Registration is now open for a free journalism and multimedia workshop for Black students in junior high and high schools throughout Nova Scotia.
J-School Noire takes place annually during Black History Month in a number of cities across Canada, including Halifax. The event is hosted by the Canadian Association of Black Journalists (CABJ).
This year, J-School Noire takes place on Feb. 10 at the NSCC Ivany Campus in Dartmouth from 9am to 3pm.
The program is open to students aged 14 to 18 throughout the province who identify as Black. Students who participate will receive hands-on training and mentorship in shooting video, writing, editing, interviewing, and podcasting.
“We already have a couple students who have shown interest before the applications even went out,” said Amber Fryday, the Atlantic director of the CABJ.
Scholarships available for students
In the application process, students are asked what media experience they already have, what interests them about J-School Noire, and what they hope to get out of the experience.
Fryday said a number of scholarships will also be made available for this year’s J-School Noire participants.
“Even if they don’t necessarily have an interest in media, it’s a six-hour day to come out and explore something new,” she said. “And they may end up interested in pursuing a completely different career opportunity.”
The workshops will take place in the newsroom and television studios of the Radio Television Journalism (RTJ) program at NSCC.
One of the workshops will involve current RTJ students helping J-School Noire participants produce and record a mock television newscast.
Fryday is a graduate of the RTJ program at NSCC. She now works for Global News Halifax as a television news reporter, web writer, and fill-in producer for the morning show.
She served as a guest speaker for J-School Noire before taking on her current role with CABJ.
Fryday said she’s currently in the process of finalizing roles for the instructors and guest speakers for this year’s J-School Noire.
Under-representation in newsrooms
The previous Atlantic director of the CABJ, Brian Daly, is expected to give an introduction speech to the students.
In June 2022, Daly gave a keynote speech at the Delmore “Buddy” Daye Learning Institute’s (DBDLI) annual Report to the Community at the Black Cultural Centre where he broke down statistical information about under-representation in Canadian newsrooms.
Fryday said free meals will be provided to the participants and free transportation is available to students traveling from outside of Halifax.
Now that registration is open, Fryday said she’s focused on spreading the word and doing outreach through African Nova Scotian school support workers.
“I’m hopeful that we’re going to get quite a good turnout,” she said. “It’s our first in-person J-School Noire since the pandemic. In the past couple of years, we’ve had low turnout due to it being virtual, so we’re really optimistic that we’re going to get a high turnout this year.”
The deadline to register is Feb. 2.
Click here to register.
