Do you have the courage and confidence to harness the power of your own voice?<\/p>\n
Poynter\u2019s Power of Diverse Voices is a transformative program at the Poynter campus in St. Petersburg that welcomes journalists of color from all backgrounds and experience levels who are ready to share their perspectives and claim their space as opinion writers and thought leaders. This year\u2019s program takes place from Nov. 11-14 and tuition is free for accepted applicants.<\/p>\n
Through dynamic instruction and dedicated small-group coaching, participants develop the skills and confidence necessary to identify, refine and share their unique voice in persuasive writing.<\/p>\n
This workshop creates a supportive learning community where journalists of color support each other, develop their authentic voices, receive honest feedback and build confidence to share their perspectives, step by step.<\/p>\n
Drawing from 20+ years as Poynter adjunct and 35+ years of newsroom experience, seminar leader Tom Huang has built a career around championing and developing diverse talent. He is joined by guest faculty Eric Deggans, Aisha Sultan and Fernanda Santos to reach and train the next generation of opinion writers.<\/p>\n
Apply by Friday, Sept. 12, to take part in this in-person, immersive workshop that explores how opinion writing plays a vital role in explanatory, features and watchdog journalism and is important in a thriving democracy.<\/p>\n
What past graduates experienced during the workshop:<\/p>\n
\u201cIn the never-ending shuffle, it becomes all too easy to conform to a norm that often excludes the voices of women, of people of color, of LGBTQ+ communities, of minorities \u2014 voices like my own. But my weekend at Poynter was a vital, affirming experience that reminded me of the power of storytelling, and of the importance of diversity within that storytelling. The skills, connections, support and confidence I gained in this program truly made it one of the most important and formative experiences in my career.\u201d \u2013 Alejandra Salazar, 2018 alum and TED Audio Collective story editor<\/p>\n
\u201cOne of the best things about this workshop is the balance of being both nurtured and challenged. My workshop experiences definitely challenged me to more carefully consider whose voices I\u2019m centering in my stories. It also taught me the universality of our experiences and the real human connection that can happen when you\u2019re not afraid to be exactly who you are.\u201d \u2014 Elizabeth Myong, 2021 alum and Arts Access reporter\/producer with KERA and The Dallas Morning News<\/p>\n
\u201cI came into this cohort convinced that my sole purpose as a journalist was to document how others navigated the world, but learned from my session leaders and peers \u2026 that my story might help others to heal. By sharing it with the world, I found a deeper connection to my science reporting and started to heal parts of myself that I\u2019d believed were already resolved. More than \u2018career advancement,\u2019 Power of Diverse Voices provided me the development and support that I didn\u2019t know I needed. \u2014 Juan Michael Porter II, 2021 alum and senior editor of TheBody.com<\/p>\n
Read more from 2024 alumni:<\/p>\n
\u201cExcellent. Revealing. Inspiring.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cBefore this workshop, I felt very fearful about writing even though I am a reporter. But now I feel like I have such a refreshed perspective about how to step into my own voice, one that I feel has been beaten down by others over the years. It was also helpful that this workshop wasn\u2019t a financial burden on me \u2013 that made it easy to attend. I am indefinitely grateful to the Poynter team.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cMagical \u2013 I found focus and community. I decided to write about the things I\u2019ve buried away for years.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u201cI can\u2019t say enough about how transformative this experience has been for me. I learned that I CAN write, that I should embrace writing more wholeheartedly and not let it scare me as much as it has! I\u2019ve learned that being vulnerable and writing about the thing that feels most scary is not as hard as you may think it is, and that a story can freely come out of you if you allow yourself to be messy and uninhibited and JUST WRITE. I\u2019ll never forget reading my essay in front of everyone, and how empowered it made me feel, and most importantly, how safe and seen it made me feel. I learned so much about how to appreciate the craft of writing by listening to other people\u2019s stories and that truly everyone has an important story to share. Thank you for this healing and life changing experience, I cannot stop thinking about it.\u201d<\/p>\n
Accepted applicants will join an active and successful alumni group. Their work has appeared in online publications, like Esther Tseng\u2019s column on Catapult<\/a> about her white friend\u2019s silence after the 2021 Atlanta shootings, and Martin Tsai\u2019s essay on Into<\/a> about loneliness; on podcasts such as This Land<\/a> series by Rebecca Nagle; and in national outlets such as Iris Kuo\u2019s column in The Atlantic<\/a> on the \u2018whitening\u2019 of Asian Americans, Russell Contreras\u2019s story for the Associated Press<\/a> about his family surviving five generations of Houston storms, and Mar\u00eda In\u00e9s Zamudio\u2019s column in The Washington Post\u2019s The Lily<\/a> on suicide in the Mexican community.<\/p>\n Many award-winning works originated or developed during this workshop. Harry Mok, assistant opinion editor at the San Francisco Chronicle and a graduate of Poynter\u2019s 2021 workshop<\/a>, earned AAJA\u2019s Excellence in Commentary for his piece about belonging as an \u201cAsian kid in a California farm town<\/a>.\u201d Ismael P\u00e9rez, another 2021 alum and Chicago Sun-Times editorial board member, won first place in the Society of Features Journalism General Commentary Portfolio category for his column \u201cLiving with an addict during the pandemic<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n History and funding<\/p>\n The Power of Diverse Voices workshop grew out of a collaboration between the Association of Opinion Journalists and The Poynter Institute. The original writing workshop for journalists of color ran for nearly two decades at Vanderbilt University before coming to Poynter in 2015. The curriculum was revamped in 2016 under lead faculty Tom Huang.<\/p>\n Funding for Power of Diverse Voices comes from an endowment that was established by the\u00a0 Association of Opinion Journalists, an organization that eventually merged with the News Leaders Association<\/a>. Since neither organization is not in operation any longer, Poynter manages the endowment to ensure the continuation of the program.<\/p>\n Apply as soon as you know you\u2019re interested \u2014 the deadline is Sept. 12.<\/p>\n Questions? <\/p>\n