ANTHONY ADORNATO
Chair of Broadcast and Digital Journalism, Newhouse School, Syracuse University
Authenticity in the Age of Influencers: What Journalism Still Has to Learn from Content Creators
Influencers keep redefining how audiences consume information, and in 2026 the pressure on journalists has only sharpened: audiences now say creators feel more relatable and authentic than traditional news outlets, even as they rate them as less trustworthy and impartial. Most people aren’t choosing one or the other; they’re using creators alongside traditional media, not instead of it, which means the real opportunity isn’t imitation, it’s translation. This session unpacks what’s actually driving that trust, where journalism can borrow format and voice without borrowing the lack of accountability, and how communications professionals can build authenticity that holds up under scrutiny.
Anthony Adornato is chair of the Broadcast and Digital Journalism Department at Syracuse University’s Newhouse School. In 2013, he created and launched one of the first courses focused on the use of mobile and social media in journalism. That course became the basis of his textbook (third edition is forthcoming): “Mobile and Social Media Journalism: A Practical Guide for Multimedia Journalism” (Routledge). Adornato was named a Fulbright Scholar in recognition of his international expertise on the topic. He’s a former television reporter, anchor, and producer.
BRANT HOUSTON
Knight Chair Professor in Investigative and Enterprise Reporting, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign
Co-host
Brant Houston holds the Knight Chair in Investigative and Enterprise Reporting at the University of Illinois. He teaches investigative and advanced reporting in the Department of Journalism at UI. Houston also oversees the online newsroom at UI, CU-CitizenAccess.org, which serves as a lab for digital innovation and data journalism, and is an affiliated faculty member at UI’s National Center for Supercomputing Applications, Cline Center for Democracy and School of Information Sciences. Currently, Houston is working on projects involving nonprofit journalism and digital tools for news gathering.
Houston became Knight Chair in 2007 after serving for more than a decade as executive director of Investigative Reporters and Editors, and as professor at the University of Missouri School of Journalism. Before joining IRE, he was an award-winning investigative reporter at daily newspapers for 17 years.
Houston wrote “Computer-Assisted Reporting: A Practical Guide,” and co-authored “The Investigative Reporter’s Handbook.” He co-founded the Global Investigative Journalism Network and chairs its board of directors. He also co-founded and serves on the board of the Institute for Nonprofit News, an association of more than 130 nonprofit newsrooms in North America. He has taught and spoken about investigative and computer-assisted reporting at newsrooms and universities in 25 countries.
DAMON KIESOW
Knight Chair in Journalism Innovation, Missouri School of Journalism
Co-host
@dkiesow
Damon Kiesow is a digital media pioneer who specializes in aligning community information needs and business strategy in support of sustainable local journalism. He teaches a senior capstone in news product thinking, is authoring the first textbook in News Product Management and is a co-founder of the international News Product Alliance. Before joining Mizzou, he served as director of Product for McClatchy in Raleigh, North Carolina, where he reorganized the Product group and created the company’s first Product Design and User Experience Research teams.
SONALI KOHLI
Director of Recruiting and Workforce Development, URL Media
How to Get — and Keep — Your First Digital Media Job
This talk will offer insight for new job seekers on how to launch their career in digital/mobile journalism, with a focus on crafting the best resume/cover letter, practicing your elevator pitch, and building a strong network you can leverage.
Sonali Kohli (she/her) is Director of Recruitment & Workforce Development at URL and has spent her career at newspapers, digital startups, and online news organizations as a reporter, editor, and mentor to new talent before joining URL Media in 2021. Previously, Sonali was part of the L.A. Times staff that won a breaking news Pulitzer Prize and in 2020 and wrote a young adult nonfiction book about teen activism that was published by Beacon Press. She is based in Los Angeles, CA.
ADRIANA LACY
CEO, Field Nine Group
Building Meaningful Partnerships Between Newsrooms and Creators
As creators become an increasingly important part of how people discover and engage with information, newsrooms have new opportunities to work alongside them. Learn what newsroom-creator partnerships can look like, the unique strengths each side brings, the benefits for both newsrooms and audiences, and how these collaborations can work in practice. From understanding audience needs and shaping stories, to creating platform-native content and reaching new communities and a wider audience.
Adriana Lacy is the founder and CEO of Field Nine Group, a Boston-based media and technology portfolio company driving innovation at the intersection of audience strategy, creator partnerships, and journalism. Across its six divisions: Adriana Lacy Consulting, Influencer Journalism, Social Chime, InsightFlow Analytics, Channel Nine Studio, and Field Nine Collective, her signature work is building the models that let newsrooms and creators collaborate without either side losing what makes them credible.
