ABOUT SRCCON 2020

At SRCCON 2020, participants created an unforgettable space to talk about our hopes for journalism—what we’ll burn down and what we’ll build, and how we can be in community through it all.

Here’s what we did

• Gathered for six talks that challenged the status quo in journalism, pushing us to listen to new voices, shift power into new places, and wield the power we already have to push for change
• Came together for 23 interactive sessions and workshops, teaching each other about new tools and techniques for journalism in 2020, how to be there for the communities we’re part of and the people we work with, and how to make our newsrooms more equitable places for everyone
• Led more than 20 meetups, hobby sessions, and conversations on everything from freelance journalism and product development to woodworking, D&D, and homeschooling during a pandemic
• Came together from across the U.S. and the world, representing 13 time zones from the United States to Seoul to São Paulo to Berlin to Sydney
• Connected throughout the week in the SRCCON Slack: a pop-up community with 50+ channels created by attendees to keep talking after sessions wrapped up and organize around shared interests and goals

And here’s what you said

• “What I love about SRCCON is how much it changes my notions of what’s possible.”
• “I liked that people were addressing all of the diversity and objectivity issues that big-j Journalism is trying so hard to ignore…. It felt good to get uncomfortable.”
• “The care that was taken to make sure people could speak freely about their workplaces was an awesome equalizer in conversations. I didn’t have any preconceptions about someone because I didn’t know where they worked or what their role was, and vice versa.”

About the program

Wednesday-Friday, July 15-17, 2020

• Talks: The six talks on our program this year create a common foundation to build on during conversations throughout the week. SRCCON participants can watch them in advance and submit questions ahead of time, or join us live to watch the talks, listen to some fun intros for the speakers, and participate in live Q&As with the speakers.
• Sessions: Participatory sessions create space to get into the biggest problems facing journalism, together. Community members will facilitate peer conversations and hands-on workshops that draw on the experience of every attendee in the (Zoom) room.
• Meetups & group conversations: SRCCON makes time for study groups, “birds of a feather” meetups, hobby workshops, and gatherings on just about any topic you can think of. Some are on the schedule, some will happen in the Slack, and others will emerge organically throughout the week.
• More ways to get involved: We’ve invited the folks behind some amazing projects to share intro videos and demos for you to explore in advance. Each project has a Slack channel, and they’ll be available throughout SRCCON to meet up for 1-1 or group conversations.

• 🗓 The schedule
• 👉 Attendee FAQ

What you can expect

SRCCON 2020 will be fully online and in the midst of both a global crisis and a reckoning within journalism. We expect that in some ways, it will be unlike any event we’ve held before. What we do know, however, is that SRCCON 2020 will remain a unique, accessible, and inclusive event that hosts frank, challenging, nurturing, and creative conversations that need to be had.

At SRCCON, you’ll:

• be part of hands-on workshops that reimagine newsroom tech, teamwork, leadership, community, and journalism itself —not panels where you sit back and listen, but sessions where you participate and learn.
• connect with people who share your hopes and dreams for journalism—not just making professional acquaintances, but creating personal relationships that last.
• bring who you are into a conference that thinks about the program, the schedule—even breaks & activities—as ways to celebrate everything you have to share.

SRCCON programs are built by participants, and previous attendees have already expressed interest this year in talking about topics like: leading during crisis, nurturing staff remotely, navigating uncertain career paths, reshaping team workflows, and organizing collective action to address the systemic racism in our industry. We can’t wait to hear what you want to talk about.

SRCCON will be a place to re-energize, personally and professionally, and the care participants take with one another animates every piece of our shared program. The conversations that happen here come from the community and reflect its values:

• We lead change—by challenging the power structures that have failed our industry, we push for long-lasting change in our organizations, led by journalists of color and journalists in local and regional newsrooms.
• We support one another—by offering each other our expertise and empathy, we find new collaborators, help each other learn, and make our networks and organizations more resilient.
• We experiment in the open—by sharing our work and processes, we do the transformative work our organizations need to better connect with and inform our communities.

Our work exists to create a future where journalists can work in newsrooms that are equitable, inclusive, and collaborative. We hold space for you to bring your entire self to SRCCON, just as we hope that one day everyone will be able to bring their whole selves to work—instead of feeling the need to self-oppress because of identity or background. We also hope to provide the community, environment, and support you need to focus on your work (or what you’re passionate about), and at least for a while, do it without carrying extra weight.

Who attends SRCCON events

Our participants represent organizations ranging from massive to tiny, and come from all over the U.S. and many other countries. Accessibility is a core value, and we always offer live session transcripts and tons of documentation for those who can’t attend in person. This year, we’re excited to expand possibilities for attendees even further. Much of the SRCCON program will be available across multiple time zones and through asynchronous participation—if you need to take care of the popsicle your kid just dropped on the floor or step away for an urgent call, we want to make it possible to participate around the complexity of this moment.

SRCCON participants are developers, designers, journalists, editors, and allies: the practitioners and leaders who are transforming their newsrooms into more representative and innovative places to work. Participants come to SRCCON to change journalism by creating more intentional processes, better relationships with the communities they cover, and new ways to engage and inform people.

How much does it cost?

Ticket prices start at $125, plus ticketing fees. We’ll also offer a limited number of need-based, free scholarship tickets as well as $250 stipends for attendees whose time to attend would otherwise be uncompensated. All scholarship applications will be reviewed and applicants will be notified by July 1.

SRCCON events don’t have open sale dates or lotteries. If you want to come to SRCCON 2020, our call for participation is how to let us know.

What’s next?

Stay in touch by following @SRCCON and find out about upcoming deadlines by joining our mailing list. If you have a specific question, please reach out.

About us

SRCCON events are produced by OpenNews. We connect a network of developers, designers, journalists, and editors to collaborate on open technologies and processes within journalism. OpenNews believes that a community of peers working, learning and solving problems together can create a stronger, more responsive, and inclusive journalism ecosystem. Incubated at the Mozilla Foundation from 2011-2016, OpenNews is now a project of Community Partners.