Call us biased, but we feel journalism is a powerful way to learn about and influence one’s community. Young people rarely have had access to learning about journalism, especially considering the shortage of quality high school newspapers. This means the Bronx is not getting reporters trained at the grassroots into the pipeline of professional journalism.

We’re working to change that.

Starting in January, the Norwood News will run a youth journalism program for Bronx high school students in their sophomore, junior or senior years. (The program is made possible through a generous grant from the New York Foundation.)

Students will learn the fundamentals of reporting, writing, and photojournalism through classroom instruction and, most importantly, through hands-on reporting in their own neighborhoods.

Students will learn how neighborhoods work (or don’t), who has power, who doesn’t and why. We’ll teach them about the First Amendment and how it applies to them and every citizen. And they’ll learn how to record and edit audio and photo slide shows for the Web.

Best of all, students’ work will appear in the pages of the Norwood News, as well the Mount Hope Monitor and the Highbridge Horizon, two other newspapers in the west Bronx. Participants will also contribute to a student blog created especially for this project. This program – the West Bronx Youth Journalism Initiative – will give youth a powerful voice in their own communities.

Classes will start in late January or early February and run once a week, after school, for 12 weeks. We’re looking for students of all academic abilities, but students should be highly motivated, love to write, be naturally inquisitive, and care about what’s going on in their communities. To request an application, e-mail James Fergusson, the program coordinator, at mounthopenews@gmail.com or call him at (718) 324-4998.

We look forward to hearing from you!