The Record’s free Youth in Journalism Workshop set for July

The Record North Shore will host its inaugural Youth in Journalism Workshop this summer, welcoming between eight to 10 area participants (age 16-22) for a two-week educational program in July.

A professional educator and the award-winning journalists from The Record will lead the workshop and guide students through aspects of the journalistic process, from interviewing and investigating to ethics and media law.

The course is free to attend and open to anyone age 16-22 who is interested in learning more about journalism, not just if they want to pursue a career in the field. Students who are selected to take the course will receive a $200 stipend.

Interested students can apply here: Application Form

The program is scheduled to run from 4:30-6:30 p.m. for 10 days: Monday-Friday, July 19-23 and July 26-30 in Wilmette. While organizers hope the workshop meets in-person with proper safety measures in place, the ongoing pandemic may require a virtual or hybrid platform. A final decision will be made and posted on this page in June.

Marco Santana, a professional journalist turned educator and consultant, will head the workshop. After 11 years as a local-news reporter, including a stint at the Daily Herald, Marco became a tech reporter at the Des Moines Register and then the Orlando Sentinel. Over the last several years, he has taught youth journalists the ins and outs of the industry at Eastern Illinois University’s summer Journalism Camp. The past two years, Marco was the director of the program.

Marco will join with The Record team and a number of industry professionals and specialists (who will be announced as they are confirmed) to guide students through the process of journalism from idea to publication.

Covered topics will include:

• Journalism and media ethics,

• Interviewing and research techniques,

• The elements of an article,

• First amendment law,

• Covering a beat,

• Investigative practices, and more

The Youth in Journalism Workshop was made possible thanks to a grant from New Trier Township, which approved the funding through its Incubator Program at its February meeting.

The measure was introduced by then-Township Trustee Gail Eisenberg.

“I was proud to present the Record’s proposal because I felt it served both an unmet need for our Township’s youth and helped to combat media illiteracy,” Eisenberg said in an email.

The program will be monitored by Township officials, and funding for the workshop must be approved each year.

A journalism workshop for area youth falls in line with the mission of The Record, which is a nonprofit, nonpartisan community newsroom. The Youth in Journalism Workshop will provide access to the field of journalism for interested students, as well as inform on how and why journalism is produced, how that journalism impacts a community, and how it can better impact a community.

A portion of the mission states that The Record hopes to build an outlet that “enables a better informed and engaged local populace and a more educated and understanding future generation of news consumers.”

Donate to The Record today to support programs like the Youth in Journalism Workshop and everyday public-service journalism in your community.

• When: 4:30-6:30 p.m. July 19-23 and July 25-30

• Where: Wilmette (possibly hybrid or virtual)

• Cost: Free (students receive $200 stipend)

• How: Application Form (only 8-10 spots open)

• Contact: Joe Coughlin, editor in chief, joe@therecordns.org