Why I’m Obsessed With Summits (And a West Palm Invitation)
Forget the “Twitter feed” noise of typical conferences. Let’s talk about high-signal curation and the future of youth trust.
While there is so much that I love about the American Press Institute (and that is beyond the fact that I am a paid employee), my favorite has to be the summits! Don’t get me wrong, conferences have their place, but an American Press Institute summit is truly something special.
Never been to one? Here’s what I mean. A typical conference is like a Twitter feed—everyone is talking at once, and you have to scroll through a lot of noise to find one good insight. But an American Press Institute summit is like a high-quality newsletter: the noise has been filtered out so that every person you meet and every conversation you have is high-signal. All in a curated room (or series of rooms).
Did that pique your interest? If it did, and you are in a local or community-centered news organization working on projects that empower young people in your community or equip young talent for civic engagement, read on.
The American Press Institute is hosting its first local summit of 2026 on Youth Trust and Civic Resilience, March 25-26, in West Palm Beach, Fla.
The gathering will explore:
Innovative ways local media are structuring community engagement and coverage to amplify voices from and equip young residents as future leaders of their communities.
Frameworks from outside of journalism that may help local media build bridges with teens and young adults to encourage healthy relationships across generations.
Untapped potential to further position local media as a cultivator and retainer of young residents for local civic engagement and community leadership.
While these summits are invitation-based, we do have a limited number of spots available via our open application process. If you’d like to join us, you should submit your application by Wednesday, Feb. 11, at 11:59 p.m. ET.
You can find the application [HERE].
As you know, I’ve argued before that reaching young audiences isn’t just about being on the right platforms—it’s about proving our work is real and building genuine trust. This summit is a chance to move past the “Ghost Market” fallacies and actually build those bridges.
Have a question or want to see if you would be a good fit? Please don’t hesitate to reach out to me.
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