Crain Communication and the Michigan State University School of Journalism have come together to support high school journalism programs in Detroit high schools.
The Crain MSU Detroit High School Journalism Program will use journalism as a tool to enrich the educational experiences of students in Detroit-area high schools. The program will bring students at participating schools together with professional journalists, MSU faculty members and MSU journalism students to produce a newspaper and news website about the issues affecting the students’ schools, their peers and the community.
Fourteen high schools and about 300 students are expected to take part in the program this academic year. Participating students print a newspaper four times each year with a section for each school, continually post stories online throughout the school year, and learn how to research and publicize their stories through social media.
“Crain Communications is proud to support the Detroit High School Journalism Program, guiding, assisting and inspiring young minds to become critical thinkers, better writers and more actively engaged in their schools and community,” said KC Crain, executive vice president and director of corporate operations for Crain Communications and group publisher of the Automotive News Group.
The partnership with Crain, which will be led by Detroit-based Automotive News, builds on the spirit of a program established in 1985 with support from former Detroit Free Press managing editor Neal Shine. The MSU School of Journalism took over management of that program last year from the Detroit Free Press.
“The School of Journalism is pleased to work with Crain Communications to carry on a strong legacy of high school journalism in Detroit,” said Lucinda Davenport, Director of MSU’s School of Journalism. “We look forward to continuing to give students an opportunity to get hands-on experience with writing and visual communication for print and online news.”
As the lead sponsor of the program, Crain Communications will provide financial support to help operate the program over a multiyear period. Crain journalists and staff also will work with MSU staff to assist students and teachers in creating high school publications at least four times per year. The company will be actively engaged with students from the story-planning process throughout production, including providing meeting space for training and design sessions.
Headquartered in Detroit, Crain Communications is a privately held media company, which publishes a variety of trade newspapers and periodicals, including Automotive News, Crain’s Detroit Business and Advertising Age as well as the online publications, multimedia content and product extensions related to each.