High Schoolers Learn the Industry at Summer Journalism Workshop

The School of Communication and Media at Montclair State University gave high-performing high school students the opportunity to become immersed in the ever-changing worlds of communication and journalism as part of its second annual Summer Journalism Workshop held from June 26-29.

Designed to prepare students for college and potential fields of study within communications, the program welcomed students from New Jersey communities including Newark, Paterson, the Oranges and Montclair. The program grew in its second year to include more than five school districts and 18 students from 11 high schools from the area surrounding Montclair State’s 252-acre campus, which sits just 12 miles from Manhattan.

“We want students to not only learn skills in journalism and communications, but also to learn about the entire industry and the types of jobs that will be available to them,” said program co-coordinator and Assistant Professor of Multi-Platform Journalism Thomas Franklin. “It’s also a great opportunity for these students to learn more about our programs here at Montclair State and give them a glimpse of what their college lives might be like if they decide to pursue their degrees here.”

Students stayed on the Montclair State campus for the duration of the curriculum, which featured class-style lectures and hands-on experiences that taught skills in multi-platform journalism, broadcast journalism and filmmaking. The cohort also experienced the New York area’s vibrant media landscape with trips to ABC News and to the National Football League’s New York Giants’ public relations department at the team’s facility in East Rutherford, New Jersey.

The participants were then able to put their newly learned skills into practice by covering the New Jersey Jackals – an independent baseball team which plays its home games at Yogi Berra Stadium on the Montclair State campus – for their June 27 game against the Sussex County Minors as members of the press.

“I came here for experience because I know I want to write in my career, but I’ve learned there are so many different sides to telling a story, there’s really something for everyone,” said Trinity Caviness, a student from Montclair. “I love how there are different platforms that can be used to tell a story, whether it be the technical side behind the camera or the artistic side.

“I have also loved my time at Montclair State, and have been so impressed with the teachers and the campus. Being from Montclair, I viewed it as being too close to home in the past. But after coming to the school for the first time, seeing all it has to offer and being able to interact with both the teachers and current students, that has definitely changed.”

For more information on the School of Communication and Media, visit https://www.montclair.edu/arts/school-of-communication-and-media/. To learn more about the school’s new state-of-the-art facility – which is set to open in September – and its top-10 features, visit http://www.montclair.edu/news/article.php?ArticleID=18214.