Advanced Prompting for Journalists

Advanced Prompting for Journalists

Overview

This advanced online class equips journalists with the skills to take their AI prompting and advanced search techniques (Dorking) to the next level for enhanced research and information gathering. Through practical exercises and real-world examples, participants will gain a solid understanding of how to craft precise AI prompts and utilise Dorking operators to uncover valuable information efficiently and ethically. Join this dynamic session to enhance your investigative capabilities and stay ahead in the evolving digital landscape of journalism. This class is produced in cooperation with Eurovision News Spotlight – the collaborative network for the social news gathers of public service media.

Who is it for

  • Broadcast news editors
  • Broadcast news journalists
  • Social media news editors
  • Social media news journalists
  • News content strategists
  • Digital journalists
  • Investigative reporters
  • Anyone interested in enhancing their online research skills

 

What you will learn

  • Advanced prompting techniques, including setting constraints to refine AI responses for specific journalistic needs.
  • The concept of iterative prompting and how to build prompt chains to tackle complex, multi-stage research tasks relevant to journalistic investigations.
  • What is Dorking (Google search operators), and why should journalists care?
  • An understanding of search operators and how Dorking can uncover publicly available information that standard searches might miss, emphasising ethical considerations.
  • Essential Google Dorks and their practical applications in journalistic research, illustrated with real-world examples.

Meet your faculty

Derek Bowler

Head of Social Newsgathering

Derek Bowler is the Head of Social Newsgathering at the European Broadcasting Union (EBU), where he leads a global team of digital verification journalists and OSINT investigations specialists.

He has over 10 years of experience in discovering, verifying, and clearing eyewitness media for the EBU membership and other media organisations. Derek has produced documentaries, investigations, and projects using eyewitness media and visual forensics. He has also co-authored Eyewitness Textures: User-Generated Content and Journalism in the Twenty-First Century, published by McGill-Queen’s University Press, and co-authored the EBU Eyewitness Principles and Guidelines.

He developed the Agile Newsroom event, a training model for visual verification skills, listed among the promising practices from Media and Information Literacy (MIL) training models in the Council of Europe’s Supporting Quality Journalism through Media and Information Literacy study.

Derek holds a BA (Hons) degree in Journalism and New Media from the University of Limerick, certifications in Terrorism and Counterterrorism from Georgetown University, and Intellectual Property Law and Policy from the University of Pennsylvania.