Open Source

Journalism Conference 2026

You're at the right place! Register here for the conference of, by, and for open source journalists — and those who aspire to become one. In addition to powerful keynote speakers who will address everything from tracking nuclear proliferation to finding hidden mass graves, the conference features a training track that will equip you with core open source reporting skills you can start using immediately. You can sign up for the training track on this form.

To ensure wide participation, the early bird registration fee is just $100 for working journalists and $30 for student journalists. After September 13th, 2026, the registration fee rises to $150 for working journalists and $50 for student journalists. Please contact us with an active student email for your discount today!

Afraid you can't afford to travel to LA? We have a limited number of $1,000 travel stipends available for journalism students and working journalists from smaller outlets or those catering to underserved communities. Apply for your stipend by clicking here.

We also have a limited number of discounted hotel rooms at the USC Hotel, which is just a short walk from the conference venue. Snap up your room by clicking here or calling 213-748-4141 and mention the event name.

We are able to keep our fees low thanks to our sponsors: Bloomberg, the Ken and Jackie Broad Family Fund, OSINT Industries, and Skopenow.

Open Source Journalism, also known as OSINT, visual investigations, visual forensics, or digital investigations, is an innovative and powerful form of journalism. Such journalists use digital information — satellite imagery, photos and videos uploaded to social media, flight tracking data, audio recordings, cryptocurrency transactions, and much more — to uncover powerful stories and determine the facts of contested events.

Event Date: October 9^th & 10^th, 2026

Event Time: 8:00 AM - 5:30PM

Event Location: The University of Southern California (USC)

Hosted by: USC Annenberg School for Communication & Journalism

Follow Us: Instagram: @opensourceconference

BlueSky: @osintconference.bsky.social

Questions? Reach us at: [email protected]

Individuals with disabilities who need accommodations to attend this event should reach out at least one week prior to the event. Please email [email protected] and put "Disability Accommodations" in the subject line. Every reasonable effort will be made to provide necessary accommodations.

RSVP

Open Source Journalism Conference

October 9, 2026 - October 10, 2026

First Name *

Last Name *

Email Address *

Phone Number *

Pronouns *

Affiliation * Company or school. If freelance, write freelance

Title * If student, write student

Choose Your Track: (1) Main Conference: This includes participation in all our conference sessions, meetups, and Friday-night reception. Main Conference attendees can also elect to attend up to two training sessions. (2) Training Track: Dive into serious open source investigative methods. Whether you're a novice or an expert, our training track will help you level up with cutting-edge open source techniques. Training Track participants can also attend up to two sessions at the Main Conference, as well as meetups and the Friday-night reception. * The Training Track is designed for attendees who have little to no prior experience with open source investigations and are looking to build foundational skills in the field.

Are you a student who is going to pay the discounted student registration fee? * If you are registering as a student, you must affirm that you are currently a student in good standing at a high school, college, or university, and that you understand that if you do not meet these criteria, the conference reserves the right to cancel your registration without refunding your registration fee.

Note: to get the student discount, you must use an email address affiliated with your school, such as an address that ends in .edu

My mailing address is located in the United States

Mailing Street Address *

City *

State *

Zip *

Guest Code

Leave blank if none given