VOICES OF YOUTH Battle Creek — We are seeking interested youth writers living in Calhoun County who would like to pursue an issue of interest and be published with the help of professional mentor. This is a paid opportunity! Please share. If you are interested, please contact Theresa Coty O’Neil, Managing Editor, at editor@swmichigan.secondwavemedia.com
What is Voices of Youth?
A journalism project that lifts youth voices and is focused on community issues that are important to youth.
Do you have a curiosity for learning new things?
Do you like to write?
Would you like to be published?
Are you looking for a way to share about an important issue and a place to showcase your artistic talent?
If you have an interest in learning why journalism is important to affecting change, sign up now to participate.
Writers Needed
There are opportunities to help write a long-form feature article. Writers will learn through the program how to shape these stories with support in research, interviews, and writing.
The topics we are addressing will be of importance to them. There will be opportunities for youth to take on roles in creating photography and artwork supporting stories in these topic areas.
All stories are approached through a solutions journalism approach and reported with an eye toward ways the issues are related to structural and ongoing systemic racism.
MENTORS
You will not be working on this project alone! Each topic will have its own Writing Mentor and Art/Photography Mentor. The lead instructor is J.R. Reynolds, a professional writer from Battle Creek.
COMPENSATION
Participants will be paid $100 for attending all three workshops with an additional $150 for published projects.
PLATFORMS
Stories and digital images will be published online on the Second Wave Media website.
For an example of previous work that has been published, click here and here.
We will also explore opportunities to showcase the work through other platforms or events.
Issue Media Group (IMG) is the parent company of Southwest Michigan’s Second Wave. IMG publishes weekly online magazines leveraging the power of solutions-based and narrative journalism. Our publications aim to connect readers to their city’s most visionary and active people, businesses, and organizations. We work with like-minded stakeholders who have shared values and missions through an underwriting model of publishing.
Our journalists engage the community through regular editorial advisories, events, and conversations to build trusted relationships with leaders and residents that shape the community’s unique stories. The company was incorporated in Detroit in 2005.
FUNDING:
The Battle Creek Foundation, W.K. Kellogg Community Foundation, and the BINDA Foundation underwrite this program.
If you have questions, please contact editor@swmichigan.secondwavemedia.com
Numerous studies have demonstrated that social media use can have harmful impacts on teens by causing higher levels of anxiety, body dissatisfaction, and increasing rates of depression. Lila McCarthy, a 13-year-old Voices of Youth Battle Creek writer, examines and editorializes on an issue that she has witnessed first-hand among her peers.
Coming out safely is not one-size fits all, as Voices of Youth Battle Creek Artist Athena McCarthy explores in her comic strip illustrations. "I wanted to bring to light the different experiences people can have when coming out," she says.
The second cohort of Battle Creek Voices of Youth launches today and we’re excited to publish these new stories that cover such issues as vacant buildings and their impact on a community, particularly a neighboring school; coming out safely to family and friends; and social media’s impact on body image. We will be publishing these stories throughout February. Our new Battle Creek Voices of Youth program begins in March. See the story for more details.
Abandoned buildings are an eyesore and pose safety hazards. Youth may see these buildings as an invitation to explore and at times engage in unsafe behaviors. Voices of Youth Reporter Mar'Chionna Sardin, a sophomore at Battle Creek Central High School, says "I never thought I would be writing a story about vacant buildings. You see issues with the community, but you don’t think you will ever do anything about it. When you decide to write about an issue, you find out how much deeper the story is and you learn a lot from it."
On average, Americans will spend 16 days of their lifetime mowing their lawn. Our Voices of Youth correspondent questions whether that really is a good idea.
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