Host Your Own Event!
In addition to joining events and workshops hosted by SPLC and partners, consider creating your own event! Check out this helpful guide to get started:
Scholastic Journalism Week
Feb. 24-28, 2025
Brought to you by the Journalism Education Association
This year’s theme is “Power of the Press.”
The First Amendment emphasizes that a free press, independent from the government, is a cornerstone of a functioning democracy. As trends within journalism continue to change, influenced by technology, it does not alter the Power of the Press — the open and unfettered flow of information that keeps a country’s people informed is why journalists are essential.
Past Recorded Events
Fighting for Our Rights: The Threats of AI & School Monitoring Software
Brought to you by the Student Press Law Center
As high school seniors, Natasha Torkzaban, Morgan Salisbury and Jack Tell realized their school’s new AI-powered monitoring tool could put their reporting materials — including confidential sources and stories in progress — in the hands of administrators. Learn how they successfully stood up for their press freedom rights and how you can too.
The State of College Press Freedom 2025
Brought to you by the Student Press Law Center
College journalists are at the forefront of covering some of today’s most important stories, but they also face unprecedented challenges. Join us to hear about some of those challenges and how you can help. Featuring Charlotte Hampton, The Dartmouth (who was arrested last spring while covering a protest); Gregorio Olivares Gutierrez, The Retrograde (who was fired as editor by UT Dallas and then led his staff to launch an alternative paper); Nathan Elias, the Daily Trojan (which has faced funding cuts at USC); and moderated by Emily Bloch, The Philadelphia Inquirer and national president, Society of Professional Journalists.
Student Press Freedom 101
Brought to you by the Student Press Law Center
Before you advocate for advancing student press freedom, learn where things stand now and how we got here. Join this crash course on the law of the student press led by SPLC’s Senior Legal Counsel Mike Hiestand, who has been working with student journalists since 1989, and including a special appearance by Cathy Kuhlmeier, one of the student journalists who brought Hazelwood v. Kuhlmeier.
Op-Ed Boot Camp
Brought to you by the Student Press Law Center
Op-eds are one great way to raise awareness about issues affecting student journalists in your state or community. Join this boot camp to take your op-ed writing and pitching skills to the next level by learning from Pratika Katiyar, a Gen Z journalist and advocate with op-eds published in CNN, Her Campus, The Sacramento Bee, and more.
Digital Dangers
Protecting Against Online Harassment
Student Press Freedom Day 2024
Brought to you by the Student Press Law Center
Student journalists are increasingly contending with the threat of online harassment, which attempts to intimidate them into silence. Learn from those who know first-hand the tools available to protect and support yourself (or your students). Featuring Taylor Lorenz, technology columnist at The Washington Post; Sarah Swetlik, The Greenville News; and Pratika Katiyar, SPLC student board member.
Powerful & Persistent Reporting
Student Press Freedom Day 2024
Brought to you by the Student Press Law Center
Journalists must constantly overcome roadblocks to their reporting, and that includes student journalists publishing critical, in-depth stories from campus and beyond. Join us as Katelyn Polantz, CNN’s senior reporter on crime and justice; Majlie de Puy Kamp, CNN investigative reporter; and Betul Tuncer, editor-in-chief of The Pitt News at the University of Pittsburgh share their experiences and advice for student journalists battling access issues and wanting to take their reporting to the next level.
Inside the Fight for Public Records
A training session by and for student journalists in California
Student Press Freedom Day 2024
Brought to you by the First Amendment Coalition
Join us for a skill-building webinar designed by and for student journalists on how to use public records to tell important stories. The one-hour session features (1) examples of real-world reporting you can replicate at your high school or college, (2) a tutorial on how to successfully write and submit your first records request, and (3) an introduction to open-government resources available to you! This webinar is designed for high school and college student journalists and their allies, with a specific focus on the California Public Records Act.
Student Journalists in the Fight Against Disinformation
Student Press Freedom Day 2024
Brought to you by PEN America’s Journalism & Disinformation Program
How does campus gossip become a national news story? In this one-hour presentation, PEN America explains disinformation tactics, share online verification tips and tools from working journalists, and offer ways that student reporters can counter false narratives before they spread.
Data-Driven Coverage of Press Freedom
Student Press Freedom Day 2024
Brought to you by the Student Press Law Center
Join Freedom of the Press Foundation (FPF) for a virtual training on using the U.S. Press Freedom Tracker for your reporting and a discussion of why covering press freedom issues matters for journalists and their readers.