The
Schoolnet News Mentorship Program
SchoolNet News gives young people a forum for their ideas and an opportunity
to write in a journalistic style. Each issue of SNN includes news stories,
opinion pieces, sports, entertainment, reviews, and research from students
of all ages and from all parts of the country.
Through the Mentorship Program, SNN pairs students with journalists,
allowing the young reporters to learn from professionals. The process is
simple:
The mentor/journalists are assigned a number of students.
The students write and send their stories to their mentor via e-mail.
The mentor reads the story, offers suggestions on how to improve the focus
and the writing, and returns it to the student.
The story may go back and forth between the mentor and the SNN reporter
several times as the reporter re-writes the piece or adds new information.
Eventually, the completed stories are sent to the SNN coordinator and
published on the SNN site.
Guidelines for SchoolNet News reporters
The goal of the mentorship program is to give you a chance to work with
established journalists and get advice on your own reporting and writing.
This is a great opportunity for anyone who's thinking about a career in
journalism but it's also a good way to learn about the media and improve
your own writing skills.
When you send your story to your mentor, make sure it's your best work.
Check the spellings of proper names, confirm the facts and the quotes you've
used, run a spell check on your story to catch typos and proofread a printed
version.
Get the most out of your mentor by asking questions. Ask for advice on
writing and reporting. Tell your mentor about some of your story ideas and
get some feedback. Find out what you do well and what you need to work on.
Be prepared to do your own reporting, research and writing. The mentor's
role is to help you -- not do the story for you!
Guidelines for SchoolNet News mentors
Your role is to offer criticism and suggestions for improving a story.
It may include helping them focus and refine a story idea and come up with
potential sources for their story. It could also include advise on using
radio and television clips in their online pieces -- if that's your area
of expertise -- or using photos.
When it comes to writing, you may want to point out spots where the writing
could be improved and even offer a suggested revision. Or you could simply
advise the students on how to make the changes themselves. When possible,
explain why you want make a change.
Keep in mind the age and grade of the student as you read their work.
Elementary school students will be concentrating on basic writing skills.
Junior high students may have a grasp of what makes news. And some high
school students have a sophisticated understanding of the media. Gear your
comments to the student's age and capabilities.
SNN will use the Canadian Press Style Guide to help establish a consistent
style throughout the web site. We've chosen the CP guide because it's familiar
to most of our mentors and widely available to our student journalists across
the country. But don't worry about fine editing or points of style -- that's
the job of the SNN coordinator.
You are not expected to help students research their stories or do interviews.
You can point them in the right direction by suggesting web pages, library
resources or potential sources to interview. But it's up to the student
to find the material they need.
Feel free to share your own experiences whenever you think it may help
the student with their reporting or writing. They have signed up for a mentor
because they're eager to learn more about journalism -- and who better to
ask than someone who's doing the job! |