Sarah Nigbor

This summer we’ve welcomed a new intern, 14-year-old Noah Windsor of Ellsworth. You will meet him in his column next week and learn what led him to pursue employment for the summer at The Journal. We’re excited to have him on board. He’s a talented writer.

Since Noah is entering high school next year and hasn’t had any journalism classes, I was thrilled to find a new program through the Wisconsin Newspaper Association called “Earn Your Press Pass.” Why should you care? Well, if you enjoy writing and sharing community news, and you’ve thought you might like to write freelance for a local newspaper (ahem), then this program is for you. I know I would welcome more help since I haven’t yet figured out how to clone Andrew and me.

If you enroll in the course through us, it’s free! It doesn’t get better than that. Kansas Publishing Ventures developed the program with a goal to “provide individuals who have solid reading and writing skills and live in smaller communities with a basic journalism background.” Training topics include newspaper basics, industry jargon, interviewing and reporting skills, how to find sources, news judgment, headline and cutline (caption) writing, AP Style, copy editing and basic photography.

The courses are led by Lindsey Young, a former high school journalism and public speaking teacher and community newspaper owner. Young said she wanted to create something that feels more like a conversation than a traditional class. You can take them all in one hunk (like Noah did), or you can space them out according to your schedule.

The course isn’t meant to take the place of a traditional college degree and doesn’t go in-depth on many topics you’d find in college courses. It’s meant to help train a layperson to be a functional community reporter without the time and expense of college classes.

Like many rural occupations (such as teachers, etc.), newsrooms in local places often find it difficult to recruit trained journalists. Here at The Journal, we’ve been blessed with great reporters, but a couple have left to pursue careers in more urban markets. Since this is the community’s newspaper, why not give readers a chance to help out with reporting on issues important to their communities too?

If taking this course and freelance writing is something that interests you, please reach out to me at sarah@piercecountyjournal.news or 715-307-0366. I always need help covering meetings, writing features, etc. Let’s talk!