Anyone can take these free, self-directed courses.
Poynter offers the online courses "Investigating jails" and "Pay attention: legal issues and your media company."
In "Investigating jails," topics include how to describe and explain why and how so many mentally ill people end up in jail; adverse incidents that affect jail inmates; investigative methods to identify systemic patterns; who is financially winning and who is financially losing in your jail; and effective reporting strategies to gain deep access to jails to uncover mistreatment.
In "Pay attention: legal issues and your media company," participants will learn the basic legal risks of newsgathering and news dissemination; different ways defamation and copyright issues can occur; importance of offering a retraction or correction when a mistake is made; and what to look for in a media-related insurance policy.
The courses can be taken at any time.
Registration is ongoing.