Contra Costa Youth Journalism is a news reporting education program for Contra Costa County public high school students who will be trained to report on their schools and educational issues during the 2024 spring semester (January-May).

Any student enrolled in grades 9-12 at a Contra Costa County public high school may apply. Students who successfully complete the program receive a $1,000 stipend.

CCYJ goals are to train students to report and write news stories, expose them to the role journalism plays in a democratic society, strengthen youth voices for Bay Area news outlets, and facilitate collaborations between professional news organizations, public education, and local communities. Their stories will appear on the program website and be submitted to local Bay Area news outlets for republishing.

Each student must attend an all-day in-person training workshop January 20 at the Contra Costa County Office of Education headquarters in Pleasant Hill,  monthly Zoom editorial meetings, and special workshops. Each student will be assigned a CCYJ Writing Coach who will oversee their work. Beginning in February, students will produce one story a month.

While the program will focus on news writing, students will be encouraged to take photographs and provide other media content such as hyperlinks to their stories and participate in social media, audio, or video platforms should opportunities develop. 

Students need a Gmail account to apply and will be asked to submit writing examples and a photo of themselves. Letters of recommendations from a teacher or community member are optional. 

Click this link to get access to the application for the program.

Questions? Write to Bruce Koon at [email protected]. The deadline to submit an application is midnight, Pacific Time, Dec. 15, 2023. Successful applicants will be notified in early January.

Contra Costa Youth Journalism is made possible by a generous grant from CalMatters and is a collaboration of the Bay City News Foundation (Local News Matters), California Scholastic Journalism Initiative, CalMatters, Contra Costa County Office of Education, Contra Costa Television, and the Journalism Department of Diablo Valley College.

Additional Resources:  PBS Video on training student journalists & EdSource column: the value of high school journalism.