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.  

Public Radio Program Directors held their annual conference in Minneapolis last month, offering three days of fantastic content geared toward content directors, program directors and industry program strategists. More than 350 people attended representing stations, networks and producers from across the country.  

Public Media Journalists Association (formerly PRNDI), which represents local public media newsrooms around the country, has chosen two member stations to receive Workplace Integrity training free of charge as part of a pilot project with the Freedom Forum Institute’s Power Shift Project to work with stations to improve their cultures.

  What cool projects at your station have deepened your engagement with your community? What are you doing to super-serve and diversify your local audience?

Report for America has opened its application process in the annual effort to increase the number of journalists serving under-represented populations.  Interested newsrooms can apply to receive up to half of a reporters salary.  

PRNDI’s annual awards banquet marked the end of an era as it was the last “PRNDI” banquet. After a name change to Public Media Journalists Association (PMJA), the organization held the banquet in an elegant ballroom at the Grand Hyatt in Washington, D.C. Alicia Zuckerman, president of PRNDI, presided over the event.

Guests were treated to a menu that included port-poached pears, fig- stuffed chicken breast, and chocolate cake while awards were announced.

The first round of debates in the Democratic Primary are two short weeks away and public media must decide what role it can play in 2020 election coverage. That was the central idea behind the last main session of the PRNDI 2019 Conference on Saturday morning.

Jim Schachter, Vice President of News at WNYC; Kelsey Proud, Managing Digital Editor at WAMU; and Adrienne Hill, Senior Editor of the California Dream Project all took the stage to present their vision for how public radio stations should manage election coverage.

The 2019 PRNDI conference was the last of its kind. Voting members have spoken and what is now known as the Public Media Journalists Association will oversee the organization and all future conferences.