The Jewish Telegraphic Agency is accepting applications for its teen journalism fellowship. All U.S.-based 15- to 18-year-old Jewish high school students are eligible.  The fellowship seeks students interested in reporting the news of their community through a Jewish lens, defining “community” as school, neighborhood, identity, culture, hobbies.

Applications are being accepted through Jan. 10, 2024.

“You provide the story idea and we’ll provide the training and support required to help you produce a 500-750 article or short (90-second to two minutes) multimedia piece (video, photo or audio),” states the agency, which operates as a wire service for English-language Jewish newspapers around the world.

It is a remote fellowship. Teens are expected to work independently and be on the hunt for the news in their communities and the world around them, and to produce two pieces during the course of the fellowship. Teens will be paid for published work.

“We are specifically looking to build a diverse fellowship cohort,” the announcement states. “We encourage teens of all backgrounds, identities, genders, cultures and connections to Judaism to apply.”

Eligibility Requirements

• 15-18 years old
• Self-identified Jewish
• Interest in news media (online, audio, video)
• There is no geographic limitation; this is an international fellowship
• Journalism experience isn’t required
• We are specifically looking to build a diverse fellowship cohort. We encourage teens of all backgrounds, identities, genders, cultures and connections to Judaism to apply.

Fellowship Schedule

The fellowship will run January through May 2024. We will hold three virtual meetings – in the beginning, middle and end. All reporting, writing, revising will be done independently during the fellowship. Fellows’ deadlines and meetings will be determined on a story-by-story basis.

Before You Apply

Read through the stories the past fellows produced. These will give you a sense of the type of articles we are interested in publishing. Keep this in mind as you fill out the application.

Watch this video about what we are looking for in a good story idea. Your story idea can make or break your application and we want to make sure you understand how to make sure your idea is newsworthy.

Payment

Fellows will be paid a $100 gift card for each story that JTA publishes.

Application

*Apply to the JTA Teen Journalism Fellowship today! Fill out the application here.*

Questions?

Email [email protected]

About the Editor

The program is led by Katina Paron, MJE, who works at the intersection of teens and journalism. For nearly 30 years she’s helped create byline opportunities for young reporters and training for journalism teachers. She is the author of the comic book-style textbook, A NewsHound’s Guide to Student Journalism (McFarland), and was the senior project editor on The Trace’s award-winning national youth media gun violence reporting project, “Since Parkland.” She’s written about youth journalism for The New York Times, The Daily News, WNYC SchoolBook and more. You can find her on Twitter and Instagram.

*Apply to the JTA Teen Journalism Fellowship today! Fill out the application here.*