Knight Center for Specialized Journalism's blog

The Knight Center for Specialized Journalism invites applications from opinion writers for a seminar:

"Challenges in Foreign Policy - and a Changing Media World"
December 1-4, 2009

Every day, the world is getting more complex and interconnected. The election of a U.S. president with global popularity and the draw-down of U.S. troops from Iraq have done nothing to change that. Twitter helps angry Iranians protest an election. Drug violence, the H1N1 virus and carbon emissions cross borders, challenging governments. President Obama has brought a new tone to U.S. foreign policy, but still faces a raft of challenges: nuclear programs in Iran and North Korea, a struggling war in Afghanistan and new issues with rising powers like China and India.

Senior government officials and leading foreign policy thinkers will update Knight Center fellows on the latest global trends, and how they could impact you, your communities and your readers. Applications are invited from opinion writers for print, broadcast and online media. This includes editorial writers, columnists, editorial page editors and bloggers.

Deadline reminder: The Knight Center for Specialized Journalism invites applications for a seminar, "After the Crisis: The New Shape of the Economy," September 13-18, 2009.

Applications must be received by Monday, August 10. Seminars are free.

This seminar will focus on covering the economy and multimedia reporting techniques. Topics include:

* The shape of future economic growth
* Changes in financial regulation
* Government spending, debt and fiscal policy
* A nation of consumers: personal savings, investment and financial literacy
* The energy sector and green jobs

The seminar will also include four days of hands-on multimedia training. Fellows will learn best-practices for using photos, audio slideshows and video in their reporting. The first two days will be spent in the classroom learning equipment and editing software, followed by a reporting field trip in the Washington area, followed by a day of production.

At the same time we become more reliant on digital tools for communication and commerce, we're losing the ability to control information about ourselves. The Internet is exposing users to new privacy concerns, while also raising unique policy questions. This seminar will explore how digital technology and the Internet are reshaping society and culture, with an emphasis on privacy concerns and regulatory policy in domestic and international contexts.

Possible topics to be covered include:

* The Obama administration's technology agenda
* Electronic health records: pros and cons
* Social networking and social media: What's new?
* Privacy: Growth of public databases and digital surveillance
* Google: Technology, antitrust and privacy issues
* Internet regulation, policy and law: Time for change?
* Cyber warfare and terrorism: Security in the digital era
* Information overload: Cognitive impacts
* Children and digital technology: Cyber-bulling and other challenges
* Globalization: Impact of digital technology outside the U.S.