That work lives primarily in Influencer Journalism, the group’s first-of-its-kind creator-newsroom agency, which helps news organizations partner with creators to strengthen trust, reach, and audience engagement. It runs on two proprietary frameworks Adriana developed for the creator economy: the STEPP Framework (Standards, Transparency, Engagement, Platform-Native content, and Public Service), a methodology grounded in original research that shapes how newsrooms and creators build sustainable partnerships, and Verified Storytellers, a system for vetting, training, and certifying creators on editorial standards so publishers can deploy them for trusted, credible coverage. She serves on WAN-IFRA’s Future Audiences Advisory Board, where her work centers on bridging journalism and influence, and is the author of Field Notes, a publication on audience, technology, and the future of journalism. She is also the creator of the TCI Framework (Task, Context, Intent), a model for situation-based audience strategy, and the founder of Journalism Mentors, a platform advancing early-career journalists through structured mentorship and paid media opportunities.
Her career began inside some of the country’s most prominent newsrooms: The New York Times, the Los Angeles Times, and Axios, where she focused on digital strategy and audience growth. Named to the Forbes 30 Under 30 list, she is an adjunct lecturer at Brandeis University, where she teaches courses including AI in Journalism, and previously served as a journalist in residence at Penn State’s Bellisario College of Communications. She is a frequent speaker on the international journalism circuit, including WAN-IFRA, the Online News Association, Sciences Po, and the Saudi Media Forum, with stages across the United States, the United Kingdom, and Saudi Arabia. She holds dual bachelor’s degrees from Penn State’s Bellisario College of Communications and College of the Liberal Arts, and a master’s degree in Digital Audience Strategy from Arizona State University. She is based in Boston, Massachusetts.
DAN PACHECO
Professor & Peter A. Horvitz Chair in Journalism Innovation, Syracuse University
Building Interactive News Apps with AI
@pachecod
The days are over when interactive and immersive news apps and experiences only could be built by large newsrooms with deep pockets. Now, with the right inexpensive AI tools, you can prompt “Vibe Coding” platforms like Cursor and Claude Code to build almost any cutting-edge web interface. You provide the vision, and the generative AI model writes the code. Learn how to get started in this hands-on workshop. You may even launch something during the session, as others have.
Dan Pacheco has taught digital journalism courses for 12 years, including most recently Virtual Reality Storytelling, Foundations of Data and Digital Journalism, and AI for Media Professionals. These topics and more are covered in his recently published book, “Experimenting with Emerging Media Platforms: Field Testing the Future” (Routledge, 2023).
He co-produced the award-winning Harvest of Change VR project which earned an Edward R. Murrow Award in 2015. In 2020, Pacheco led the student-produced project, Visualizing 81, which won multiple industry awards. He serves on the Peabody Awards Interactive Board of Jurors to recognize storytelling innovation in immersive media, games and interactive documentaries. Prior to academia, Pacheco spent 20 years in digital journalism, tech companies and startups. He received a “20 Under 40” award in 2005 for social networking innovations in journalism, and a Knight News Challenge grant in 2007.
RYAN RESTIVO
YESEO
What I’ve Learned from 60,000+ Headlines
Large language models have been ubiquitous since the end of 2022 — they have changed how we do things. Ryan will talk about how LLMs changed his work, what opportunities are out there as it evolves and what to avoid.
Ryan Restivo was a 2022-23 Reynolds Journalism Institute fellow who created the YESEO app, a free Slack app that has been installed in over 600 workspaces and helps journalists with SEO best practices. YESEO was a finalist for the 2024 Online Journalism Awards category Excellence in AI Innovation. YESEO recently partnered with The Oglethorpe Echo in the JournalismAI Innovation Challenge, supported by the Google News Initiative. YESEO’s goal is to reduce the time it takes to come up with that relevant headline, the right keywords and get your work seen and read. Ryan has over 15 years of experience in digital media.
KACI RICHTER
Associate Professor of Practice, University of Nebraska-Lincoln
How Podcasting Has Changed
Kaci Richter will talk about podcasting’s current landscape, how it’s changed and trends. She will discuss the way media figures and news organizations use podcasts.
Kaci Richter, Ph.D., is an Associate Professor of Practice at the University of Nebraska–Lincoln, where she teaches audio production, podcasting and communication design. A longtime broadcaster, producer, voice talent, and podcasting professional, Richter brings extensive industry experience into her teaching and creative work. She earned her Ph.D. in Public Administration from the University of Nebraska at Omaha in 2026, with a dissertation examining public-service journalism and nonprofit newsrooms in the Great Plains. Her research and professional interests center on the future of journalism, nonprofit media and the evolving role of audio storytelling in serving communities.
ANDREW ROWAN
Reporter and Creator, NBC Connecticut
One Person, Every Platform: Mobile Storytelling for the Modern MMJ
A phone is one of the most versatile tools in an MMJ’s kit. This session explores how one person, using just a smartphone and a few key accessories, can quickly capture high-quality content for both linear TV and digital platforms. We’ll look at simple shooting techniques and efficient workflows that make it easier to create platform-agnostic material, giving you what you need for the broadcast while also producing strong short-form video, without doubling your workload and optimizing time during your day.
Andrew Rowan is a reporter & multimedia journalist for NBC10 Philadelphia.
Prior to joining NBC10, Andrew was at NBC Connecticut covering the transportation beat and the stories that shape how people move around the state. Before joining NBC Connecticut, Andrew was a reporter at WCPO 9 in Cincinnati. Before that, he spent time as a multimedia journalist in residence at WCSC Live 5 News in Charleston, S.C., and interned with NBC News NOW and MSNBC’s social media editorial team.
A proud graduate of Northwestern University’s Medill School of Journalism, Andrew believes in journalism that bears witness, holds power to account, and helps viewers make informed decisions about their communities.
He’s passionate about reaching audiences where they are, focusing on storytelling for social media through creative visuals, explainers, and on-the-ground moments. That approach carries over to his on-air reporting, where he brings the same innovation through unique camera angles, motion graphics, and data-driven context.
ELITE TRUONG
Product Lead, Documented NY
Rethinking Revenue, Audience and Editorial Strategies for Local Communities
@elitetruong
Join Elite (e-light) Truong, Board Secretary at News Product Alliance and Product Lead at Documented, for a discussion on how she and her colleagues at Documented serve immigrant communities and professionals in NYC, including conducting user interviews across languages and translating editorial strategy to make sense for each community.
SUBBU VINCENT
Director of Journalism and Media Ethics, Markkula Center for Applied Ethics, Santa Clara University
Why Journalism Ethics and AI Need a New Data Element Defined
@subbuvincent
Subbu Vincent will speak about source justification as part of the ethic of transparency. Reporters already justify why they include sources in plain text all the time, and yet neither datasets capture it in newsrooms nor are they part of AI training for automation use cases. This talk will unpack a new data definition for journalism ethics and AI, with a plethora of examples of how reporters do justifications in stories.
Subbu Vincent is Director of Journalism and Media Ethics at Santa Clara University’s Markkula Center for Applied Ethics. He specializes in journalistic sourcing policies and standards. He applies this into source diversity audit technology development, anti-disinformation efforts, and training and consulting on news algorithms design, open-source intelligence ethics, and political ads for local news organizations. His latest work involves benchmarking LLMs for journalistic sourcing data generation and evaluation. He also convenes the News Distribution Ethics Roundtable, a tech platform-focused virtual body.
Vincent writes about media ethics with a focus on democracy and technology at Forbes. His recent podcast interviews are on AI, Advertising and the Future of Journalism Ethics and AI and the Future of Local Journalism. He is a Top Journalism Voice on LinkedIn. His academic writing on journalism ethics, mitigating disinformation and misinformation, and community media are available in several book chapters and academic journal articles. Vincent received the Distinguished Service to Journalism award from the Society of Professional Journalists, Northern California in 2022, and was John S Knight Journalism Fellow at Stanford University. He has graduate and undergraduate degrees in computer and electronics engineering.
JASON WEBB
Assistant Professor of Visual Communications, S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, Syracuse University
I Find Your Lack of Presence Disturbing: Emotion, Identity, and Learning in XR
In immersive virtual environments, learning doesn’t happen in a vacuum; it occurs through the mediated bodies, faces, and voices we bring with us. This talk explores how avatars in XR learning spaces serve as cognitive extensions of learners, shaping identity, presence, and connection. Using real-world examples and thoughtful design strategies, this session prompts participants to consider: who do we become when we learn virtually, and what are the emotional stakes of that transformation? I will discuss everything from avatar embodiment, the uncanny valley, and motion capture in XR. If there is time, I would love to do a live mo-cap demo with MetaHuman.
Dr. Jason Webb is an Assistant Professor for the Visual Communications Department in the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications. He teaches classes in Motion Design, Character Animation, 2D and 3D Animation, and Immersive Media (XR Design). Webb’s research focuses on XR in Education to create educational content that is challenging and exciting for students to learn from. His work looks to push the boundaries of technology in storytelling.