Spring and summer 2026 are packed with events for journalists: from a free three-day conference in New York City to a hands-on data bootcamp in Missouri. Whether you’re looking to build technical skills, connect with peers, or just get out of your usual routine here’s what’s worth booking.

May: AI, Investigations, and a Free Conference in New York

Media Party NYC at Brown Institute

Media Party NYC is a casual networking event where journalists, media professionals, and creators meet, socialize, and make industry connections. Scheduled for May 8-10 in person at Columbia’s Brown Institute, it’s a free event. The conference caps attendance at 300 people and includes workshops, lightning talks, a media fair, and a hackathon. This year the focus is on what newsrooms do when audiences stop finding news through Google, and start getting it from AI or individual creators instead. Register here.

Reva & David Logan Symposium on Investigative Reporting

The Logan Symposium is scheduled for May 1-3 at UC Berkeley. It’s invitation-only and free for selected participants. Since 2007, it has brought together reporters, editors, academics, and funders to discuss where investigative journalism is heading: what gets covered, what doesn’t, and how reporting is funded. Journalists can reach out to Berkeley to express interest and get the invitation.

Hacks/Hackers AI x Journalism Summit

The AI x Journalism Summit runs May 13-14 in Baltimore. Standard tickets are $95, and student tickets are $30. The event is capped at 300 people. It includes workshops, case studies, and collaborative sessions. The summit is organized into four tracks: Adopt, Play, Preview, and Govern. Some sessions walk through how newsrooms built AI tools step by step. Others are more hands-on, with space to test and customize tools. There are also sessions on early experiments and on how organizations evaluate and manage AI systems. This year’s program includes sessions from teams at The New York Times, CNN, The Philadelphia Inquirer, and the Minnesota Star Tribune.

June: The big conferences

IRE & NICAR investigative journalism conference

National Summit on Local News Preservation 2026 runs June 18-21 in National Harbor, Md.. To attend, journalists need an active Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc. (IRE) membership through July 1, 2026 and pay to attend. Early-bird registration provides discounts  ending on May 4. The conference includes data classes, panels, networking, and hands-on training. The conference is across three and a half days and also includes a welcome reception and an awards luncheon.

AAJA26 National Convention

The Asian American Journalists  Association’s conference AAJA26 takes place June 24-28 in Minneapolis. Registration is paid, with different options depending on membership and financial need, including discounted rates and an Opportunity Rate. The convention stretches over five days and mixes panels, workshops, networking opportunities, and sessions on AI, press freedom, and career development. It includes a gala and awards banquet. This year, the convention is pre-poned to June instead of August.

July: For newsroom builders

SRCCON 2026

SRCCON  is scheduled for July 8-9 in Minneapolis. Registration begins at $295, with a limited number of free scholarship tickets and travel stipends. There is no open ticket sale — participation is through a call for participation form on the website. The event is built around workshops rather than panels, with sessions designed as conversations and working sessions. The focus is on practical challenges in newsroom tech, data, and collaboration, with participants proposing and leading sessions themselves.

August: Go deep on data

IRE Data Journalism Bootcamp

The Advanced Data Journalism Bootcamp on Python, a coding language?,  takes place August 3-7 in Columbia, Mo. It’s a week-long, in-person training run by Investigative Reporters and Editors Inc. (IRE). Registrations are open to active IRE members for this paid bootcamp. Fellowships are also available.  Journalists don’t need to be fluent in Python, but some experience is encouraged. Most sessions will  focus on working with data in the newsroom, from finding and cleaning datasets to checking analysis. The bootcamp is more structured and more intensive than a typical conference.