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What is the Alaska Press Club?
The Alaska Press Club is a professional association for journalists and news organizations in Alaska. It supports reporters, editors, photographers and students through awards, training, conferences and advocacy, and it speaks up when journalism standards or editorial independence are threatened. Its public-facing site also serves as a hub for news about the state's media community and for ways the public can support local journalism.
What it actually does
- Recognizes good work. It runs contests and prizes, including the A-Mark Prize for Investigative Reporting in Alaska, created with the A-Mark Foundation to honor the slow, records-heavy reporting that often goes unrewarded.
- Trains and connects members. Conferences and sessions bring in outside speakers; past topics have ranged from making photographs in politically divided places to using social media to reach audiences.
- Backs student and community journalism. The Student Showcase, presented by Alaska Teen Media, has featured articles, short films and newsletters from students across the state. A Community Reporting Cohort uses Anchorage as a laboratory for community-based reporting, with methods meant to transfer anywhere.
- Defends editorial independence. When the Homer News removed an article after a lawmaker's complaint, the club publicly criticized the owner's decision as a breach of professional and ethical standards.
- Points people toward support. It maintains a running list of ways to support journalism, inviting suggestions by email.
Who it is for
Working journalists in Alaska, student journalists, editors and publishers, and members of the public who want to understand or sustain local news. If you are a reporter new to the state, the club is a practical way to meet peers and find training; if you are a reader, its advocacy posts show where Alaska journalism is under pressure.
A useful next step
If you are a student or early-career journalist, start with the Student Showcase and Community Reporting Cohort pages to see the kind of work the club elevates, then check the awards and conference pages for entry deadlines and session recordings. For a broader view of the state's media landscape, the club's own posts are a reasonable starting point, alongside outlets such as Anchorage Daily News.
How do I submit entries for the A-Mark Prize for Investigative Reporting in Alaska?
The Alaska Press Club's site currently says it is "now accepting entries for the A-Mark Prize for Investigative Reporting in Alaska," but the page evidence does not include the entry form, eligibility rules or deadline. Start at Alaska Press Club and open the A-Mark Prize announcement, then follow the submission instructions or contact the club using the email address published on its "Ways to support journalism" section.
What to prepare before you submit
Investigative prizes typically ask for the published work itself plus context about how it was reported. Based on the club's description of the prize as recognizing "hours of public records requests, months of reporting," expect to document the reporting process, not just the final story.
- The published piece or series, with publication dates and outlet
- A short statement on the public-records requests, data analysis or source work behind it
- Your role and any collaborators
- Confirmation the work was published in Alaska or concerns Alaska, if the rules require it
Practical scenario
A reporter at a small Alaska outlet spends eight months on a records-driven story about a local agency. Before the deadline, she gathers the published series, a one-page summary of the records requests, and a note on her reporting role. If the announcement links to an online form, she uploads there; if it asks for email submissions, she sends the packet to the contact address and requests confirmation of receipt.
Decision criterion
If the site's announcement lacks a form or clear instructions, email the club before the deadline rather than guessing at the format. Ask three things: the submission method, the eligibility window for publication dates, and whether supporting materials are required.
What happened with the Homer News and Carpenter Media Group regarding editorial independence?
The Alaska Press Club reported that in September 2025, Carpenter Media Group—owner of the Homer News, Peninsula Clarion and Juneau Empire—removed an article from the Homer News website after Rep. Sarah Vance sent a letter on official state letterhead. The club describes the removal as a violation of professional and ethical journalism standards, framing the episode as a case of outside political pressure influencing what a local newsroom publishes. The item appears under the club's "Defending editorial independence" heading, so it is both a news update and an advocacy statement from a professional journalism organization rather than a neutral wire report.
Why this matters in practice
- For readers in Homer and nearby communities: a published article can disappear without a visible correction or explanation, which makes it harder to know what local officials said or did.
- For reporters and editors: the incident illustrates the pressure that can arrive directly from an elected official's office, and why newsrooms benefit from written policies on when, if ever, stories are unpublished.
- For anyone assessing local news: the same owner operates multiple Alaska papers, so a decision at one title is worth watching at the others.
What to do next
If you want the primary material rather than the summary, look for the club's original post and any statement from the Homer News or Carpenter Media Group, then compare how each describes the sequence of events and the reason given for the removal. The Alaska Press Club's own site carries the account at Alaska Press Club; the Homer News is at Homer News.
How can I support journalism in Alaska through the Alaska Press Club?
Support Alaska journalism through the Alaska Press Club mainly by giving money, time, or visibility to the club and the reporters it serves. The club's own site points to several concrete routes: a "Ways to support journalism" page, a prize for investigative reporting, a student showcase, and a community reporting class. Which one fits you depends on whether you want to fund work, learn it, or help it reach readers.
Practical ways to help
- Donate to the club's journalism-support efforts. The site keeps a running list of ways to support journalism and invites suggestions by email. That list is the best starting point for directing money or resources where Alaska newsrooms need them.
