The Youth Journalism Initiative
Preparing the next generation of storytellers starts local – in schools and communities.
That’s why CalMatters has helped teachers and community leaders ready more high school and middle school students for a career in journalism.
Launched in July 2022, CalMatters’ Youth Journalism Initiative has helped more youth become careful consumers and quality producers of news. We recognize that media skills are key to democratic governance and that California needs a stronger pipeline for youth entering newsrooms.
The Youth Journalism Initiative
Our support areas:
- In-person workshops and webinars
- Teacher training and resources
- Student opportunities
- Career Technical Education certification
- Community youth media programs
Contact us:
How you can build a youth journalism program
Our playbooks help you launch
your dream program — in schools or neighborhoods
We launched all kinds of youth journalism models, interviewed the stakeholders and have assembled decades of in-house expertise.
Now, you can launch youth journalism models in your neighborhood or school. It’s all summed up in our how-to guides below.
- Student Summer Camps: Design and run a short term news camp that deeply impacts a cohort of students and connects them to lifelong professional mentors.
cal.news/studentplaybook - Train the Trainer: Each trained teacher reaches dozens of students. Design and run a Journalism teacher fellowship to impact many students at scale by training a cohort of teachers year round.
cal.news/teacherplaybook - CTE in California: Many Journalism teachers can easily get their Career and Technical Education credential, unlocking $10,000 – $30,000 for their programs. More teachers qualify than they realize.
cal.news/cteplaybook - How to launch a community youth nonprofit model (coming soon)
Let us know if you these playbooks helpful!
Youth competed in our Prop. 50 Vertical Video contest.
Here are the winning entries.
In October, high school and college students pitched vertical video ideas to CalMatters explaining how Proposition 50 posed to shape their districts.
Winners worked with our staff on scripting and earned $150 each. Here are the winning entries:
• Nevada County
Webinars connecting industry reporters to students
If you are an educator or student, this is your chance to ask questions and connect with the news industry. Some sessions also focus on skill-building. Webinars occur monthly starting Fall 2025. To join live, please contact us above.
| Date | Featured Guest | Recording |
|---|---|---|
| 2025 | ||
| Oct. 24, 2025 | Covering the state of DEI on college campuses: A deep dive on the current state of programs in California with experts from CalMatters, the Campaign for College Opportunity, UCLA’s Civil Rights Project and more describing historical context, how programs today are faring, and tips to student reporters on how to cover this evolving issue. | Available by request. Contact us above. |
| Sep. 26, 2025 | Reaching Audiences with Immigration Coverage: Reporters from LA Public Press, El Tecolote, Documented and La Opinión share with student journalists how they connect with communities. | Available by request. Contact us above. |
| May 1, 2025 | Covering Reparations as a Student Journalist with CalMatters editor Adam Ashton and reporter Wendy Fry. | Video Link |
| 2023 – 2024 | ||
| Sept. 21, 2023 | CalMatters reporter Nicole Foy on covering farmworkers, extreme weather and Gov. Newsom’s ‘rapid response’ | Video Link |
| Sept. 28, 2023 | Long Beach Post editor Jeremiah Dobruck on investigating alleged misuse of public funds | Video Link |
| Oct. 5, 2023 | CalMatters reporter Byrhonda Lyons on investigating California’s rehabilitation programs | N/A |
| Oct. 12, 2023 | L.A. TACO reporter Janette Villafana on covering street vendors‘ struggles and victories | Video Link |
| Oct. 19, 2023 | Black Voice News reporter Breanna Reeves on health equity reporting and the need for Black media | Video Link |
| Nov. 2, 2023 | Live from Boston NHSJC: Student reporters on why they do journalism | Video Link |
| Nov. 9, 2023 | A how-to: submitting your first public records request with Ginny LaRoe and Delilah Brumer | Video Link |
| Nov. 16, 2023 | Los Angeles Times reporter Faith Pinho on creating her narrative podcast series, ‘Foretold‘ | Video Link |
| Nov. 30, 2023 | CBS13 & Good Day Sacramento anchor/reporter Jordan Segundo on broadcast news | Video Link |
| Dec. 7, 2023 | Exploring more news jobs with CalMatters staff: Associate events producer Evelyn Chavez and audience engagement manager Anna Almendrala | Video Link |
| Feb. 27, 2024 | The Four Fundamentals of Journalistic Writing with the Redwood Bark, Monte Vista Stampede, CalMatters | Video Link |
| Feb. 28, 2024 | Opinion writing & 2024 Earth Day contest pitch tips, webinar 1 with CalMatters Voices Editor, Yousef Baig | Video Link |
| March 7, 2024 | Opinion writing & 2024 Earth Day contest pitch tips, webinar 2 with CalMatters Voices Editor, Yousef Baig | Video Link |
The Journalism Educator Fellowship has helped more than 40 teachers launch and strengthen journalism programs in middle and high schools across urban and rural California.
Combined, fellows have reached more than 960 students statewide.
Fellows are paired with mentors to help scale their student-led programs, attend monthly trainings with industry speakers, access ready-to-use curriculum and receive ongoing live assistance with all things student journalism.
Through the fellowship, teachers have been able to:
- Launch student news sites and newspapers for their school’s first time
- Produce student-led voter guides, local election and policy coverage, and public records requests
- Earn awards for content and design
- Boost multimedia and social media audience strategy
- Navigate legal questions
- Generate thousands in funds through Career and Technical Education (CTE) certification support
- Inspire students to pursue journalism as a career
This year’s program will follow a revised format. Monthly meetings will continue in 2026. Contact us above on how to join.
Launching and supporting community youth programs
Youth journalism programs anchored in neighborhoods are critical to filling gaps in local news, with students across multiple schools working together to often raise underrepresented issues.
Here are some community youth programs we helped launch or amplified:
JCal
Student Reporter Summer Camp
CalMatters occasionally hosts an all-inclusive journalism camp immersing 22 California high school students into the state’s news ecosystem.
The program features industry mentorship, legislator interviews, reporting projects, TV station field trips and more. This innovative program is produced through a unique partnership between the Asian American Journalists Association and CalMatters.
Visit JCal.news to review our past cohorts’ student reporting projects, many published with local media.
About CalMatters
CalMatters is a nonpartisan and nonprofit news organization bringing Californians stories that probe, explain and explore solutions to quality of life issues while holding our leaders accountable. We are the only journalism outlet dedicated to covering America’s biggest state, 39 million Californians and the world’s fifth largest economy.