Learning Modules

These learning modules are available through KCNN.org.

J-Learning: Your How-To Site for Community Journalism

Plan, build, present, and promote your community news website.

Likes & Tweets: Leveraging Social Media for News Sites

This guide is a roadmap for improving both your understanding of social media and your use of it.

Launching a Nonprofit News Site

Walk through the process - including the hurdles and the requirements - whether you are seeking to establish a federally recognized 501(c)3 organization or a project within a university or college. Funded by the Ethics &Excellence in Journalism Foundation.

Outside-the-Box Community Engagement

Engaging readers is why your online news community exists. You can’t use the wisdom of the crowds if the crowd isn’t talking.

Making the Most of Metrics

Whether you’re running a small hyperlocal community Web site or a large regional citizen media site, you can use free or inexpensive tools to improve your site, increase traffic and give accurate information to potential advertisers and sponsors.

Interviewing: A practical guide for citizen journalists

Whether you already interview or are daunted by the prospect, learn what types of interviews you should go for and how they can improve your journalism. Funded by the William Penn Foundation.

The Freebies List for Frugal Journalists

While there are plenty of good software programs out there to buy, comparable ones can be found all over the Internet for free or next-to-free. We have compiled a growing list of our favorites for anyone to use. Produced by J-Lab staff.

Twelve Tips for Optimizing Your Site for Search Engines

There’s good news for even solo citizen journalists who want to improve how their sites are found through search engines like Google: Your own homegrown search engine optimization can get you many of the benefits of a professional retooling. Learn some easy ways to boost your ranking and get more traffic.

Twitter Tips: Today’s Must-Have Tool for Citizen Journalists

Twitter is equally useful for breaking news and for tracking ongoing stories and issues, getting fast answers or feedback, finding sources, building community, collaborating on coverage, and discovering emerging issues or trends. Learn how to sign up, log on and start posting “tweets” to enhance your hyperlocal coverage.

Top 10 Rules for Limiting Legal Risk

If you’re running a citizen media site or contributing to one, these 10 rules will help you avoid potential legal piftalls. Get advice in videos from Harvard Berkman Center experts and Media Law Resource Center attorneys. Module produced by Geanne Rosenberg, associate professor at City University of New York’s Graduate School of Journalism and Baruch College.

Tools for Citizen Journalists

This six-chapter training module will help site operators and citizen journalists cope with the challenges of covering communities on small budgets with little or no staff. Module developed by Wendell Cochran and Amy Eisman, American University School of Communication.

Twelve Tips for Growing Positive Communities Online

Your site is up and all is running well until the conversation heats up and a flame war erupts. Here are a dozen ways to keep the discussion going while maintaining a civil environment and positive direction on your site.