The survey will only take a few minutes, and will also serve as the place where we’ll collect your bio, preferred headshot, and RSVP for Friday evening’s opening dinner. We kindly ask that you complete this survey by Wednesday, October 17th.

This is the survey for Newsroom Leader attendees.

This is the survey for Student attendees.

Friday "Kerner +50" Symposium Opportunity

Lastly, prior to the hackathon we'll be hosting a special symposium featuring some great panelists. Speakers will include:

Dr. Meredith Clark (@MeredithDClark) is an assistant professor in the Media Studies department at the University of Virginia. Her experience as a newspaper journalist influences her research, which focuses on the intersections of race, media, and power. She was named No. 66 on The Root 100, the news website's list of the most influential African Americans in the country, in 2015. She was a founding contributor to Poynter.org's diversity column, and her research has been published in Journalism & Mass Communication Educator, the Journal of Social Media in Society, and New Media & Society. Clark is a graduate of Florida A&M University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She is currently the primary investigator for the American Society of News Editors’ annual newsroom diversity survey.

Dr. Michelle Ferrier is the founder of TrollBusters.com, a just-in-time rescue service for women writers and journalists experiencing online harassment. She is a digital content architect with 30 years experience in media entrepreneurship and new media technologies. Ferrier is currently the dean of the School of Journalism & Graphic Communication at Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University and was named one of the top 20 journalism innovation educators for 2018. Ferrier is an award-winning columnist and author. She has presented before the United Nations on World Press Freedom Day, as a keynote speaker at the Online News Association and as a panelist at the News Impact Summit hosted by the European Journalism Centre on the growing dangers for women journalists online. Ferrier is the former president of Journalism That Matters and the creator of the Create or Die series of startup gatherings for media innovation in underserved and underrepresented communities. She is the principal investigator for the Media Deserts Project (www.mediadeserts.com), which uses geographic information system technologies to examine places in the United States where fresh news and information are lacking.

Dr. Marjorie Fuller is currently the director of The WVU Center for Black Culture and Research. She is a twenty-five-year professional in the areas of Diversity and Pan African Studies, and prior to coming to West Virginia University, she was a professor in the Department of Pan African Studies at Kent State University. Her specialties are the development of retention initiatives for students of color and other underrepresented groups, research tours that focus on unique aspects of the African American experience, and presenting on topics that focus on culture, race, and ethnicity. Ms. Fuller sits the executive board of the National Association of Black Culture Centers, and is a past national representative of BMcPIE, Black and Multicultural Professionals in International Education (a sic of NAFSA). She is also a member of other national organizations such as NAWE, National Association of Women Educators, and AABHE, American Association of Blacks in Higher Education, where she has presented as well. She is currently completing her dissertation for her doctoral degree in Higher Education Administration and Leadership Studies.

Dr. Cynthia Greenlee (@CynthiaGreenlee) is an editor, writer, and historian based in North Carolina. She is currently the senior editor at Rewire.News. She started her journalism career at one of the first 24-hour online news site; has worked in newspapers on copy and features desks; and then in communications as an editor for several international health organizations and national nonprofits. Her writing has appeared in Smithsonian, the Washington Post, Longreads, Elle, Bon Appetit, National Public Radio, and more. Dr. Greenlee earned a master's in journalism from the University of North Carolina and a PhD in history from Duke University, where she specialized in the history of gender and Black girlhood in the 19th century South. She is a member of the Echoing Ida collective of Black women and nonbinary people who write about reproductive and social justice, and she is one of the co-editors of the forthcoming Echoing Ida anthology (Feminist Press, spring 2020). You can find her on her website, www.cynthiagreenlee.com.

Since this symposium is separate from our Hackathon event, we have created a separate Eventbrite page in order for you to register if you would like to attend. We understand not all participants will have arrived by Friday morning, but want to extend a special invitation to attend this unique opportunity.

We would like to keep this as an intimate setting, and therefore, will only be accepting 30 Hackathon participants to attend. Please register here.

Media Innovation Center Parking Directions

• Take Exit 155 for WVU off of I-79 South.

• At the stop sign, turn left onto Chaplin Road.

• At the second stop light, continue straight onto US-19 S/Monongahela Blvd.

• Drive for 1.4 miles.

• Use the left 2 lanes to turn left onto Patteson Drive/Gale Catlett Dr.

• Drive for 0.3 miles.

• At the light, turn right onto Morrill Way.

Parking Options

1. Rec Center Short-Term Lot:At the 4-way stop sign, continue straight (up a hill and past the Evansdale Crossing Building on your right). This will bring you into a big lot. You can park anywhere in front of the building. It is free after 4pm on Friday.

2. Short-Term Lot 9: At the 4-way stop sign, continue straight.Take the secondright turn into a parking lot. You can park anywhere in front of the building. It is free after 4pm on Friday. If you take the first right turn into a parking lot, you will be in a permit only lot. DO NOT park here.

3. Short-Term Lot 1: At the 4-way stop sign, turn left. Drive about 50 feet then turn left into the parking lot.

This page will be continuously updated with program details.