It’s funny: when the year began, I hadn’t planned on attending any journalism or storytelling workshops.
This was abnormal for me. I’ve been a fixture on the workshop circuit – both as speaker and attendee – for years. But I knew my 2020 would be extremely busy. I was tabbed to head to Tokyo for 3 1/2 weeks to cover the Olympics. I had braced myself for several major projects during a presidential election year. And, above all, my wife was due in March with our second daughter.
But as the COVID-19 pandemic began to alter all of our lives, I noticed that the workshops I would have typically attended – or that I had attended in the past – were cancelling their 2020 editions.
This deeply saddened me. We are experiencing a pivotal year for our profession, facing challenges and opportunities in how we tell stories, and feeling an even greater burden to inform our communities amidst a swirl of confusion, misinformation, and noise. And we are mostly isolated in doing so – in our homes, removed from our coworkers, and without the usual opportunities for community and connection.
That’s why I decided to plan a storytelling workshop. And this one’s going to be huge.
I am proud to announce the NPPA Virtual Video Storytelling Workshop, taking place online on Friday, August 7 and Saturday, August 8. The speaker list is full of superstars. The subject matter is both relevant and big-thinking.