We brainstormed a short list of conferences where cross-disciplinary journalism/tech folks can to hang out, connect, recharge and learn—but we suspect you’re going to have more for us, so please send them our way and we can add them. Thanks!

After we made this list we got a few requests to share it, so we thought we’d publish it too. If you’re looking for ways to connect with people who want to work together to move the industry forward, here are some ideas for conferences to attend. Also if there are other conferences you think would be great for this list, please let us know! We’ll add them.

We also know that the costs to attend conferences can be high, so we’ve added the few grant applications that we know of at the end of this piece. One is a new offering from our colleagues at the Lenfest Institute as well as a program from OpenNews. We hope to see you around. —The Lenfest Lab.

---

FEBRUARY

Computation and Journalism Symposium, February 1–2 in Miami, FL

“The Computation+Journalism Symposium is a celebration and synthesis of new ways to find and tell news stories with, by, and about data and algorithms. It is a venue to seed new collaborations between journalists and computer and data scientists: a bazaar for the exchange of ideas between industry/practice and academia/research.”

*Sorry, this one happened this past weekend but it was fantastic and eye-opening and we recommend keeping an eye out for it next year.

---

MARCH

NICAR, March 7–10 in Newport Beach, CA

“The Computer-Assisted Reporting Conference offers something for everyone, from beginners to those on the cutting edge of digital reporting. We’ll offer everything from the basics of using spreadsheets, databases and online mapping to data visualization and the latest technological advances. You’ll come away with story ideas, plenty of inspiration and tools to help you overcome typical data hurdles.”

---

APRIL

America East Conference, April 1–3 in Hershey, PA

“The Pennsylvania NewsMedia Association invites you to join us April 1–3 at The Hershey Lodge for the 2019 America East conference and trade show. AE has a longstanding history in the news media industry and the advisory committee is hard at work preparing for a valuable, engaging event next year! Additional details are forthcoming! Questions can be directed to [email protected].”

International Journalism Festival, April 3–7 in Perugia, Italy

“The biggest annual media event in Europe.”

SND, Society for News Design, April 4–6 in Chicago, IL

“Chicago will play host to the next SND Annual Workshop & Exhibition from April 4–6, 2019 in the city where the very first Society for News Design workshop was held 40 years ago in 1979. SND’s partner is Northwestern’s Medill School of Journalism; the event will take place at the Medill downtown Chicago campus and the nearby Swissotel, both right on the Chicago River.”

ISOJ, International Symposium on Online Journalism, April 12–13 in Austin, TX

“The International Symposium on Online Journalism is an annual gathering of editors, producers, executives and academics from around the world who convene at the University of Texas at Austin to discuss the evolution of online journalism. ISOJ started in 1999 as a small, but very intense one-day conference. It has grown throughout the years to become a unique international conference that serves as a barometer for the state of online journalism globally.”

---

MAY

Collaborative Journalism Summit, May 16 & 17 in Philadelphia, PA

“We hope you’ll join us and other journalists, media executives, technologists and entrepreneurs from around the world for the 2019 Collaborative Journalism Summit. This year’s conference builds on the successes of our 2017 and 2018 summits, which focused on case studies of successful collaborative projects and featured keynote speakers representing CrossCheck, ethnic media collaborations, The Panama Papers, Solutions Journalism Network, Electionland and much more.”

Tech Week 2019, May 11–13 in Philadelphia, PA

“Introduced by Technical.ly, now in its second year, returns with the promise of even more quality interdisciplinary introductions. That means everything from engaging demonstrations, outcome-driven workshops and dynamic conversations with speakers and brands you need to know. This thought-provoking programming represents every part of the Philly innovation ecosystem. We’re bringing back “the conference that Philly has been waiting to see,” to one place on one day during Philly Tech Week 2019. This time, get involved early: submit your idea for a session here.”

---

JUNE

Nothing, yet!

