Nov. 1 TAB Newsroom Workshop Investigative Reporting Panels
posted on 10.20.2025- Techniques and Tools to Hold Government, the Powerful Accountable
TAB’s Southwest Broadcast Newsroom Workshop is set for Saturday, Nov. 1, at the College of Media & Communication on the Texas Tech University campus in Lubbock, with a packed day-long program for professional broadcast journalists.
Texas and national members of Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) will present three panels focusing on Open Records request basics; utilizing government data in spreadsheets for enterprise reporting; and reporting comprehensive investigative stories on multiple platforms.
These sessions provide a fantastic opportunity for newsrooms to learn how to use the Texas Public Information Act to hold government, elected officials, and other powerful individuals accountable.
Presenters include IRE executive director Diana Fuentes; longtime Texas investigative reporter and newly elected IRE president Josh Hinkle, KXAN-TV; and WANF/Atlanta News First MMJ Brendan Keefe. Hinkle and Keefe have both won national Edward R. Murrow awards in the past two years for their investigative reporting.
In Seeking Open Records, Fuentes and Hinkle will cover the basics of making Open Records requests. The session will also cover obstacles requestors may encounter from governmental agencies, and how to work around them. As a bonus, Fuentes will equip attendees with a list of 20 records to request now to generate exceptional stories.
The Multi-Platform Reporting session explores the many ways news consumers connect with stations, from the over-the-air broadcast, online, and increasingly, on their phones. Broadcasters must go where the audience is, and this can be a boon for investigative reporting and general assignment coverage.
Multi-platform reporting gives pieces room to breathe beyond the limitations of an over-the-air newscast, further serving the audience. Hinkle and Keefe will detail how some of their best work began with a question and led to the story being told on multiple platforms, not just the over-the-air signal.
Have you wondered how investigative journalists turn government information contained in spreadsheets into great enterprise reporting? Veteran database reporting expert Fuentes will show attendees how to do it in Spreadsheets 101, Mining Data for Stories. There are all kinds of data out there just waiting to be unlocked, deciphered, and utilized by your newsroom for innovative reporting.
In addition to the investigative session noted above, Keefe will present session on basic and advanced MMJ skills and tools. Nationally known presenters Al Tompkins and Kevin Benz will also be presenting multiple sessions throughout the day-long workshop. The duo will explore AI’s impact on the newsroom and newsgathering; best practices for enterprise reporting, live shots, and newswriting; battling bias and building audience trust; and finding work/life balance to manage mental well-being.
The deadline to register for the workshop is Wednesday, Oct. 29.
Questions? Contact TAB’s Michael Schneider or call (512) 322-9944.
« Back to Latest News