Combating the Climate Crisis through U.S. Innovations Virtual Reporting Tour: In May 2021, 49 journalists from 38 countries participated in this three-week tour. Journalists “traveled” to Washington, DC, Colorado, and Michigan to meet with experts and explore local efforts to combat climate change. Journalists had access through a virtual platform to exclusive content including an extensive library of exclusive interviews, B-roll, and still photographs to bring to life stories from each location and to gain insights into local energy projects being developed in the U.S.

Axios Journalists Preview the Midterm Elections at Federal and State Levels at Meridian: During the pivotal 2022 Midterm Elections, Meridian hosted seasoned political reporters to discuss the year's decisive issues and overall election season takeaways. As a lead-up to the election, this event successfully briefed the diplomatic community on critical media literacy tactics that are becoming more important with time. From rapidly changing polls to voter psychology, the journalists aided audiences in understanding the news with more complexity.    

Elections 2020: A Virtual Reporting Tour of the United States and the American Electoral Process: In fall 2020, over 214 journalists from 114 countries attended this reporting tour. With disruptions to travel and in-person coverage of the 2020 U.S. elections due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Meridian supported the U.S. Department of State’s Foreign Press Centers (FPC) to transition to virtual programs and launched the first FPC Virtual Reporting Tour, which included 20 on-the-record press briefings with high-caliber political scientists, election experts, analysts, and pundits from prestigious U.S. institutions. 

Edward R. Murrow Program – Media Responsibility in an Age of Disinformation: Over four weeks in April 2022, this program examined efforts at the federal, state, and local levels to counter the dissemination of disinformation and misleading reporting; provided broad exposure to the serious impact of the current threat posed by disinformation and deceptive news; explored ways to verify reliable sources of information and counter misinformation; discussed how social media and new technologies can be utilized to amplify messages, disseminate information and connect with a target audience; considered ways to foster a discerning audience of media consumers; and focused on approaches to build trust between the media, government and citizens. 

The Future of Journalism: How Immersive Technology and Artificial Intelligence Can Shape the News and Impact Audience Opinion: Immersive media technologies such as Augmented Reality (AR) and Virtual Reality (VR) can be revolutionary in the press, leading to innovating newsgathering and reporting methods. Program leaders in February 2023 leveraged virtual and in-person learning methods emphasizing skills-based, experiential education to ensure maximum learning.