Media-Makers Fellowship
Applications close on Sunday, 7th April 2024
Via News Didi Empowering students with media literacy and (solutions) journalism skills! Our mission is to help students understand how the world around them is changing and how they can change it for the better!
Over 6 weeks of online masterclasses with media professionals, 30 student creators from Grades 8-12 ,create podcasts, videos, photo-essays and articles to educate, inform and inspire.
What does a climate journalist, a cartoonist, a rapper-cum-director and a public speaker have in common?
They’re our fabulous Learning Partners for the Media-Makers Fellowship!
At the Media-Makers Fellowship, students from grades 8-12 create impactful, inspiring stories across diverse platforms.
This April, our student journalists will interact with
- *Navya Singh* (Founder, NewsWith Navya)
- *Rohan Chakravarty* (Creator, Green Humour)
- *Sofia Ashraf* (Writer, Rapper and Director)
- *Nikhil Taneja* (Co-Founder, Yuvaa and host, Be a Man, Yaar)
Students will interview these changemakers and write articles on their life, work and journey.
If this sounds like your cup of tea, apply to the Media-Makers Fellowship!
What do students do at the Media-Makers Fellowship?
Create diverse media every week
Every weekend students learn from a new Media Mentor i.e media professionals from India’s leading media platforms like The Hindu, The Print, Youth ki Awaaz etc. Here’s some advice from our mentors from the October 2022 cohort.
📌 Students produce a digital magazine every week
Every week, the best student work makes its way into a zine that’s designed and edited by students themselves!
Explore the newsletters created by our Dec’23 cohort here.
📌 Students get personalised feedback from trained journalists
In small group Coaching Calls, students get feedback on the first draft of the media they’re making. These online meet-ups are full of students collaborating with each other to create diverse media.
📌 Students tell stories that matter to them
At the Media-Makers Fellowship, students tell stories about people who inspire them, issues that trouble them and ideas that inspire them. Students tell stories from their schools, communities and lives and use their voice to inspire change.
Read Payal’s story about Equity in Education here.
📌 Students meet like minded students from across the country
Our cohorts are super diverse- we have students from all over the country, with varied interests and skills. But they have one thing in common – the desire to re-imagine our media landscape.
Media for teens, by teens
At the Media-Makers Fellowship, (with a little help from journalists, podcasters and video creators and other media professionals) students will create:
In our podcasting Masterclass with Anirban Chowdhury – Executive Producer of the Morning Brief Podcast by Economic Times, students explore different podcast formats and choose one they wish to use. Anirban takes students behind-the-scenes to explain the process of conceptualising and scripting a podcast and even gives students feedback on their podcast ideas. In the past, our students have created podcasts on biomimicry, the meditative power of running and even parallel universes.
In our Video Masterclass, students explore everything from camera angles to storyboarding. With insights from our media mentor, students critically analyse diverse video stories to identify key elements of a great video story. In the week following the Masterclass, students create their own video stories that feature on our Youtube page, social media handles and the weekly zine that’s published every week of the Fellowship. In the past, our students have created videos on the school experiences of their grandparents, the value of afterschool programs and inspiring teachers.
In our Features Masterclass, journalism meets storytelling! Students turn their diverse story ideas into human interest features, news features and profiles, using tips and tricks shared by our media mentors. Students get an opportunity to interview founders, change-makers who join us as learning partners for the Fellowship. In the past, our students have written articles about Robin Hood Army, equity in education, the fashion industry’s impact on the environment and even cinema!
In our Photo Journalism Masterclass, students learn to tell engaging stories using photographs. Our media mentor guides students to capture great pictures of people, places and events around them to tell meaningful stories.
Our Opinion Writing masterclass with Neera Majumder- Editorial Lead at CEEW is a favourite across cohorts! Students learn what it takes to write a compelling opinion piece including a unique 3-part writing process. In the past, our student have written opinion articles on gender steretypes in education and mental health.
You can explore the full schedule of the April’24 cohort here.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. What is the program duration?
The program is 6 weeks long, from 20th April to 25th May 2024.
2. Where is the program being conducted?
These sessions will be conducted online through Zoom meetings.
3. Who can participate in the program?
Students from Grade 8-12, anywhere in India.
4. How much time will the program/sessions take?
Each week there will be 1 Masterclass and 1 Coaching Call.
Masterclasses will be held on Sundays mostly. Some sessions may be conducted on Saturdays (based on the avilabilty of Media Mentors). Coaching Calls will be held on Tuesdays/Wednesdays for 90 minutes in the evening. Refer to the program schedule for more details.
We estimate that you will require to spend 4-5 hours per week (including sessions + time to work on creating your own newslettres, podcasts and other media) on the program.
5. What do students get when they complete the program?
Students who complete the program will receive a certificate of completion at the end of the program. Certificates will also be given to students for their outstanding contributions.
6. How much does the program cost?
The program costs Rs. 4500 per student participant.
7. I can’t afford the program fees. Can I get a scholarship?
Yes, absolutely! We don’t want money to be a deterrent for worthy students to gain from this experience. Please indicate why you need a scholarship in the application form itself.
8. Once the program is over, then what?
Glad you asked! Students will graduate from the program as student journalits and once a journalist – always a journalist! So upon their graduation, we’ll invite students to be part of the Student Journalists of India Collective – a community of student journalists exploring opportunities in the journalism and media and supporting each other so greater student voice is present in the media.
9. I want this program to come to my school. What can I do?
We’re so happy you said that! Drop us the email ID of your principal or teacher, and we’ll send them a proposal for the program! You can also ask your teacher to sign up for a free introductory workshop for students here.
Program Schedule
In case of any questions or concerns, please feel free to reach out to us at vianewsdidi@gmail.com
