Youth Environmental Journalism Conference

When it comes to environmental reporting, you have to read a lot and ask questions. That was Chicago Tribune writer Michael Hawthorne's advice to students at last week's Environmental Journalism Conference. Hawthorne, the keynote speaker, said his advice was for aspiring journalists and citizens alike.

On Friday, February 18th, 178 students from 14 city and suburban high schools participated in the conference at the Museum of Science and Industry.

The conference, hosted by Chicago Botanic Garden and Columbia College, included breakout sessions led by leading researchers, alderwomen and nonprofit founders, as well as viewings of student-made documentaries such as Open Youth Network's "The Cloud Factory" and Free Spirit Media's "Hungry For Change."

Students also participated in a panel discussion led by representatives from CeaseFire, University of Illinois Champaign and University of Illinois at Chicago where students explored violence as an environmental issue, including vegetation's calming effect. Later, students learned how to take notes and write a compelling, fact-based article from instructors at Columbia College.

The conference culminated in an opportunity for the students to enter their stories in a contest for prize money. Winners will be announced at the upcoming McCormick-Scholastic Press Association of Chicago High School Journalism Awards on April, 15, 2011.

Thank you to all the speakers and the Chicago Botanic Garden, the Columbia College Chicago Science Journalism Program, the Motorola Foundation, Chicago Instructional Technology Foundation, The Brinson Foundation, HSBC-North American and Kemper Educational and Charitable Fund.

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Youth Environmental Journalism Workshop

This Friday, more than 200 Chicago-area high school students will gather for a day of learning about urban environmental issues and how to report and write about issues such as:

• Food Deserts and Human Health
• Greening African-American Communities
• Environmental Justice and Public Health
• How Cities can Advance Environmental goals
• Water Conservation
• Issues in Environmental Journalism
• Eliminating Lead and Other Toxic Metals in the Environment

The event, hosted by Columbia College Chicago's Journalism Department and the Chicago Botanic Garden will feature workshops and some of the area’s top experts and journalists, including Michael Hawthorne of the Chicago Tribune. The conference will also showcase the work of:  

• Chicago's Free Spirit Media, a media production company for urban teens and a member of the Chicago Youth Voices Network 
• The work of Marisol Becerra, including the"The Cloud Factory," a documentary on the dangerous pollution in the Little Village neighborhood,

Stay tuned for our coverage of the event on Friday, February 18, 2011.  Download the event poster for more information.

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Using Data to Understand Economic Hardship in Chicago Neighborhoods

We just got back from the Economic Hardship in Chicago Neighborhoods Forum put on by Metropolitan Chicago Information Center at the Federal Reserve this morning. It was a convening of policy people, journalists and community-based leadership for MCIC to share data on how economic hardship is affecting particular metropolitan areas and how that impact varies by community. They will be releasing more data soon, but this map alone shows (with regards to access to home mortgage loans) some of the exciting mapping they’re doing:

www.mcic.org/web/mcicvisualization/HMDALoansPuma2005-2009.asp

Note: Open the map, place the cursor above an index dot to see what it represents. If you hit the arrow you can see over 2005-2010 how the issue has changed. On the right for each chart you can select specific communities too. 

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Connecting People to Projects

Part of what we do here in the Journalism Program is to help organizations connect and tap into the wealth of information and resources available through our grantee network. This year, the News Literacy Project in Chicago is making its innovative news literacy program available to After School Matters (ASM) instructors interested in engaging students in journalism, news and media. ASM is a non-profit organization that offers Chicago high school teens innovative out-of-school activities.

To read more about this exciting partnership and for ideas on how ASM teachers are implementing news literacy in their programs, visit  http://www.afterschoolmatters.org/instructors-and-partners/instructor-resources. If you have journalism resources to share, or would like to find out more about how to get involved in youth media, journalism and news literacy, we'd love to hear from you!

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Chicago Journalism, Art and Media Project and Equipment Fund

The Education Development Center, Inc. (EDC), through its new Chicago Journalism, Art and Media Project (C-JAM), is pleased to announce the creation of the C-JAM Educator Equipment Fund. The goal of this fund, sponsored by the McCormick Foundation’s Journalism Program, is to help educators gain access to the technology they need to better integrate journalism and media making into learning. The fund was previously known as the Chicago Youth Media Technology fund and was administered by Roosevelt University’s Communications Department.

This initiative grows out of the McCormick Foundation’s commitment to youth media and news literacy work both inside and outside of schools. Equipment package grants are intended to further Chicago-area educators’ use of media with young people (for news gathering, interviewing, documentary, community exploration, etc.) both in schools and community-based settings.

The grants are available as equipment packages and interested applicants can select the package that best matches their needs and project ideas. Potential applicants are educators who currently incorporate media production in their classrooms or in their youth programs (for example, to produce audio podcasts on community issues or videos on the environment).

The three equipment packages are:
• Video Production
• Audio Production
• Print/Photo/Graphic Production & Design

The C-JAM project team and advisory committee with education, journalistic, and youth media expertise will determine awards based on the stated need and compelling nature of the application. The project team may follow up with further questions.

Technology awarded through this program will be for the use of the applicant but will become the property of the school or nonprofit where applicants work. Winning educators will join a community of like-minded educators from across the metropolitan area for on-going professional development to support their integration of media making. Activities will include workshops on production techniques, digital/news
literacy, curriculum development, etc. Participating educators will have access to an online community to request assistance, post related events, connect with peers in their vicinity and other networking opportunities.

To apply for the Equipment Fund, visit the C-JAM Equipment Fund Application:  http://cjam.edc.org/equipment_fund  You will be asked to complete the application online, it is recommended that you compile all the information necessary to apply before filling out the application.   Deadline to apply is March 21, 2011.
 

Photo credit: Jason Reblando

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Wanted: Chicago’s Best High School Journalists

The Scholastic Press Association of Chicago and the McCormick Foundation are teaming up once again to honor Chicago’s best high school journalists. The annual journalism workshop and awards ceremony will be held on April 15, 2011 at the Chicago Cultural Center. Register now and submit your students’ entries for a chance to compete in dozens of categories. The top student journalists will receive a $1,500 scholarship. Applications are due on Feb. 19. For registration information on The Scholastic Press Association of Chicago /McCormick Foundation High Schools Media Awards , visit http://spac-chicago.blogspot.com/

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