NEWSWELL hosts SJN Educators Academy in Los Angeles

2025 Solutions Journalism Educators Academy

July 9-10, Los Angeles,
California

Conference information

In partnership with the Solutions Journalism Network, NEWSWELL and the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication are proud to announce details for the annual Solutions Journalism Educators Academy.

The academy is designed for university journalism faculty members interested in learning how to teach solutions journalism at the collegiate level. The academy will have an emphasis on reporting solutions stories focused on youth mental health. Even if you’ve already taught a course or module, you’re welcome to apply.

The two-day, intensive training will be held at Arizona State University’s California Center Broadway in the heart of Los Angeles, California. During the academy, attendees will work and learn in the historic Herald Examiner Building. The state-of-the-art facilities include a creative media center, virtual reality and editing studios and special event spaces.

Find the application details at the bottom of this page.

LEARN MORE ABOUT THE SOLUTIONS JOURNALISM NETWORK >>

The academy left me with tangible, actionable slices of greatness to emulate in solutions journalism. So many of my fellow educators are doing amazing work – building projects, finding new audiences, or showing students how they can make a difference in lives in ways they hadn’t imagined.

– Venita Hawthorne James, former Cronkite School faculty member and previous SJN Educators Academy attendee

FAQ: ABout the conference

What will you learn?

The Solutions Journalism Educators Academy will provide a deep dive into the approach and how to teach it.

Solutions journalism is rigorous, evidence-based reporting on responses to societal problems. It challenges the pervasive notion that “serious news” is confined to “what’s going wrong,” a distortion of reality that is overly focused on the negative, while equally compelling stories that highlight ways in which people are effectively tackling challenges go unreported.

By training students to fully report on stories, sharing both the problems and the responses, educators are equipping them to more equitably and deeply tackle the complex social issues of our time.

Newsrooms also will learn about finding data and other information that will help cover mental health issues impacting their campuses and communities.

The Academy is designed for university journalism faculty members interested in learning how to teach solutions journalism in the classroom and how to incorporate it into student newsrooms at the collegiate level.

What expenses are covered?

The Academy covers these expenses for participants:

Airfare or mileage up to $750.
Hotel for three nights (the night before and the two nights of the event*).
Ground transportation between the airport and hotel up to $200 roundtrip.
Breakfast and lunch on both event days, plus a catered reception in the California Center’s historic lobby.

* The conference will end at 5 p.m. July 10. You are welcome to travel home that evening.

Any other expenses must be paid for by participants. The Academy will cover the cost of the hotel directly but each participant will be asked to arrange and pay for their airfare and ground transportation up front and submit receipts for reimbursement.

What's the conference program?

Organizers are still finalizing the agenda, and we will update this page when the program is complete. The academy will include two full days of programming, including a reception on the first evening.

Where will we be staying?

The Academy has booked a block of rooms at the Hoxton, a boutique hotel across the street from the California Center. The hotel has two restaurants and a rooftop pool. The building was once the headquarters of L.A. Railway. The Arts District and Little Tokyo are nearby.

What's at the asu California Center Broadway?

ASU California Center Broadway, formerly the Herald Examiner building, stands out as a cultural landmark in a modern city. The building’s design supports community gatherings and inspires entrepreneurship and innovation.

There are state-of-the-art facilities, including a creative media center, virtual reality and editing studios, and special event spaces. ASU programs with a presence here include the Sidney Poitier New American Film School in the Herberger Institute for Design and the Arts, the Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication, California College of ASU, the Thunderbird School of Global Management, the W. P. Carey School of Business, the College of Global Futures and other local programs.

In 2021, ASU completed a $40 million preservation and restoration project on the iconic Herald Examiner building, designed by renowned architect Julia Morgan in 1913 for the headquarters of the William Randolph Hearst-owned Examiner newspaper.

