“The Changing Newsroom: Reporting in an Online Age” is the topic of a talk by award-winning journalist and writing coach Valerie Lopez for the monthly luncheon meeting of Central District of Arizona Press Women, from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Thursday, March 17, open to the public in the private dining room of the Doubletree Guest Suites, 320 N. 44th St., Phoenix.

Reservations are requested by March 15 to apw.reservations@gmail.com or call 480-620-1358. The cost is $5 for nonmembers, and those attending will order individually from the luncheon menu.

“The Internet and social media are transforming the newsroom and the way that journalists do their jobs,” said Lopez, an adjunct instructor in Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Mass Communications. “Notebooks and recorders are no longer the only tools used to gather information. Reporters now have to shoot video, edit audio, do podcasts, blog, tweet and, of course, write their stories. I will discuss what traditional media reporters need to know to transition into the online age.”

Lopez will explain how to put a multimedia story together, what software is needed, where to find workshops and tutorials on multimedia reporting, and how to set up blogs. She will provide a list of multimedia resources, including books, website links and tutorials. She will describe how the Internet and social media have changed the industry and the newsroom, how they have altered the way reporters gather information, and the new responsibilities of that approach. She will provide a list of multimedia resources, including books, website links and tutorials.”

Lopez won an Overseas Press Club Award for Best Arts, Culture and Entertainment Story for “The Big Picture,” published in San Juan Magazine. She has a master’s degree in mass communications-print journalism from ASU, and a bachelor of arts degree in English from the University of Puerto Rico.

Arizona Press Women is an organization of women and men who work as editors, writers, photographers, teachers and public relations specialists. APW sponsors regular meetings and workshops in Phoenix, Tucson and Payson, and an annual spring conference. For more information, contact westwoman@aol.com.