Things we learned at NICAR: A hotdish is a main course; a casserole is a side dish. And coffee is always served.
By Stacy Kess
Equal Access Public Media, a fiscally sponsored project of ANF
More than 970 journalists descended on downtown Minneapolis March 6 for four days to discuss journalism, AI, data, and the state of the industry – and drink unlimited cups of coffee.
The annual Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) National Institute for Computer-Assisted Reporting (NICAR) conference invited me to speak on a panel about accessibility this year, and I couldn’t resist – especially when I was informed that there would be unlimited free coffee.
NICAR25 also kicked off the 50th year of IRE, so it was a double celebration, and I could feel it in the air. Despite nine inches of snow blanketing Minneapolis-St. Paul the day before the NICAR25 was set to begin, the air was electric.
I joined two other journalists, data graphics journalist Joe Murphy from NBC and art crimes reporter Karen Ho, on a panel moderated by Joanna Kao from the Pulitzer Center titled “Building a culture of accessibility and why it matters.”
This panel gave me the opportunity to introduce Equal Access Public Media to professional journalists who may not have heard of EAPM; to discuss how we are pursuing making news publications and newsrooms more accessible; and to introduce them to the first publication we’re building, the National Tab.
Beyond that single hour, the conference also was a great time to connect with old friends – I ran into a journalist I hadn’t seen in 20 years! – and to meet new connections. I talked about accessibility and EAPM hundreds of times over the course of the weekend, and found kindred spirits many times over.
It’s probably been 20 years since I last attended a conference. Life got in the way. Work got in the way. Then there were five years recovering from a car crash. Then the pandemic. Then I was too busy building EAPM.
In reality, most of those were just excuses. I realize now that being at NICAR25 allowed me to connect with colleagues who are working toward the same goal: quality, factual journalism. It also afforded me an opportunity to network. Most importantly, it gave me a chance to promote EAPM, to find resources, and to find people interested in our work.
I’m already looking forward to attending my next conference. A new connection and I are submitting a proposal for a panel on making news more accessible for audiences at Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) MediaFest25 in October in Washington D.C.
I hope to see you all there. I hear the coffee is pretty good.
