Education Writers Association (EWA)

As the national professional organization for members of the media who cover Education at all levels, ewa has worked for 75 years to help journalists get the story right. Today, ewa members benefit from our high-quality programs, training, information, support, and recognition. Ewa's long-term vision is shaped by its collective belief that: excellent Education journalism creates more informed citizens and leaders; informed citizens and leaders make better decisions about our country's Education system; better decisions lead to improved student outcomes and a more inclusive, informed, participatory society. Ewa believes high-quality Education journalism plays a key role in helping to improve Education. Excellence in Education journalism relies on strengthening the knowledge and skills of Education Writers, supporting them in their work, and raising the prominence of the Education beat. High-quality journalism creates a more informed and participatory public, which strengthens Education for all. Ewa organizational values include: quality - ewa helps our members create the highest-quality coverage. This focus on quality is essential for the work to result in greater awareness and a more participatory public. Community - ewa builds community by fostering connections among professionals covering Education and encourages them to learn together, share different perspectives, and maintain the highest standards of journalism. Professionalism - ewa believes strongly in upholding professionalism in Education journalism. This includes being fair, accurate, transparent, and independent in covering Education issues. Diversity - ewa embraces and advocates for a diversity of Education Writers, a diversity of issues, and a diversity of perspectives. We continue to strive to serve an increasingly diverse and broad range of Education content generators. Ewa's largest member category is journalist membership, for reporters, editors, and other professional journalists whose primary work is for independent news media, as well as journalism professors. The organization also has student and community membership categories, with most community members employed as communications professionals in the field of Education. Ewa's staff includes veteran and award-winning Education journalists and editors, who have decades of experience reporting, writing, assigning, and editing education-related stories. Ewa offers a robust calendar of online and in-person training and events aimed at bolstering the skills, knowledge and capacity of journalists to produce strong coverage of the united states' complex Education sector, from the early years through adulthood. Training and events national seminar: each year ewa holds a three-day national seminar that examines consequential issues in Education and provides training that enhances journalists' skills in covering Education from early childhood through adulthood. This flagship ewa seminar annually attracts hundreds of journalists and others interested in advancing high-quality coverage of Education. Special features include a strand of programming for Education communicators and awards honoring excellence in Education reporting. Higher Education seminar: ewa offers annual higher Education seminars for journalists who cover Education beyond high school. Smaller than the national seminar, the annual gathering complements a core mix of issue- oriented discussions with practical sessions designed to add to journalists' arsenal of skills. Diving into data workshops: each year, ewa offers an intensive, hands-on training program for journalists to improve their skills in using data in their reporting. In addition to practical instruction tailored to their experience level from expert data journalists, participants receive customized coaching on specific datasets. New to the beat program: ewa's new to the beat orientation and mentoring program offers a unique opportunity to journalists with two years or less covering Education to sharpen their skills and understanding of k-12 and higher Education. Participants attend a kickoff workshop, receive six months of mentor coaching, and produce reporting that reflects their participation in the program. Webinars: ewa webinars are interactive online events that inform members about consequential issues, connect them with Education newsmakers, and build their journalistic skill sets. Ewa provides dozens of these free and convenient online sessions each year, affording participants convenient access to high-quality content without the investment of time and money required by in-person events. Professional learning communities: ewa offers virtual learning programs that bring together members regularly over multiple months to gather and learn together about significant issues on the Education beat. Examples of such communities include a 10-month "caucus" on reporting on teaching and learning, a yearlong "caucus" on covering school finance, and a professional learning community focused on using Education research in stories. Customized support ewa reporting fellowships: the ewa reporting fellowship is a selective program that provides financial awards and other assistance to Education journalists to undertake ambitious reporting and writing projects. Since 2016, ewa has provided hundreds of thousands of dollars to support exceptional coverage of Education in nonprofit and corporate news outlets across the country. Fellowships support enterprising projects in a wide range of journalistic writing genres, all as well as audio, video, and data-focused journalism. Customized coaching: ewa's public editor, a seasoned Education journalist, provides free, confidential, customized coaching to journalists who need assistance in producing high-quality Education coverage and advancing in their careers. Recognition national awards for Education reporting: ewa's annual competition advances Education journalism by recognizing the field's very best efforts in numerous categories. The top prize, the fred m. hechinger grand prize for distinguished Education reporting is selected from among the first prize category winners. The ronald moskowitz prize for outstanding beat reporting recognizes the nation's top Education beat reporter. The awards program's goals are twofold: to encourage and inspire more and better Education journalism, and to underscore the importance of excellent coverage as a cornerstone of democracy and Education. Online resources ewa's website (ewa.org) provides extensive information about ewa and its services. The website allows people to learn about ewa governance; apply for membership; register for ewa's webinars and seminars; find experts on hundreds of topics in Education; sign up for ewa's journalists-only listservs; donate to the organization; apply for programs such as ewa reporting fellowships, new to the beat and diving into data; enter the national awards for Education reporting; offer suggestions for event programming; and more. On its own website and via ewa content on platforms such as vimeo, youtube and podcasts, ewa also offers an extensive array of original and curated content catering to a community of professionals who care about high- quality journalism on Education. Among those resources are: Education issues backgrounders: ewa's original content includes a suite of resources on major Education issues from early learning through postsecondary Education and how to cover those topics effectively. This collection of explanatory resources features overview articles on issues; lists of experts; links to key research, data, reports, organizations, and coverage; and suggested questions for reporters to ask. Blog posts: ewa regularly publishes original blog posts written by ewa journalist members and staff that aim to build reporters' capacity to cover trending topics in the news. These posts include news explainers on stories of the day, suggested story ideas, practical advice on reporting approaches, and guidance on finding and using Education data. Ewa radio: ewa produces a weekly podcast, ewa radio, that features the Association's public editor conducting in-depth interviews with experienced Education journalists about stories in the news and trends in media coverage of the Education sector. The podcast is available on ewa.org as well as a range of audio-streaming apps.