Open Call for Aspiring Community Reporters

Media Diversity Institute Global, as part of the international project YoCoJoIn, is publishing a call for participation in the training for young reporters who will cover their local communities in local and youth media in their respective cities.

What topics will be explored?

The comprehensive three-month training programme will cover topics such as:

• Introduction to journalism and media ethics
• What is community journalism?
• Media literacy in content production
• Decoding media sources and addressing bias in reporting
• Mastering community reporting
• Harnessing the power of video and multimedia reporting
• Perfecting interviewing skills
• Navigating the world of data journalism and AI

How is the training structured? 

The training kicks off with a two-day session in Brussels.

After the initial training, there will be a phase of online and in-person meetings over the next three months. Each meeting will focus on a specific topic and provide a unique platform for learning and knowledge exchange with experienced trainers and peers. A trainer will also be your mentor, guiding you through the process of creating impactful media content.

Several of most dedicated young reporters will advance to the second phase, involving further training and work with mentors. The reward will be a mentoring process through practical work, providing young reporters with the opportunity to improve their knowledge and skills.

Media contents produced in the second phase, following the standards of the Media Diversity Institute Global, will be rewarded with an honorarium and will be published on the MDI platforms and potentially other platforms, such as youth and/or local media.

In this way, through a two-month, interactive process, you will have the opportunity to learn, do practical tasks, and then create media content, and learn while working with the support of a mentor.

Eligibility Criteria

• Aged between 15 and 25
• High school or college student based in Belgium
• Curiosity for journalism and media reporting
• Passion for tackling local community challenges

How to apply

The deadline for applications is February 20, 2024, at 11:59 PM. To learn more about this opportunity and apply, please click here.