The Land’s community journalism program is a free, 12-week training and mentoring program that begins with a series of training sessions, includes support from a professional editor, and concludes with a community journalist’s published article in The Land along with a $300 stipend for doing the work. View all of The Land’s community journalism stories here.
Applications for our Fall Community Journalism session are now open! You can apply by clicking here. Contact Chris Mosby at cmosby@thelandcle.org for more info or with questions. Additional Cleveland and Lakewood sessions will occur next year. Sign up for The Land’s newsletter to hear about how to get involved in upcoming sessions.
Many Cleveland neighborhoods and Greater Cleveland communities are not well represented in the media, voting rates remain stubbornly low, and many Clevelanders are disengaged or unaware of what’s happening in their government and neighborhoods. To turn that around and increase civic engagement, The Land is training residents to tell stories from their neighborhoods and become community journalists who are paired with The Land’s professionals. Tapping into the deep knowledge people have about their own communities, we train, pay and support residents to get involved and report from their neighborhoods, which encourages information sharing and taking action to improve where they live. To date, The Land has graduated more than 100 residents from its community journalism program.
What you’ll learn
Over a series of training sessions, participants will learn:
- What is news?
- How do you develop a good story idea?
- How do you prepare interview questions?
- How do you conduct interviews?
- How do you write a news story?
- How do you edit and fact-check a news story?
Throughout the program, participants will work with an editor on a story that will ultimately be published in The Land.
Upon completion of the course, participants will have knowledge of the basic tools of news reporting and the confidence to go out into their community to cover stories that matter. The Land welcomes its community journalists who have completed the course and published their first articles to become ongoing contributors.
When and where you’ll learn
- Training sessions typically take place over six Monday evenings, from 6:30-8:00 p.m.
- Small group sessions with a professional editor/reporter continue after the classes
- Sessions will take place online and in-person
- Participants get set up in a shared Google Drive folder for doing assignments, writing, reviewing, and revising stories.
Who can apply
The Land’s community journalism program is open to Northeast Ohio residents — no experience necessary — who want to write about Cleveland neighborhoods. We especially encourage you to apply if you want to write about your neighborhood, civic issues, local politics, or more!
All selected participants will be paid a stipend of $300 and are expected to attend every class, do the homework, and write an article for publication in The Land. We are excited to work with community residents to get their work published!
How to apply
Fill out this application form for the Fall Session of the Community Journalism program. We’ll review the applications and reach out if you’ve been selected for the program.
Sign up for The Land’s free newsletter to learn about the application period for the next class and become familiar with our journalism.
What our community journalists are saying
“It was such a privilege meeting people from all across Cleveland who have a personal story to tell and then witnessing the birth of these stories into the larger conversations being held across our community.”
—Sarah T.
“I’m seeing my community and Cleveland in different ways and noticing areas that people should know about.”
—Samantha M.
“I am grateful to be learning from so many experienced journalists and professionals who want to see new journalists succeed. It has meant a lot to me to be published in The Land.”
—Christina E.
Stories from our community journalists
Grant for Cleveland Rowing Foundation continues to reshape banks of the Cuyahoga River
Matt Bixenstine sworn in as new Lakewood Ward 4 City Councilperson
SNAP changes, state funding cuts set to hit Greater Cleveland Food Bank, Lakewood residents
5 years in: Cleveland Heights’ first community orchard is thriving
About The Land
The Land is a local news organization that reports on Cleveland’s neighborhoods. Through in-depth solutions journalism, we aim to foster accountability, inform the community, and inspire people to take action.
Our partners
The Land’s community journalism program is supported by:
