Register Now for These Journalist Events in October
Don't miss these unique events for journalists and editors in October.
Black News 
Welcome to Blogger Events, a monthly column of upcoming blogger and journalist events that we think you should know about. Plan even further ahead and bookmark our page with upcoming events for the entire year.
Looking to squeeze in a few more webinars or conferences before the end of the year? October has a little something for all journalists, including events covering story pitching, conflict reporting, tips for improving your writing, social video and visual journalism.
Dive in to find the perfect event(s) for you.
Oct. 2-4: JAWS CAMP
Santa Monica will host the annual Conference and Mentoring Program (CAMP) from the Journalism and Women Symposium. The goal of CAMP is to “bring women* journalists together from different specialties, beats, demographics and geographies to share with, learn from and empower each other.” The site makes note that “Women” at JAWS includes anyone who self-identifies as a woman, non-binary, gender-nonconforming or as an agender person. On the calendar of presentations, workshops and social events, the Books & Browse panel will feature seven celebrated nonfiction authors.
Oct. 6: Investigating Technology and AI in Conflict
Dr. Iain Overton will join the Global Investigative Journalism Network (GIJN) to “introduce a practical framework for investigating the technological systems behind modern warfare, from surveillance infrastructure and automated decision-making to the financial flows that make them possible.” Come away with practical methods, source suggestions and real-world examples to help with your accountability reporting.
Oct. 6: Revenue resilience for publishers: Building for what’s next
Digiday will host this webinar and will be joined by Marc McCollum, Chief Growth Officer at Raptive, and Amanda Farrand, CEO of Upworthy. “The heightened demand to diversify paired with fewer resources has many teams feeling like they’re drowning trying to keep it all afloat,” the site explains. This session will focus on fundamentals as a path to more profitable operating models.
Oct. 7-28: AP Stylebook Workshop 201: Refine Your Content
Join the AP on Wednesdays in October from 2-3 pm ET for discussions on “big-picture questions of how to improve your writing and editing to make your copy clear and compelling.” Attend the four live virtual sessions or watch recordings as you’re able. Sessions will cover topics like jargon, language pet peeves, the pitfalls of non-inclusive writing and times when it’s OK to break the rules.
Oct. 8: Adaptive AI: Making News Selectable and Engaging
From ONA, this one hour virtual session will cover the ins and outs of “adaptive AI that restructures original news into a new interactive format for diverse audiences without generating new information.” Ronald Yaros, director of the Digital Engagement Lab and an associate professor in the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland, will dive into the Digital Engagement Model, a new framework for structuring digital information that adapts to audiences’ demographics, interests and more.
Oct. 8-10: AccessFest 2026
This will be the fifth-annual, virtual-by-design conference from Investigative Reporters and Editors. The event will focus on “professional development opportunities that focus on diversity, belonging, equity and inclusion issues within the newsroom and in news coverage.” Some of NICAR and and IRE’s most popular sessions on data skills and investigative techniques will also be provided.
Oct. 15: How to write story pitches editors will actually read — and commission
Join Tim Herrera of Freelancing with Tim for this 90-minute deep dive into building the perfect story pitch. Learn about the ideal structure, what should be included (and what isn’t needed), how to prep for follow-up questions from editors and more.
Oct. 15-Nov. 19: Social Video for Journalists
Social video is a reliable format for meeting and engaging audiences where they are. During this six-week virtual course from ONA, attendees will learn to curate their voices for video, write scripts for social, edit engaging content, understand audience feedback and more. You’ll also work on a video project throughout the course, which you’ll submit for review and constructive feedback from one of the instructors. Whether you’re brand new to social video or looking to up-skill, this is one to check out.
Oct. 20: Show, Don’t Tell: How to Turn Text-Based Journalism into Visual-First Formats
Jump right from the social video course above into ONA’s next session. Led by social and video expert Casey Silvestri, this one-hour virtual session will teach you how to adapt your text-based reporting into short-form vertical video, multimedia carousels and other visual formats. No video or design background required.
Oct. 21-23: News Product Alliance Summit 2026
“The NPA Summit is where the decision-makers who set priorities and ship work across product, audience, technology, revenue, and editorial come together to align on what’s changing, share what’s working, and turn strategy into execution.” This year’s theme is “From Reaction to Readiness: Audience Intelligence as AI Infrastructure for News.” Sessions will move beyond simply experimenting with AI for streamlining workflows and will dive into AI-native operations, audience-led business models, product leadership and more.
Oct. 22: Substance Over Substack: Building an Email Newsletter That Serves You and Readers
Register now for this webinar from Writer’s Digest University led by Jane Friedman. Get a better understanding of who your newsletter is for, what causes email newsletters to fail, how to build a newsletter on engaging content and whether or not monetization is right for you.
Oct. 26-30: Investigative Journalism Week
This multi-day online gathering of journalists from GIJN will be packed with more than 50 panels, workshops and networking sessions with over 130 speakers. Hear from the best in the business from different parts of the world on topics like tech, human rights, the environment, and crime and corruption.
Oct. 28: Journalism and AI: Addressing Fears, Anxieties, and Concerns
This free webinar panel from Study Hall will feature insights from three seasoned journalists: Taylor Lorenz, Alexandra Marvar and Brian Merchant. They’ll discuss how newsrooms are forming rules around AI and what freelancers can do to protect their work. They’ll also dive into how to use AI without plagiarizing others’ work and the idea of editors using in-house AI tools while restricting the use of AI by freelancers.
Coming in November
Nov. 5-7: Pinners Conference & Expo (Utah)
Sandy, Utah, will be the location of November’s first Pinners Conference. More than 120 classes and workshops will fill the schedule and will cover topics like “Sourdough for Dummies,” “Get Your Teen to Talk,” “Elevated Christmas,” “From Chaos to Calm: Build a Family Schedule System That Works” and “One Meal, Three Delicious Twists.”
Nov. 5-8: Double Exposure Film Festival
The theme of this year’s film festival from 100Reporters is “On the Record: Evidence in an Age of Doubt.” Head to Washington, D.C. to see how this year’s films answer the question “What happens to a democracy when the record itself is under assault, not only from those who manufacture doubt, but from the institutions once trusted to dispel it?” In addition to the film premieres, the DX Public Forum offers panels, workshops and Q&As.
Nov. 9-12: Web Summit
The “world’s premier tech conference” will again take place in Lisbon, Portugal. Educational masterclasses and roundtables will be available at the event, which will bring together experts from some of the world’s top companies to define “what’s next, offering deep insights, practical skills, and a clear path forward.” This year’s event features 17 tracks, including ones focused on new media, AI, cybersecurity, creative, policy and health.
