The Cap Times is opening its newsroom this summer to middle and high school students for the Youth Press Corps, a five-day journalism camp organized by the Greater Madison Writing Project at the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
Participants will learn from journalists and journalism educators about the components of news, including how to interview sources, write stories, report ethically and navigate today’s complex media landscape.
Students in the Youth Press Corps will report on topics of importance to them and receive the opportunity to publish their work in the Cap Times.
Registration is $400 and open now to students entering 7th through 12th grades. Needs-based assistance is available if cost is a barrier to participation. The program runs from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. Aug. 4 through Aug. 8 at the Cap Times office, 1901 Fish Hatchery Rd.
Journalism instructors Laura Streyle and Anna Schwerke will facilitate this year’s Youth Press Corps. A Cap Times reporter will assist the program.
This marks the third year the Cap Times and the Greater Madison Writing Project have partnered to offer the youth journalism camp. In 2023, students interviewed a range of sources to write news articles and opinion columns for the Cap Times on topics such as politics, mental health, affordable housing and LGBTQ+ issues.
One student explored the challenges homeless youth and families in Madison face in accessing services such as transportation, health care and job assistance. Another writer examined how the COVID-19 pandemic negatively affected the mental health of students and teachers in the Madison school district.
“Some teachers have been feeling less effective, more anxious and hopeless to help students,” Chloe Koeppe wrote. “Students have also said they don’t feel quite ready to apply to college, with the pandemic causing a range of negative impacts.”
The youth journalism camp started in 2019 with a focus on rural communities. The Greater Madison Writing Project held the first session of the Youth Press Corps for student writers in the Brodhead School District, about 35 miles south of Madison.
The Greater Madison Writing Project is a site of the National Writing Project, a professional learning community for educators who teach writing, and is part of the UW-Madison English department’s Center for Teaching and Research on Writing.
A variety of professional development opportunities for educators, as well as writing programs for children and the wider community, are offered by the Greater Madison Writing Project.
Visit gmwp.wisc.edu/youth-press-corps to register for this summer’s Youth Press Corps.
