The Ohio State University will host the 2027 Journalism Educators Institute, bringing journalism educators from across the country to Columbus for a practical, forward-looking professional development experience focused on teaching, leadership and the future of journalism education.
The Institute is designed for journalism faculty, administrators, graduate students, student media advisers and professional journalists interested in teaching. Sessions will focus on some of the most pressing issues facing journalism education, including artificial intelligence, sports media, political journalism ahead of the 2028 election cycle, experiential learning, creative uses of technology, administrative leadership, enrollment challenges and the evolving role of diversity, equity and inclusion in journalism programs.
“The Journalism Educators Institute is built around community, creativity and practical ideas educators can take back to their classrooms,” said Nicole Kraft, professor of journalism practice at Ohio State and director of the Sports and Society Institute. “We are excited to welcome journalism educators to Ohio State and to create space for honest conversations about where our field is headed and how we can best prepare students for that future.”
The 2027 Institute will include keynote-style conversations, breakout sessions, hands-on teaching exchanges and optional trips and tours connected to Ohio State, Columbus media organizations and sports-related learning opportunities. A Thursday night social event will open the Institute and give participants a chance to connect before the full program begins.
Planned session themes include responsible and effective use of AI in journalism classrooms, teaching political coverage during a presidential election cycle, using sports as a lens for teaching journalism and society, planning domestic and study abroad experiential learning, supporting journalism programs through enrollment challenges and helping department chairs and academic leaders navigate change.
The Institute will also feature a “Steal My Idea” teaching session, where educators will share successful assignments, classroom strategies and activities that others can adapt for their own courses.
The 2027 event will build on the Journalism Educators Institute’s history of helping college educators strengthen their teaching and professional networks. The Institute has been led by Kathleen Bartzen Culver of the University of Wisconsin-Madison and Mark E. Johnson of the University of Georgia, who have spent nearly 20 years helping journalism educators advance their teaching, leadership and student engagement.
Culver is the James E. Burgess Chair in Journalism Ethics, director of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Journalism & Mass Communication and director of the Center for Journalism Ethics. Johnson is the Principal Lecturer of Photojournalism and Chief Technology Officer for the University of Georgia College of Journalism and Mass Communication.
Kraft will join Culver and Johnson as Ohio State hosts the 2027 Institute. Kraft leads sports journalism education at Ohio State and directs the Sports and Society Institute, where her work focuses on journalism, sports media, experiential learning, student career readiness and partnerships across academics, athletics, student media and the sports industry.
Registration is expected to open Oct. 1, 2027, with early registration priced at $150. Registration after Jan. 1 will be $200.
Organizers also plan to seek input from journalism educators in fall 2026 to help shape the program around the issues faculty are seeing in classrooms, programs and student media organizations.
More information, including registration details, speakers, hotel information and the full schedule, will be announced closer to the event.