Media Trust calls on young citizen journalists for London scheme

The Media Trust is calling on young people in London to become citizen journalists for a new local news hub based in London.

The London Community Reporters hub is a year-long initiative designed to equip 120 young Londoners aged 18 to 25 with practical journalism skills.

The scheme is funded by City Bridge Trust, a charity that grants £15 million a year to projects benefiting inhabitants of Greater London.

According to a release from the Media Trust, the London scheme will be the first of a network of community news hubs around the country supported by the trust and funded with the help of lottery money.

The Big Lottery Fund announced in May that it was donating £1.89 million to the Media Trust to develop citizen journalism projects and "aggregate, package and distribute community news stories across England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland".

As part of the London initiative, a new fortnightly television magazine show will be produced. The show, called London 360, will be first aired on 20 June on the Media Trust's Community Channel and supported by actor Noel Clarke.

According to the trust, London 360 will "report on London community stories and local campaigns as well as bringing a fresh viewpoint to the stories on the news agenda across the capital".

The trust's Community Channel also receives funding from the Cabinet Office and the Open Society Foundation and is broadcast on Sky, Virgin and Freeview.

Jasmine Dotiwala, London 360 news editor, said the project would "give young reporters, who don't have much experience in the field, on-the-job training in filming, research, scripting, producing, writing and editing".

Clarke said: "I'm happy to support the ‘London 360' news team and young reporters across the capital city. I've always championed young people that don't always have easy access to the formal systems in place and feel it's so important to have initiatives like this to give invaluable training to the young people who could be our future media players and to throw them in at the deep end.
 
“It’s also a great opportunity to get important local London stories told to the nation. It'll make a real difference to the levels of communication between the generations, cultures and communities of London. There are so many interesting and inspiring stories, most are just waiting to be heard."
 
Image by Doc Searls on Flickr. Some rights reserved.

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