Now known as ASU California Center Broadway, the nearly 86,000-square-foot, five-level building has won multiple awards, including Grand Prize at the 53rd Annual Architectural Awards from the Los Angeles Business Council and Chair Award from the Los Angeles Conservancy as part of its 2021 Preservation Awards.

Will you need a vehicle?

No. There are several options to travel to and from the airport to the hotel. The hotel is within walking distance to the California Center.

Parking information: There are several nearby public surface lot and parking garage options available for a fee. They are not operated by ASU. Street parking is very limited. Learn about visitor parking options here.

What are the closest airports?

The closest airports are Hollywood Burbank Airport (BUR) and Los Angeles International Airport (LAX). A rideshare/taxi ride from the airport to the facility will cost $35-$100 depending on traffic.

How do you get to the California Center?

Metro– The California Center is a 10-minute walk from the Pico Metro Station – 18th street exit (A and E Lines).

Uber/Lyft/Taxi – Taxi cabs and rideshare options are readily available throughout Los Angeles and will be easy to access when departing the California Center.

NEWSWELL and the Cronkite School

NEWSWELL is a nonprofit organization that is part of Arizona State University Media Enterprise, a collection of broadcast, digital, podcast and other media entities reimagining the future of news. We have three key goals:

Grow: NEWSWELL offers comprehensive wraparound services, business planning and professional training to our local newsrooms, helping them build sustainable business models that focus on and serve their communities. Local journalists report the news. NEWSWELL offers the support.

Innovate: But we don’t just want to sustain local news, we want to transform it. We’ll work with researchers, faculty and students across America’s most innovative university to solve journalism’s biggest problems.

Educate: We partner with the renowned Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication at ASU to provide learning opportunities for students as well as professional development and a talent pipeline for our newsrooms.

ASU’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication is widely recognized as one of the nation’s premier professional journalism programs, which has received international acclaim for its innovative “teaching hospital” education model. Rooted in the time-honored values that characterize its namesake — accuracy, responsibility, integrity — the school fosters journalistic excellence and ethics in both the classroom and in its hands-on learning experiences that fully immerse students in the practice of journalism and related fields.

The ASU California Center hosts the Cronkite Content Studio, where students grow and monetize audiences with strategic content, and Cronkite News‘ L.A. Bureau, where digital and broadcast students create award-winning news and sports content. The building is also home to Cronkite’s MA in Narrative and Emerging Media, which develops storytellers specializing in AR, VR, immersive and emerging media techniques.

In 2022, the Cronkite School became one of the four inaugural solutions journalism hubs, charged with ensuring that journalism focused on responses to problems is integrated into the teaching, research and service of leading journalism programs.

The Cronkite School has a rich tradition of producing award-winning solutions journalism that engages and serves communities across the country, especially in the Southwest. In reporting on issues such as climate change, health disparities, affordable housing, homelessness, opioid addiction and police reform, Cronkite students demonstrate the rigor of the solutions journalism approach and the impact it can make tackling challenges large and small.

Solutions journalism is an underrated tool in the journalist's toolbox, and the Educators Academy equipped me with the tools to teach it and evangelize it. The academy also introduced me to smart educators across the country who have been valuable collaborators.

– Julia Thompson, Cronkite School faculty member and previous SJN Educators Academy attendee

Application Information

To apply to participate in the Educators Academy, you must be a full-time educator at a recognized U.S.-based journalism program.

Please complete this form by 5 p.m. MST on March 7, 2025.

Your application must include:

your headshot and a short bio
your current CV
detailed information about relevant coursework and/or work experience
a formal letter of intent that discusses your interest in teaching solutions journalism and in participating in the Educators Academy, with a signature of support from your dean/department chair/director

Notification timing: You will be notified in late spring if you have been selected to participate. Keep an eye on your email.

If you have questions or need additional information, please email Christina Leonard at Christina.Leonard@asunewswell.org.

Please note that emailed applications will not be accepted.

July 9-10, Los Angeles,California