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Make the most of your reporting, and let The Friendly State News help. 

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Services

Public Records Training

In a 2-hour session, as few or as many of your reporters will learn the basics of filing public records requests and success strategies for making the most of records requests in reporting. Newsrooms receive free tools, training materials and fill-in requests they can reuse. 

Investigative Project Coaching

Does your newsroom have a great story, but you don't know how to take it across the finish line? Do you work for a student newsroom or a small newsroom without an investigative editor? Let me help you — you get all the credit. Don't give up ownership to partner with a national newsroom.

Freelance Journalism Coaching

On a monthly basis, I offer low cost training for freelance reporters on records requests, interview techniques and project management. Options vary, all are $15 per person. 

Types of Trainings

Beginners FOI

Come learn to file a public records request! If you've never filed a public records request before or you have filed them but with limited success, come elevate your craft! 

Advanced FOI

This class is for those who have successfully filed records requests, but would like to better understand appeals or how to file mass records requests. We'll also go over more advanced negotiation strategies for costs and large requests, which tend to stymie newsrooms in the midst of great investigations.

Beginners Excel

This class is for folks who are uncomfortable with Excel. It's a great fit for those who don't use Excel at all and might be a little intimidated by the prospect of using it. It's also a good fit for those who use Excel to make lists but haven't explored beyond that. We'll go over basic navigation, entry-level functions, basic cleaning, and sorting and filtering.

Advanced Excel

This class is for those who have mastered basic functions and filtering and sorting and are interested in more advanced cleaning techniques and pivot tables. We'll be going over advanced filtering and sorting, pivot tables, advanced functions and cleaning tips and tricks.

What People Are Saying

I learned so much in Jessica Huseman's Investigative Reporting class at NYU. As a graduate student, I found her lessons and modules relevant, rigorous, and critical to understanding the skills necessary for doing Investigative reporting. Jessica's honest, no-BS approach is refreshing and direct--she gave us a clear-eyed look at the industry and also shared her experiences sourcing, interviewing, and reporting on some of the incredible pieces that she's worked on. I highly recommend this training as a base for up-and-coming investigative journalists, but it also provides important skills and lessons for reporters in whatever beat they will cover!

Lilian Manansala - NYU Masters Candidate

Contact

Got questions?
Reach out. 

Got questions?
Reach out. 

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