---

JULY

SRCCON 2019 (last year’s agenda), July 11 & 12 in Minneapolis, MN

“OpenNews runs several journalism events each year. The largest is this conference: SRCCON, a mid-year conference for about 300 developers, designers, and data analysts. We also gather small working groups and convenings, and in 2017 added our first topically focused SRCCON-style event, SRCCON:WORK in Philadelphia.”

---

AUGUST

NABJ, National Association of Black Journalists Convention and Career Fair, August 7–11 in Miami, FL

“The 2019 NABJ Annual Convention & Career Fair is the premier venue for journalism education, career development and networking opportunity that draws leaders in journalism, media, technology, business, arts and entertainment. Over 3,000 of the nation’s top journalists, media executives, public relations professionals, and students will gather in Miami, beginning Aug. 7–11.”

AAJA, Asian American Journalists Association, July 31-August 3 in Atlanta, GA

“The four-day convention includes a Career Fair & Expo, plenary sessions, panel workshops, seminars and other activities with interactive discussions about industry and community issues.”

WordCamp for Publishers (last year’s agenda), usually in August

“In 2016, a group of us in the WordPress and journalism community came together and decided we wanted to host the first ever WordCamp for Publishers, to help empower anyone who uses WordPress to manage publications, big or small.”

---

SEPTEMBER

Excellence in Journalism Conference, September 5–7 in San Antonio, TX

“The Excellence in Journalism Conference (EIJ) is a collaboration between the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ), the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA) and the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ).”

ONA, Online News Association, September 12–14 in New Orleans, LA

“Join us at ONA19 for inspiring conversations about the latest trends and best practices in digital media; interactive exhibits to explore new tools; opportunities to connect with influencers, peers and emerging talent; and much more!”

Solutions Journalism Summit (last year’s agenda), usually in September

“The Solutions Journalism Summit is our annual gathering of unbelievably smart and fun journalists from around the world focused on (or interested in) reporting on how people are responding to social problems (aka “solutions journalism”). Together over 2.5 days, we’ll explore best practices, new ideas, and potential collaborations around solutions journalism between the roughly 90 attendees and SJN team members.”

XOXO (last year’s agenda), usually in September

“XOXO is an experimental festival for independent artists and creators who work on the internet.”

---

OCTOBER

KleinCamp News Innovation (last year’s agenda), usually in October in Philadelphia, PA

“Annual unconference on the future of news.”

---

NOVEMBER

Newsgeist (invite-only, last year’s agenda), usually in November in Phoenix, AZ

“Newsgeist is a gathering of practitioners and thinkers from the worlds of journalism, technology, and public policy who are re-imagining the future of the news. Anchored by the annual “unconference” events and supplemented by an online community, Newsgeist is a community of industry peers who share projects and ideas and tackle challenging problems together.”

---

DECEMBER

Nothing yet!

---

Grant applications for attending conferences

The Lenfest Next Generation Fund“The Lenfest Institute has committed $25,000 to this fund in 2019. The fund will provide awards of up to $1,200 to Philadelphia-area journalists and students of color to attend a professional conference of their choice. Professional Journalist and Student Journalist applications are open until March 11th at 11:59 PM. We believe that language should never be a barrier to opportunity, so you can apply in Spanish here.”

OpenNews Journalism Code Ticket + Travel Scholarships“Whether you’re a newsroom developer at a small organization without much budget for professional development, or a freelance developer eager to learn more about journalism code, we created this program to help you attend events. Join our email list to find out when the next round of applications opens.”

Back to the top of the list.

---

The Lenfest Local Lab is a small, multidisciplinary product and user experience innovation team located in Philadelphia, PA supported by The Lenfest Institute for Journalism.

The Lenfest Institute for Journalism is a non-profit organization whose mission is to develop and support sustainable business models for great local journalism. The Institute was founded in 2016 by entrepreneur H.F. (Gerry) Lenfest with the goal of helping transform the news industry in the digital age to ensure high-quality local journalism remains a cornerstone of democracy.