Community Voices ⎸ Journalism is for everyone
We believe communities are stronger when people know how journalism works and participate in making journalism however they’re able.
ST. CLOUD, Minn. – Protesters chanted and beat drums outside the Great River Regional Library on Saturday, April 19, as eight community members learned the basics of journalism and solutions journalism.
That sentence right there? ^^ That’s an example of a lede. It’s spelled l-e-d-e because newspapers were typeset on metal machines made of lead back in the days when print ruled the world. That’s how the first paragraph of a news story got its odd spelling.
Project Optimist partnered with St. Cloud Somali Community Radio to offer the free training session, and we had a great time!
We didn’t know that news would happen right outside the library when we planned our training, but we used it to our advantage. Project Optimist Founder and Executive Director Nora Hertel incorporated the protest into her presentation.
We believe communities are stronger when people know how journalism works and participate in making journalism however they’re able. Maybe you’ll learn the basics of newsgathering, or come to understand how off-the-record conversations work, or explore Minnesota’s open meetings law.
Project Optimist plans to host more training sessions in the future, so stay tuned and drop in if you’re able.
And we’re excited to share the stories produced in partnership with St. Cloud Somali Community Radio and Station Manager Ahmed Abdi. Watch for those, as well!
In the meantime, you can message me whenever you want to nerd out about journalism: jen@projectoptimist.news.
Project Optimist and St. Cloud Somali Community Radio's partnership is made possible by a grant from Press Forward Minnesota.
This column was edited by Nora Hertel.
