Herman Baumann

The UW-Madison Public Tech Media Lab is offering professional training for editors, journalists, and communications professionals in the use of Open-Source Intelligence (OSINT) May 26-28 at the WARF Centennial Seminar Hub at Morgridge Hall on the UW-Madison campus. 

“The UW-Madison Public Tech Media Lab is offering a very interesting and helpful Digital Investigations Bootcamp at the end of this month that I believe would be very helpful to our members,” said Herman Baumann, a member of the WNA Foundation Board of Directors.  “Note that this flyer differs from others you may have seen because it contains a 40% discount code.  Students may be able to negotiate additional discounts.”

Writers, journalists, or newsroom teams and others interested in learning more may want to enroll in this session hosted by the Public Tech Media Lab at the School of Journalism & Mass Communication at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.

The Digital Investigations Bootcamp is the first intensive, hands-on OSINT training program in the Midwest designed specifically for editors, journalists, OSINT practitioners, and researchers. 

Participants will gain immediately applicable skills in social media analysis and verification, advanced search techniques, chronolocation and geolocation, safety and security practices, and ethical protocols. 

OSINT has become one of the fastest-growing areas of investigative journalism with newsrooms increasingly hiring OSINT specialists and partnering with organizations that specialize in these methods. The value to attendees includes:

  • Hands-on technical training with confirmed OSINT trainers from UW-Madison and UC-Berkeley, using real investigative cases;
  • Immediately applicable skills to grow the digital investigative capacity of their newsroom or opening up new job opportunities;
  • Exposure to global trends in digital investigations and a practical OSINT toolkit adaptable to local reporting contexts; and
  • Professional networking and collaboration.

Confirmed OSINT trainers from the UC Berkeley Human Rights Center include Guillén Torres, a specialist in action research, methodological experimentation, and data-driven technologies for justice and accountability; Gisella Pérez de Acha, an investigative reporter focused on extremism, disinformation, and environmental issues; and Tomás Dodds, Director of the Public Tech Media Lab. 

The bootcamp will be offered as a two-day, in-person program, with participants choosing between sessions held May 26–27 or May 28–29, 2026 but there is a registration deadline of May 15. Learn More and Register Online and get a discount code with this flyer. 

More information and registration is also available at the link https://ptml.sjmc.wisc.edu/bootcamp/

Reduced hotel rates will be available at the Wisconsin Union Hotel and the Madison Concourse Hotel, with accommodation details provided upon registration. 

To explore partnerships with the Public Tech Media Lab or sponsorship of the Digital Investigations Bootcamps, contact Kyle Joseph, Associate Director of Business Engagement at the College of Letters & Science via email at Kyle.joseph@wisc.edu.

Bootcamp Discount Flyer

Bootcamp registration link from UW-Madison School of Journalism and Mass Communication

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