Wayne State University, Detroit PBS bring national Collaborative Journalism Summit to campus
One of the most important national journalism conferences is coming to Detroit this week — the annual Collaborative Journalism Summit. Detroit was selected as the host city because of the local media’s innovative and collaborative approach to news reporting.
Wayne State University’s Department of Communication and Detroit PBS are presenting the conference on May 9-10, organized by Montclair State University’s Center for Cooperative Media. This year’s theme is “Prepare to Partner.” The Summit will be held on Wayne State's campus with journalists from across the country attending.
“Journalism and the press are central to a democracy,” said Hasan Elahi, dean of Wayne State’s College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts. “We at Wayne State have always been keenly aware and attune to this, as the university has graduated so many professionals in the field of journalism in Detroit and beyond.”
Although registration is closed, Detroit PBS will be making a livestream available each morning for journalism across the country. The Summit’s primary objective is to promote the spirit of collaboration, which has never been more needed or important than at this time in journalism history.
"Journalism at Wayne State is deeply rooted in collaboration for the social good," said Elizabeth Stoycheff, PhD, associate professor in WSU's Department of Communication. "By hosting this year's Collaborative Journalism Summit, we are proud to represent how inclusive journalism is taught and practiced in Detroit."
The news industry has also faced complicated challenges in recent years including loss of advertising revenue, declining subscriptions and layoffs resulting in shrinking newsrooms.
“There has never been a time when factual, accurate and conscientious coverage has been needed more,” said Rich Homberg, president and CEO of Detroit PBS, in an email. “Pooling our ideas, resources and platforms through collaboration is a proven method to achieve this outcome.”
Topics that will be livestreamed during the first day include:
- The state of collaboration
- How community colleges are fueling local news ecosystems
- The collaborative power to correct false narrative
- How journalists can partner with advocacy organizations while maintaining their ethics
- Great Lakes Now’s Anna Sysling discusses the Great Lakes News Collaborative and its coverage of issues related to water quality in the world’s largest freshwater system.
In the afternoon, Detroit PBS will host a special session on how television can serve as a powerful partner in strengthening collaborative journalism.
Moderated by Detroit PBS Vice President of Content Ed Moore, it will explore how making video an essential component of stories can add life, vibrancy, immediacy and perspective that the written word by itself can’t always capture. There is considerable research showing that television is how many Americans consume news and digitally based video massively expands that audience.
The session will show how incorporating compelling video components into collaborative ventures has been accomplished successfully in Detroit. Joining Moore on the panel are One Detroit Manager of Content Operations Zosette Guir, and two of the station’s most active content partners, Pastor Barry Rudolph of Detroit’s Church of the Messiah and Orlando Bailey, BridgeDetroit Director of Engagement (recently named executive director of Outlier Media).
The second day will focus on:
- The cross-section of civic engagement and collaborative journalism
- Support for diversity in media in Michigan
Day two will also feature fireside chats with Outlier Media Executive Director Candice Fortman and StoryCorps Strategic Advisor to the CEO Christopher Norris.
Watch morning livestreams on Detroit PBS LinkedIn and One Detroit’s Facebook, YouTube and website below:
View the full schedule for this year’s Summit.