The Jazz Journalists Association will present”Introducing Jazz Journalism Now,” the first of a monthly series of webinars, on Wednesday July 18 starting at 8pm Eastern Time. The series of interactive online sessions will focus on practical, professional issues for writers, photographers, broadcasters, new media professionals, as well as readers, listeners, presenters, publicists and musicians interested in platforms for information dissemination and exchange. While some sessions will take the form of online panels featuring experts in the field, others will be workshops with one or a small group of instructors providing step-by-step training in some aspect of jazz media.
The July 18 session, “Introducing Jazz Journalism Now,” will focus on journalistic basics — strong storytelling and accurate reporting — as they pertain to the emergence, development and current landscape of documentation and analysis of jazz in popular, public media.
JJA president Howard Mandel will moderate presentations and discussion by panelists Patrick Jarenwattananon of NPR Music’s A Blog Supreme, Matt Kassel, a recent journalism grad who is now busy freelancing for a number of outlets including the Wall Street Journal and the New York City Jazz Record; and veteran journalist Dan Morgenstern, director emeritus Institute of Jazz Studies, Rutgers, University, NEA Jazz Master for Advocacy, Grammy Awards-winning liner note writer, ASCAP Deems Taylor Award-winning author and JJA Lifetime Achievement in Jazz Journalism honoree.
The panel will discuss: What is jazz journalism? Is there a difference between journalism and criticism? What should consumers and subjects of jazz journalism expect? What is “good” jazz journalism? What formats has jazz journalism taken? What standards of journalism and jazz should be expected and observed? What do current platforms for jazz journalism want to publish? What journalism do jazz audiences want? Is there an audience beyond the current audience? What are the best and most popular platforms for jazz journalism today? What do you see and hear there?
This first webinar on July 18 is free and open to all, but participants must register in advance. No special knowledge is needed to participate; all that is needed is a computer with a web browser and reliable internet connection. It’s also possible to listen to the audio portion of the webinars via phone, and the JJA hopes to archive the webinars online for the use of those who are unable to attend the live webinars.
In 90 minutes, “Introducing Jazz Journalism Now” will only touch on topics to be explored at greater length and depth in following JJA online programs, including “Focus on Festival Coverage,” on Wednesday, August 15 (panelists TBA) and, in later months, topics including “Writing Jazz Biographies” and workshops in beginning and advanced Jazz Blogging. Sign up to receive information about future webinars and training sessions.
While the first webinar, “Introducing Jazz Journalism Now” is being offered at no charge to all, subsequent JJA webinars will be free only to JJA members as a membership benefit; non-members will be able to participate for a registration fee of $30 for each webinar.
