By Massarah Mikati

When crises hit, how prepared is your newsroom?

Join Election SOS and Brown University’s Information Futures Lab for an invigorating workshop that will put your preparedness to the test. Based in a fictional island off the Louisiana coast, this realistic activity will assign you to different newsrooms as public health, environmental and election crises hit your island, leaving you and your team to decide how to best deliver critical information to the communities you serve — and battle confusion and misinformation along the way. This free exercise is recommended for any journalists who want to explore the guiding principles they can put to work when news hits. The immersive virtual experience includes 90 minutes of hands-on exercises, with an additional 30 minutes to debrief. The Election SOS team got to do the workshop, and we had a blast! And had such stimulating conversation afterward about how we would be able to better prepare ourselves for real emergencies in the future. You can sign up multiple team members per newsroom or participate individually.

To apply for a slot at the upcoming sessions in October, indicate your interest here. Space is limited, so be sure not to miss out!