NPR’s Next Generation Radio Project is coming back to Florida for a third consecutive year, offering college students and recent graduates an immersive experience in pitching, producing and publishing a multimedia story.
Applications are now being accepted for the journalism bootcamp hosted by WUSF Public Media in Tampa and WMFE in Orlando and being held virtually from Jan. 1-6, 2023.
Next Generation Radio is a way to give competitively selected participants the opportunity to learn how to report, remotely, and produce their own non-narrated audio piece and multimedia story, said Doug Mitchell, founder and director of Next Generation Radio.
The handful of students chosen for the project get an intense dose of journalism, but are paired the entire time with a professional journalist who serves as their mentor, Mitchell said. Each one is paid to participate.
"Next Gen is an audio-focused, digital media project," Mitchell said. "That means in five days, and with the help of a journalist/mentor, selected applicants will record and produce a non-narrated audio story, record a video standup, take and edit photos, write a 500-600 word story as well as post to social media each day. It's a lot and it's highly intentional. It's not solely about getting a job, It's also about building a career."
In the past 23 years, NPR’s Next Generation has selected and trained more than 400 students, recent graduates and early career professionals. Many of the alumni are now working as professional journalists.
Since 2013, 40% are working public media, like Erika Aguilar, the Executive Producer of NPR's Morning Edition - one of the most high-profile shows on the network.
Like the past two years, the journalists selected for the program will work remotely in their hometown. You will report on a story within your community and it will be shared on WUSF and on public media stations across Florida.
The deadline to apply is Tuesday, November 30, at midnight eastern time.
Visit NextGenRadio.org to learn more and to apply.
