To help arm journalists with knowledge and tools to cover the virus and the health, social and financial crises it is causing, the Knight Center is offering the free online course “Journalism in a pandemic: Covering COVID-19 now and in the future.” The MOOC (massive open online course) runs from May 4 to 31, 2020, and will be offered simultaneously in English, Spanish, Portuguese and French.

This free training program is organized by the Knight Center for Journalism in the Americas at the University of Texas at Austin, in partnership with UNESCO and the World Health Organization (WHO), with support from the Knight Foundation and the United Nations Development Program (UNDP). Availability in Spanish and Portuguese, and tailor-made activities to Latin American and Caribbean journalists, are possible thanks to UNDP support.

Courses and Modules 

The four-week course, divided into weekly modules, will cover:

• Week one: The history of pandemics and disasters in the 20th century. The module will also look at whether governments planned for future pandemics.
• Week two: Covering COVID-19 now. What has happened with the pandemic in the past four months, especially concerning healthcare crises, international supply chains, and debates over social distancing and mask-wearing? How have different governments responded? Finally, how important is freedom of expression and detecting misinformation and disinformation?
• Week three: Hope for treatment and vaccines. What are the competing claims for treatments of the disease and what is the timeline for finding a vaccine and antibody test? What is the role of hype and media bias in advancing and debunking proposed treatments?
• Week four: The way forward. The final module looks at story angles for moving coverage forward and answering questions about how COVID-19 has changed our world. It will also look at journalists’ self-care in the process.

How to register?

• Create an account in the Journalism Courses system. Even if you’ve taken a course with us before, you may need to create a new account. Check to see if your previous username and password work before creating a new account.
• Wait for a confirmation in your email indicating that your account has been created. If you do not receive this, please check your spam folder.
• Log in to the platform, scroll down until you see the course listings, and click on the “Journalism in a pandemic: Covering COVID-19 now and in the future” course.
• A button will appear. Click “Enroll” to enroll yourself in the course. Following, you will be able to access the course from the “My Courses” menu at the top of the page.
• Furthermore, you will receive an email confirming your enrollment.

Please add the email addresses [email protected]  and [email protected]  to your address book to ensure you receive emails about the course.