Training
The Utah Investigative Journalism Project offers free trainings and consultations to newsrooms big and small and interested community groups in Utah. Our aim is to better equip journalists with the skills they need to utilize databases, fight for public records and employ better investigative techniques.
Our courses:
“Investigative Techniques and Strategies” gives an overview of strategies for developing investigative stories and provides an introduction to GRAMA and helpful public databases.
“GRAMA-Nomics: Making the Most of Public Records Requests,” focuses in on how to make GRAMAs or public records requests, how to fight records denials, and strategies for getting the records you need.
“Digging with Databases,” surveys numerous useful databases reporters can tap into to scour through everything from municipal budget documents to nonprofit financials and court records.
“State Records Committee Consultation,” is a specialized service where we help focus in on a specific records dispute that you might take to the State Records Committee for appeal. We can help assess how strong the appeal is and help prepare oral and written arguments for the appeal.
“Investigative Interviewing,” is all about the interview. How to talk to reluctant sources, get useful information and better quotes and even how to assess the truthfulness of what the interview subject is telling you.
All trainings are designed and taught by the Project’s Director, Eric Peterson, a veteran Utah reporter who currently serves as the President of the Board for the Utah Headliners Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, and previously served as the board’s Training Chair.
Since training is brought direct to your newsroom it can be tailored to fit the interests of participants and could blend components of all three training programs, as well as offer journalists the opportunity to ask specific questions about stories and projects they’re currently working on.
We also now offer trainings as a paid service to non-media groups.
If you’re interested in setting up a training contact Eric Peterson at epeterson@utahinvestigative.org