Contra Costa Youth Journalism (CCYJ) offers a news reporting training program tailored for public high school students in Contra Costa County. During the 2025–26 school year (September–June), participants will develop journalism skills to report on their schools and local communities.

Eligibility: Applicants must be enrolled in grades 10–12 at a public high school in Contra Costa County.

Benefits: Students who successfully complete the program will receive a $1,000 stipend and a certificate of completion from the Contra Costa County Office of Education.

Program Goals:
CCYJ has two primary goals:

1. To empower young people with essential journalism skills—including reporting, multimedia, and social media—and to strengthen their civic engagement.
2. To expand local news coverage by elevating youth voices and helping communities stay informed.

Publishing Opportunities:
Student work will be featured on the CCYJ website, the news site of our fiscal sponsor (Bay City News Foundation), Local News Matters, and other Bay Area news outlets.

Workshops & Meetings:

• Training Workshops: Students must attend three half-day, in-person workshops on Saturdays: Sept. 20, 27, and Oct. 4, from 9:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m., at the Contra Costa County Office of Education in Pleasant Hill.
• Editorial Meetings: Monthly in-person or virtual editorial sessions will begin in November and be held at different locations in the county.
• Mentorship: Each student will be paired with a CCYJ writing coach to guide their work.
• Story Assignments: Students are expected to complete three stories before proposing a special project in early 2026.
• Special Project:
  Students will pitch and pursue a project that explores other forms of journalistic expression. For example:  
  • Sports coverage
  • Covering my local government or school board
  • Opinion/Commentary Writing
  • Podcasting/Audio reporting
  • Advanced photojournalism
  • Social Media news curation
  • Video news reporting/producing

Application Requirements:

• Letter of recommendation
• Writing samples
• Recent photo

Deadline: Applications are due by 11:59 p.m. Pacific on Friday, Aug. 29, 2025. Accepted applicants will be notified in early September.

To Apply: Click here. 

Questions? Email Program Coordinator Bruce Koon at [email protected].