- Back investigative reporting. The Alaska Press Club and the A-Mark Foundation run the A-Mark Prize for Investigative Reporting in Alaska, which recognizes and distributes support for long, records-heavy reporting. If you care about accountability stories that take months, this is the most targeted option on the site.
- Show up for student and community work. The Student Showcase, presented by Alaska Teen Media, featured seven students' articles, short films and newsletters from around the state. Reading, watching and sharing that work is free support that matters to young journalists.
- Take or fund the community reporting class. The Community Reporting Cohort uses Anchorage as a laboratory for covering neighborhoods, businesses and cultural communities, with the methods meant to travel anywhere. Tuition reimbursement was noted, so employers or local funders can help remove the cost barrier.
- Defend editorial independence. The club publicly objected when Carpenter Media Group removed a Homer News article after a lawmaker's complaint. Speaking up when local owners or officials pressure coverage is a form of support that costs nothing.
A quick comparison
| If you want to… | Best fit on the site | Trade-off |
|---|---|---|
| Fund accountability work | A-Mark Prize for Investigative Reporting | Money goes to a specific award, not general newsroom budgets |
| Help young journalists | Student Showcase | Limited to selected students each year |
| Build reporting skills | Community Reporting Cohort | Anchorage-focused, semester-based |
| Protect coverage from pressure | Editorial independence advocacy | Public and sometimes contentious |
A useful next step
If you have a specific skill rather than cash — editing, photography, web help, translation — email the club with an offer tied to one program, such as mentoring a Student Showcase participant or assisting the Community Reporting Cohort. For national context on why local support matters, see Society of Professional Journalists and Associated Press.
What is the Community Reporting Cohort and how do I enroll?
The Community Reporting Cohort is a community-based reporting class run through the Alaska Press Club's programming. It uses Anchorage as a working laboratory: students explore the city's histories, neighborhoods, business communities and cultural communities while building skills in community-focused journalism. The page notes that although the class centers on Anchorage, the methods are meant to transfer anywhere.
What the class involves
- Reporting on local histories, neighborhoods, businesses and cultural communities.
- Anchorage as the primary field site, with techniques you can apply in other cities.
- Listed as JPC A194 (CRN 75397), which suggests it is offered as a for-credit university course rather than a standalone workshop.
- Tuition reimbursement is mentioned as available.
How to enroll
The page does not spell out a step-by-step enrollment process, so the practical route is to use the course code and contact the offering program. Give the registrar or journalism department the course number JPC A194 and CRN 75397, ask which term it maps to, and confirm whether you need to be admitted to a degree program before registering. If you are not a matriculated student, ask about non-degree or community enrollment and whether the tuition reimbursement applies to your situation. For general questions about the cohort or other Press Club programs, the page lists [email protected] as a contact.
Who it suits
This is a good fit for reporters who want to move beyond press-release coverage and learn to report with and about specific communities, and for students who want a structured, credit-bearing way to build a clip file. It is less useful if you are looking for a short one-off workshop or a fully online course, since the format is tied to a semester and to Anchorage as a physical setting.
For broader context on Alaska journalism training and awards, the Alaska Press Club is the starting point.
What tips were shared at the Alaska Press Club conference for making images in divided places?
Andrea Bruce, a freelance photographer, spoke at the 2022 Alaska Press Club conference about making images in politically divided environments. According to the club's own account of that session, her central point was that photographing across party lines takes deliberate technique rather than simply pointing a camera at a protest or a rally. The page summarizes her talk as addressing how hard it is to make photos when the political and partisan divide is unprecedented, and how making images that transcend party lines "requires its own special technique." That is the extent of the tip-level detail the Alaska Press Club itself published; the fuller guidance lives in her talk rather than in the summary text.
What the summary does and doesn't give you
The Alaska Press Club page is a conference archive entry, not a how-to. It frames the problem — a divided political landscape — and credits the speaker, but it does not list her specific methods. Treat it as a pointer to the session, not a checklist.
For a photographer working in Alaska or anywhere with sharp red/blue splits, the practical takeaway from that framing is to plan for access and trust before you plan for composition:
- Decide who the frame is for. An image that reads as advocacy to one side will be dismissed by the other, so ask what a viewer who disagrees with your subject would still recognize as fair.
- Photograph the ordinary, not only the conflict. Rallies and confrontations are the easy visual shorthand; daily life inside a community is harder to get and less likely to be read as a caricature.
- Get names and context. Captions and accompanying text carry much of the meaning when a single frame is ambiguous.
- Expect the technique to be relational. In divided places, access usually follows repeated, unglamorous presence rather than a single assignment.
Where to go next
If you want the actual methods rather than the summary, look for Andrea Bruce's own portfolio and speaking materials, and check the Alaska Press Club's conference archive for recorded sessions: Alaska Press Club. The club also runs a Student Showcase and a Community Reporting Cohort that emphasize community-based reporting in Anchorage, which is a reasonable training ground for the same skill set: Alaska Press Club.
A useful decision criterion: if your goal is a portfolio image that travels beyond the local audience, favor scenes where the subject's own words and setting do the explaining, so the photograph does not have to carry a political argument on its own.
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