The Intelligencer, March 26

Young journalists wanted

By Lanny Morgnanesi
Intelligencer Executive Editor

Our newspaper is looking for young writers, photographers and graphic designers who want to see their work published.

The search will focus on high school students from Central and Upper Bucks and Eastern Montgomery counties, and the vehicle for their creativity will be a new weekly section to be produced by The Intelligencer. The section is in the planning stages and does not yet have a name. The young people chosen to work for it will name it. Its purpose is two-fold.

First, we want to provide teens with a publication just for them . . . something they can pick up each week knowing that everything in it will relate to their lives. Second, we want to establish a creative outlet for young people and give them a platform on which to launch a possible career.

But even those who want to be doctors or lawyers or plumbers or clerks can get involved. It seems everyone today has something to say. For young people, The Intelligencer soon will be the place to say it.

The publication will be about anything the young staff wants it to be about. Likely topics are music, movies, pop culture, relationships, peer and life pressure, school parents . . . those sorts of things. But if someone is moved to write about Zen Buddhism or to pen a book review, such will be welcomed. We’ll even consider comics, cartoons, photos, illustrations and -- of course -- reader comments, criticism and general mouthing off. In addition to these submissions, the section will have short versions of stories about teens and teen issues that have already appeared in the daily newspaper.

We should point out that all submissions and editorial assistance is done on a volunteer basis. There are no paid positions for young people. The learning experience, however, will be invaluable. And there should be a bit of fun in it as well.

Here is how we’ll go about it. We will be running ads to solicit high school students. Interested people will be asked to fill out an application. It can be found online at http://youngreaders.phillyburbs.com. The application asks for background and answers to basic questions such as why you want to get involved. Applicants must submit two to four samples of their writing. Try to avoid sending poetry, school work or short stories. But if that is all you have we will consider them. The applications can be returned by regular post or e-mail, which is preferred. The e-mail address is youngreaders@phillyburbs.com.

We will choose a group of about 25 that will serve as regular staff. Our goal is to have them represent a number of schools. The young staff members will meet in a group once a week, for about 90 minutes, with an Intelligencer editor. There will be some socializing, some snacks and some soft drinks. Then, the group will plan out the next issue of the soon-to-be-named publication. Assignments will be given -- writing, photography and art -- and deadlines will be set.

The following week we’ll do it all again. While we encourage heavy participation, it is not required that every staff member attend every planning session or write for every issue. We understand young people have many commitments. There are also opportunities for people who may not want to serve as staff members but would like to submit items for publication. This can be done via e-mail to the address above.

If you are a parent reading this and think your child might be interested, please let him or her know. If you are a high school student with a desire to express yourself, go to the Web address and get your application in. The sooner we have a solid group of volunteers, the quicker we can get started.

Here’s hoping we create a great experience for you, as well as for the thousands of people who will be reading this new weekly section. We’ll be alerting you when the kick-off date approaches.

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