Could you be a Young Reporter? Do you know someone aged 12-19 who enjoys writing?
Are YOU who we are looking for? Could YOU be a Young Reporter?
The Young Reporters are looking for new young people aged 12-19 to take on a new challenge for the new year and join up to write about what is important to them. This is an ideal opportunity for young people to gain experience writing, get their work published and be heard about the topics they are passionate about.
If that’s not enough to tempt young people to get involved, just think about how good this will look on a CV. We have been told by many previous Young Reporters about how having this opportunity on their CV has helped them stand out from the crowd when applying for jobs or other opportunities. Young Reporters has been running in North East Lincolnshire in partnership with the Grimsby Telegraph for almost seven years. Previous Young Reporters have taken part in many other opportunities including speaking at and hosting national events, peer training other young people across the country to set up their own schemes in their own areas and helping to support primary school aged children to write their own articles too.
To create the regular columns which are published every Tuesday, Young Reporters are selected to work in a small group and meet fortnightly for 2 hours per meeting over three months. Each Young Reporter, during this time, writes three columns on topics they choose. The topics are discussed and opinions shared during the group meetings to help develop the column. The column is peer edited the following week by the group before it is submitted to be printed in a column just like this. If you have been following Young Reporters over the years you will see that the topics are wide and varied, some are light-hearted and other raise real serious issues facing us all. All of this through the eyes of a young person living in today’s world.
The Young Reporters hope that their work raises awareness of issues they feel are important and challenges us all to look at different perspectives on everyday topics. The scheme all started as a result of young people feeling there are many negative stereotypes and they would like to challenge some of those stereotypes through their writing.
They tell us that they really enjoy the experience of meeting new people, the group discussions and editing, as well as being heard. All of this alongside learn vital skills including time management, agreeing and meeting deadlines, understanding others, verbal and written communication to name a few.
Many Young Reporters have used their experience to help them in their future. Some of the opportunities Young Reporters have gone on to include radio and television presenting, editing and writing for magazines, writing poetry or novels and hosting events. Many have received Diana Awards as Champion Volunteers and the scheme has been a finalist in the Youth Volunteering category of the National Children and Young People Now Awards three times.
You don’t have to be interested in a career in journalism to apply to be a Young Reporter because the experience and skills you gain will be a great help in your journey into any career. This is also ideal if you are a little shy but would still like to be heard as you are sharing through your writing rather than standing up in front of a crowd.
Young Reporters is the idea of young people from our area and the whole scheme has been developed by the Young Reporters themselves who have been involved in the scheme. The work is supported by staff within North East Lincolnshire Council and in partnership with Grimsby Telegraph and Voluntary Action North East Lincolnshire (VANEL).
Are you up for the challenge? Do you or someone you know have what it takes to join the Young Reporters? Why not apply? The form is simple and won’t take long to complete. The deadline for applications is midnight on Monday 4th February 2019 so don’t miss out!
If you would like more information or to apply go to www.nelincs.gov.uk/youngreporters or contact Pippa Curtin on 01472 323298 / 07584 150229. You could also contact the IGNITE team at VANEL as they work closely with the Young Reporters.