The Bureau
We work with local residents – ‘citizen correspondents’ – who are passionate about learning core journalism skills (story pitching, writing, audio/podcast, video and photography), to take part in our bi-monthly ‘bureau meeting’ series. Attendance is currently online and free of charge.
The application period for our upcoming series, starting in September, IS OPEN! You can sign up here.
Image courtesy of Nick Hrkman
What to expect
In the bi-monthly, 90-minute gatherings, citizen correspondents:
Develop story ideas under the guidance of a team of experienced reporters.
Share ideas and contacts for stories and publications, talk about matching your story with media outlets and occasionally have guest speakers.
The meetings run on Thursday evenings (7:30pm – 9pm) and are relaxed and informal, while serving as a great way to meet people with similar interests in your community.
Our aim is to help you pitch your ideas to newspapers, magazines and websites. We are not a publishing platform and will not publish your stories, though in certain cases there may be an avenue through our partner organization, Re-Imagining America: Dayton, Ohio. Completing at least one story idea and pitching it to a news outlet before our last meeting is our main goal for you.
No prior experience in journalism is necessary, but a curiosity about reporting and life in the Dayton area (meetings are currently open to residents of Greene, Miami, Montgomery and Preble counties) – as well as a commitment to attending the meetings – will help you get the most out of our program.
Over the course of nine meetings (courses typically run from January-May, May-August, September-December), citizen correspondent can expect:
Mentoring in a host of journalism skills across key reporting streams (news and longform writing, audio and photojournalism) by our experienced leadership team.
Regular coaching in story formation (for articles, radio and photojournalism), news judgement and pitching, delivered to you via email, phone and online chat (our dedicated Slack channel), as well as during the bi-monthly bureau meetings.
The opportunity to publish your story idea in leading local, national or international media outlets.
Our next series begins on Thursday, September 15, 2022. Please register for our September 8 online Information Session below.