Webinar Archives
The Catholic Media Association is a leader in supporting, strengthening, and promoting Catholic journalists and media professionals. We are pleased to offer webinars to CMA Members. Please watch for updates throughout the year.
Recent CMA Member Webinars
Have an idea for a webinar you want us to tackle? Let us know!
Next-Level Outreach: Mastering Lookalike Audiences on Instagram & Facebook
Social media is central to your diocese’s communication strategy — but are you truly maximizing your reach? In this webinar, we’ll show you how to go beyond simply “boosting” posts and start leveraging Lookalike Audiences on Instagram and Facebook to connect with the right people, in the right places, at the right time.
Learn how to strategically use ad dollars to target key demographics in specific geolocations — expanding your reach, increasing engagement, and doing it all at a modest cost. If your diocese is looking to make a bigger impact with social media, this is the training you’ve been waiting for!
Matt Smith is the president and founder of Smith House, a creative/digital agency based out of Phoenix, Arizona. As a college student, Matt made waves on MTV reality shows as a devout Catholic. Today, his agency helps for-profit businesses and non-profit organizations increase their reach online and on social media. Matt has a BS in Industrial Design from Georgia Tech and an MBA from the W.P. Carey School of Business at Arizona State University.
How to Tell the Stories of Hispanic Catholics and Engage in Mutual Communication
In this webinar, editors, journalists, and communication professionals will learn about the new National Pastoral Plan for Hispanic Ministry and the latest data on Hispanic Catholics to create content about initiatives and inspirational stories and share them with the Church. Mar Muñoz-Visoso, executive director at the Secretariat of Cultural Diversity in the Church at the USCCB, will also talk about the importance of engaging different generations of Hispanic Catholics, how to listen to the needs (and preferences) of Latino Catholics, learn more about their gifts and contributions and adapt communication strategies to reach and engage Hispanic Catholics -- in and out of the pews. If you want to go beyond the surface, connect with different generations of Latino Catholics and work together as one Church, join us for this webinar.
How to Illustrate Stories in Your Publication Without Getting Into Trouble
This webinar explores the basics of news photography for your publications, what makes a good news or feature photograph, how to determine the best camera to use, identifying high-resolution photo files, how to effectively obtain stock photos to illustrate stories, how to work with freelancers, selecting submitted photos, licensing, sourcing images for use, all while avoiding photo-rights violations and heavy fines. Led by Chaz Muth, journalism professor and newsroom director for Trinity Washington University.
Engaging Hispanic Catholics - Effective Strategies & Tactics, led by José Manuel De Urquidi
Attention Catholic media leaders and decision-makers! Are you ready to reach, connect and engage with Latinos? Led by José Manuel De Urquidi of Juan Diego Network, this webinar is crafted specifically for directors of communication, publishers, and editors seeking to do more than translations. This is not a session for your bilingual staff; it's for you, the director who wants to see how to lead the charge in connecting with Hispanics.
Catholic Journalism 101, led by Laura Ieraci
Learn the basics of Catholic journalism, how it is distinct from other forms of content creation, and the ways it can serve the Church. Led by Laura Ieraci, editor of ONE magazine and senior communications officer at CNEWA, topics will include: the steps to develop a story from idea to finished product, what makes a good article, the key elements of good newswriting and tips on working with volunteer writers. This webinar is for media professionals who are new to Catholic publishing and to the field of Catholic journalism.
What Do We Need to Know About Artificial Intelligence? with Nic Prenger of Prenger Solutions Group
Artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT are changing the way that we create documents, search for information, and accomplish every-day business tasks. Join Nic Prenger for an eye-opening presentation on what AI tools can do, and how Catholic dioceses are already using AI to save time, create content and streamline existing processes. Nic will share the pros and cons of using AI tools and provide quick tips on how to survive the inevitable robot uprising.
Increase Advertising Revenue, with Bob King of OSV
Looking for ways to increase advertising revenue? This webinar will offer some easy-to-implement practices to strengthen your client relationships and increase your advertising revenue this fall and beyond for any advertising medium.
Digital and Social Marketing: Optimizing your Dollars
Sophie Sullivan specializes in the intersection between creative media and ad buying. As the VP of Managed Services, Sophie leads the creative and paid media teams with her expertise in visual storytelling and strategic data analysis to achieve excellent paid campaign results. Sophie resides in Charlotte, NC, with her cat and her husband.
Masterclass: Writing tips from Columbia Journalism School, with Ari L. Goldman
Learn about religion and writing from one of the most renowned expert-teachers in the field. Ari L. Goldman, a former New York Times religion reporter, is the director of the religion and journalism program at Columbia University Journalism School. He contributes occasionally to The New York Times, The Washington Post, Salon, and other publications.
Photography for Non-Photographers, with Lisa Johnston
In this seminar, Lisa Johnston will lead us through the basics of knowing your camera, composition, and lighting. We will discuss how to become “invisible” and predict the moment to capture an amazing image. We will leave a good amount of time for questions and discussions. In October 2020, Lisa joined Ave Maria School of Law in Naples, Florida as a Creative Director where her career as a photojournalist has expanded to encompass a host of visual and technical expertise. Formerly a New Media Journalist for the Archdiocese of St. Louis in St. Louis, Missouri, she has more than 30 years of experience, documenting every type of situation from simple daily life to world events like Pope Francis’ trip to the United States in 2015 and the unrest after the shooting death of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri. She was honored as Photographer of the Year in 2015, 2016, 2017, 2019, and 2020 by the Catholic Press Association for her photojournalistic work. Her film work has been honored with prestigious awards for creativity and engagement.
The Solutions Journalism Network is leading a global shift in journalism, focused on what the news misses most often: how people are trying to solve problems and what we can learn from their successes or failures. Keith Hammonds, Solutions Journalism Network’s Conservative and Faith-Based Media Manager, will present a special two-part program for the Catholic Media Association.
Most loss of trust in a crisis is self-inflicted. And it is much harder to restore trust after it has been lost than to maintain it in the first place. This webinar focuses on the drivers of trust, how to maintain it when things go wrong, and how to restore it when you have to. Webinar leader Helio Fred Garcia is the Executive Director of Logos Institute for Crisis Management and Executive Leadership. He teaches crisis management and crisis communication at New York University and Columbia University. He has written five books on crisis, trust, reputation, and communication, including "The Agony of Decision: Mental Readiness and Leadership in a Crisis.”