High school students in McCook, Nebraska, have a new opportunity this summer to participate in a summer camp on youth civic journalism.
Led by incoming board member Jon Graff, along with local journalist Ronda Graff and Sarah journalism teacher Sarah Hoyt, the students will research local issues, create content, and publish their work both with their local newspaper and with an interactive website hosted by the National Writing Project. Guest speakers will include Bruce Crosby, the editor of the McCook Daily Gazette, and Rich Barnett, a local radio personality, and students will also have opportunities to record their content for radio distribution.
This camp is sponsored by a National Writing Project grant that is focused on equipping youth to address the "news deserts" that exist in some rural areas. Jon and Ronda Graff will also participate in a resource development retreat in the fall, collaborating with NWP teachers running their own rural youth civic journalism camps across the country to create curriculum materials that can be used by teachers.