New Orleans Junior Journalism Program

JRNOLA empowers underrepresented youth ages 14 through 18 for careers in print, photography, and broadcast media, particularly young women and people of color. We offer real-world experience covering local stories of impact under the guidance of media professionals. We provide pathways to literacy, professional development, and civic engagement.

We are trying to change the face of journalism, one young journalist at a time.

JRNOLA addresses the lack of diversity and professional development opportunities in journalism, along with issues of literacy among New Orleans high schoolers. We cater to populations that are woefully underrepresented in the media. Over 80 percent of our students are young people of color and over 70 percent are young women. With the decline of the school newspaper, most opportunities for youth to build out their journalistic toolkit--written communication, interviewing skills, questioning the world around them, talking with adults as peers--are not available until after high school.

We match students with professional media mentors and college interns to help them cover local news and live events that matter to them, creating original content for publication. Those real-world experiences help provide pathways to literacy, professional development, and civic engagement.

Our main goal is to get our journalists paid for their work, which has been possible through our partnerships and publication with The Gambit and Teen Vogue. But we hope to expand.

Our students meet in our virtual and physical newsroom, where they receive weekly instruction on journalistic principles such as media literacy, journalistic ethics, editing, story structure, critique, and analysis. We host bi-weekly interviews with media professionals who share insights about the changing nature of journalism while our students get to question the profession's history, legacy and inclusivity.

Journalism also helps our students build societal awareness, allowing them to step behind the curtain to see how information is packaged and delivered.

Testimonials

"My favorite thing about JRNOLA is just the space in general. Sometimes I really am having a bad day because of the workload we have at school, so I come here to relax and take my mind off of that type of stuff. We don't just come here and read textbooks, we switch things up and I like that." Lana Lawson, International High School of New Orleans

"The subject matter is what I'm interested in because I like to write, but I'm interested in being able to know other skills that incorporate writing without it solely being writing. With journalism, I have to learn people skills and technical skills that I use in my daily life that I may not even know I'm learning right now." Samarah Bentley, Lycée Français de la Nouvelle-Orléans

"I went from starting my senior year with my mindset on how the next year was going to go, but the next thing I know I'm interviewing a childhood idol, Rickey Jackson. Journalism is now my passion, and I live for it." Branisha, Former Junior Journalist

"My daughter is a stubborn mule. You tell her to go to point A and she is going to jump to point C because B is close to A. When Branisha has her mid set, ain't no changing it. Which is why I was so shocked when she said she was going to be a journalist. She had her mind set on taking on film directing and producing in school, so when she went back and changed all her college applications so that she could major in communications and journalism, I just knew that I had to thank Mr. Sam and Ms. Allison. The work she did with them was unbelievable. From working Tulane games to Saints games, then hearing her calling game reports over the radio, I couldn't believe that was my baby. Now she's in college with a resume that has people there questioning why she's even there with so much experience. I am so proud of her and all she's accomplished, and I have JRNOLA to thank for part of it." Francine, Parent

"JRNOLA is creating the future generation of leading women in journalism. The Program helps young women develop the confidence and skills necessary to succeed in a competitive field. I am blown away by the top-notch caliber of students participating in JRNOLA." Olivia (NBC Universal Media), Mentor