The Twitter post said the fire on Camp Creek Road was estimated to be 10 acres and spreading. We’d seen a slew of small fires that year, and two major ones. As a reporter in wildfire country, you know the initial alerts all start out the same, you just never know when it's going to shift and suddenly be different. I kept my eye on the feed for Cal Fire’s Butte County unit and went back to my editing work for Morning Edition. The phone rang. It was our other reporter. Someone had called him saying there was a huge blaze near Paradise. I told him to come to the station.

Did you miss the PMJA Training webinar "Turning Radio Scripts Into Great Digital Journalism?"  No problem!  The recording of the webinar is now available to view whenever you have the time.

The first in our series of 2020 monthly webinars, this training was held on February 19, 2020 and featured WBUR Reporter Adrian Ma and St. Louis Public Radio 's Senior Photojournalist, Carolina Hidalgo.  

It’s contest season!  A very exciting time for journalists (even those who claim they don’t care for awards).  Undoubtedly you or your colleagues are sifting through the past year’s coverage, seeking diamonds among the gold nuggets (and some clumps of sod, sure) to ensure the best shot at victory.

The PMJA Board is excited to announce that Maria Hinojosa, host and executive producer of Latino USA and trailblazing public media journalist, will receive the 2020 Leo C. Lee award.

The National Press Foundation, along with the American Society of Addiction Medicine are offering an all-expenses-paid opportunity for journalists interested in reporting on the topics of addiction and Opioids. 

One of the benefits of attending PMJA’s annual conference is having access to a wide range of training and educational opportunities. Now you don’t have to wait for June to roll around anymore.

By: Rebecca Feldhaus Adams, WHRO Public Media News Director

The job post looked a lot like any other news director description. Advance strategic goals for local journalism. Ensure reporting is in depth, audience focused and wholly accurate. Champion ethical standards. 

Mark your calendars now to attend the 2020 PMJA Conference.  We'll be in Seattle in June and hope you'll be there with us.

The dates for the 2020 PMJA Conference are as follows:

Pre-conference training (one day and two day options will be available):  Wednesday and Thursday, June 24 and 25.

Full Conference:  Opens with a reception on Thursday, June 25.  Sessions will be all day Friday and Saturday, June 26 and 27.  We'll finish off the conference with our annual awards banquet on Saturday, June 27th.

This article is being reposted with permission.  It was written by WBEZ News Intern Vivian McCall.

Several media and legal organizations spoke out at a University of Illinois Board of Trustees meeting on Thursday, saying university policy is impeding reporting on sexual assault at the school.

New to our awards this contest year, PMJA has implemented Newscast days.  We've had one of these days each calendar quarter during 2019.  Only newscasts from these specific dates will be eligible for entry into the newscast category for the annual PMJA Awards Competition.

Tomorrow, October 11, 2019 is the last of those four days.  Prior newscast days were February 19, April 25, and August 21.