2026 Christopher J. Georges Conference on College Journalism

Schedule

Friday, March 27, 2026

4:00 – 4:45 p.m.		Open house at The Harvard Crimson
14 Plympton St., Cambridge, Mass. | map
5:00 – 6:00 p.m.Reception
6:00 – 6:30 p.m.Welcome remarks and introductions
  • Henry Chu, interim curator of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard
6:30 – 7:45 p.m.Dinner
7:45 – 8:45 p.m.The Year Trump Broke the Federal Government
A keynote address and conversation
  • Hannah Natanson, Washington Post reporter and former managing editor of The Harvard Crimson
  • Introduction: Matteo Diaz, president, The Harvard Crimson
Q&A

Saturday, March 28, 2026

8:30 – 9:00 a.m.		Breakfast and networking
9:00 – 10:15 a.m.Welcome remarks and presentation
Covering Protests, Using Media, and Protecting Your Work: A Legal Primer
Student journalists face legal risks both in the field and online. Learn about your rights — and strategies to stay safe — while covering protests, immigration issues, and other high-stress situations that may involve interactions with law enforcement, including a review of Constitutional and federal law along with key property, privacy, and criminal law concepts that shape the legal landscape surrounding protest coverage. You will also be given practical copyright primer, addressing the risks of reusing photos, videos, and music; how to identify material that is truly free and safe to republish; and how to respond when your own published work is reused without permission, including by artificial intelligence, with guidance on handling takedown demands and asserting your own rights when your work is used without authorization.
  • Jonathan Gaston-Falk, staff attorney at the Student Press Law CenterIntroduction: Dhruv Patel, managing editor, The Harvard Crimson
10:15 – 10:30 a.m.Break (and find your breakout room) 
10:30 – 11:45 a.m.BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Choose one:
 
Breakout I
Hit the Ground Running with Digital Safety
In this session, we’ll cover the core principles of device security, teaching you practical techniques to keep your phone malware-free and your data secure in the event of loss, theft, or seizure. We will also dive into the essentials of account security, including strong passwords, password managers, and two-factor authentication. To ensure that you can recognize even the most sophisticated cyber threats, we will explore advanced strategies hackers and harassers use to target the work and reputation of journalists and newsrooms. By mastering these foundational skills, you will establish the robust digital safety habits you’ll need to protect your data, your work, and your reporting career in your newsroom and beyond.
  • Harlo Holmes, chief security programs officer at Freedom of the Press Foundation
Breakout II
From Newcomer to Expert: How to Crack Sources, Dig Deep and Own Coverage
Beat reporters are experts in their given field but often start out as generalists. This panel covers how to develop the kind of expertise that leads to meaningful stories, strong sourcing and must-read analyses. We’ll discuss how to build a beat from the ground up while tackling stalled FOIA requests, misinformation and reluctant sources. 
  • 2026 Nieman Fellows Jessica Glenza, a senior health reporter for the Guardian US, and Daniel Strauss, most recently a national political reporter for CNN based in Washington, D.C.
11:45 a.m. – 1:00 p.m.Lunch
1:00 – 2:15 p.m.BREAKOUT SESSIONS
Choose one:

Breakout I
How to Think Like an Investigative Journalist
Great investigative stories start with curiosity, skepticism, and the right tools. In this session, you’ll learn how to spot hidden stories, frame investigations, and dig deeper, whether you’re on a tight deadline or working on a long-term project. We’ll cover the essentials: finding strong story ideas, developing sources, leveraging open-source tools, handling pushback, working with data, and crafting effective requests for comment.
  • 2026 Nieman Fellow Sotiris Sideris, data editor at the Center for Collaborative Investigative Journalism in the U.S. and Reporters United in Greece, and Andrew Ryan, a member of the Spotlight Team at The Boston Globe and a 2024 Murrey Marder Nieman Fellow in Watchdog Journalism
Breakout II
Write Like the Pros
How do large newsrooms such as The Washington Post and The Boston Globe approach the everyday craft of writing that underpins award-winning journalism? In this practical workshop, an opinion columnist and a national investigative reporter will share techniques used in their own work to produce clear, compelling stories, columns and analyses, including how to write strong ledes, craft sharp nut grafs and structure reporting and argument. Drawing on experience covering immigration, politics and public life, the session will offer practical tools for making your writing sharper, clearer and more engaging.
  • 2026 Nieman Fellows Silvia Foster-Frau, a national investigative reporter covering immigration for The Washington Post, and Marcela García, a Boston Globe opinion columnist and associate editor whose commentaries focus on immigration, social inequities, and Hispanic issues
2:15 – 2:30 p.m.Break
2:30 – 4:30 p.m.Student Lightning Round: Hear from Your Peers
Short presentations from student news organizations about stories they’ve covered, special projects they’ve worked on, or newsroom challenges they’ve faced during the past year.
4:30 – 4:45 p.m.Final comments and survey