Today’s news and information landscape has many journalists continuing (or starting) their careers in online publishing. NAHJ will select 15-20 journalists for a day-long training workshop on how to start a news and information business online. A panel of online news site operators, business advisors, funding agents and owners of startups or more established online publications will guide a group of self-starters interested in the future of entrepreneurial journalism, commercial or nonprofit.  

The goal of the program is for attendees to understand start-up journalism and to begin formulating or solidifying a workable plan. What they learn in the NAHJ E-J Series is complemented by three days of training and services at the 28^th Annual NAHJ Multimedia Convention & Career Expo on a myriad of multimedia and career skills including starting a web site from scratch, one-on-one business and career counseling at the convention’s Expo, discussions on how startups are formed and what foundations, micro lenders, and venture capitalists are looking for in projects they support.  

The application deadline was June 1, 2010. But there may be slots still open, so the sooner you apply, the better your chances of being accepted.  

The all-day curriculum includes group and one-on-one discussions with entrepreneurs on how they created their start ups, training sessions on developing a business plan and effective advertising models, and in-depth discussions about branding and marketing. Participants will also receive training on the business and legal structures for start ups, the brass tacks of content management system, web hosting and domain names, and a focus on analytics and how to use social media to build traffic.  

E-J Series participants and all convention participants can also attend a panel featuring six entrepreneurs who created start ups in different ways. Following that discussion, a panel of lenders, foundation representatives, advertising experts and others will explore ways to fund a start up. Watch for an announcement for people to sign up for 30-minute one-on-one counseling sessions with business development experts to individually discuss everything from developing a business plan to issues with your personal finances in the Career Expo on Thursday and Friday.  

And that’s in addition to the 50-plus multimedia skills and career and professional development sessions at the convention, on everything from video editing on Final Cut Pro to the business of freelancing.  

 **To be eligible for the NAHJ E-J Series workshop, you must be an NAHJ member in good standing. To join or renew, please go to www.nahj.org and click on the Join/Renew logo or contact Paulo Luizaga at pluizaga [at] nahj [dot] org, (202) 662-7460.**  

Those accepted to the NAHJ E-J Series will receive a full registration for the convention and airfare to and from Denver, if they have not covered these expenses already. The cut-off date to reserve a room at the headquarters hotel, the Hyatt Regency Denver, was May 19, but the hotel continues to receive reservations at the $187 single/double convention rate. That can change at anytime, so the sooner you make a reservation, the better. Reservations must be made by calling 888-421-1442 or by visiting https://resweb.passkey.com/go/58947a0b. In order to receive the preferred rates, members must specify their affiliation to NAHJ or say that they are attending the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Convention.  

Interested? NAHJ E-J Series Application.  

UNITY’s New U & NAHJ’s E-J Series launch this summer!  

Two new programs are available this year to meet the growing demand of journalists who are tackling new horizons. Check out which one is right for you.   

New U: News Entrepreneurs Working through UNITY (New U),

  

The Ford Foundation and UNITY: Journalists of Color are co-sponsoring a training project for journalists who want to be entrepreneurs. Competitively selected participants will be paired with a mentor and brought to the UNITY Alliance partner conventions this summer for a 1.5 day boot-camp. NAHJ is the first project and will take place June 22 and 23 in Denver. Interested?  Apply here.