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KidSpeak Neighborhood News creates new dimension of storytelling

By John O’Donnell

At an American Idol audition, you know you’ll have to sing your heart out. But what can a kid expect at an open casting call for KidSpeak Neighborhood News?

The camera will roll as you read from a sample news story script, and then you’ll answer questions posed by a distinguished panel of current and former journalists who have become partners in this new youth-focused information network.

Gianni Crawford auditions

The panel includes Jack Kresnak, President & CEO of Michigan’s Children, the project’s lead agency; executive producer Vanessa Denha-Garmo of Denha Media & Communications; ARISE Detroit! executive director Luther Keith (a former Detroit News editor and columnist); and Marge Sorge, executive director of the Detroit Regional News Hub. Detroit City Council President Charles Pugh, formerly of Fox 2 News, was also participating on this February morning at YouthVille, the Detroit Youth Foundation’s workforce development facility on Woodward.

Together, they were seeking storytellers to emerge from the 11 to 19 year olds who auditioned, each with different talents and interests. An actor, a singer, a poet, a technical director and more – now asked to think like a journalist.

What’s going on in your neighborhood? How do you find out what’s happening and how would you cover the stories if you were a reporter?

The stories began to flow. Mikaela told about a recent series of robberies in her neighborhood. Dylan recalled the story of a heroic dad who tragically drowned in a rescue attempt. Aza revealed how gun violence had claimed the lives of two students at her high school.

For this group and their peers, traditional broadcast and print media sources aren’t cutting it, as they turn to their computers, phones and word of mouth. Information needs to be delivered faster and be more fun. Literally and figuratively, it needs to speak to them. Aza believes that broadcast and print journalists are more likely to interview older people on the block in covering stories of violent crime. She would talk to the kids to see how they’ve been affected. And, there should be a place for positive stories, as she points with pride to her high school’s 100 percent graduation rate, with 98 percent of students going on to college.

Filling that void in Detroit neighborhood coverage by traditional media is among the objectives of the KidSpeak Neighborhood News project, which is funded by The Skillman Foundation and the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation.

Aza Burris wants to express kids' views on how they are affected by events in their neighborhoods.

“Why can’t we harness these stories and create a positive newscast from the kids’ point of view,” said Michael Kuentz, media operations manager for YouthVille’s Digital Media Arts & Technology program, which provides training in production trade skills, often as a supplement to high school programs that may have been cut or are threatened by the district’s budget crisis.

“We want to mentor and train these kids on good journalism techniques … fairness, accuracy and an understanding of the wider world around them,” said Kresnak, who covered the juvenile justice system for the Detroit Free Press in the late 1980s and early 1990s.

It’s not about training kids for jobs in a journalism profession that don’t exist. The KidsSpeak Neighborhood News partners are creating something that’s never been done before.

“We’re trying to instill a sense of excitement and curiosity in kids. They become engaged in civic affairs and can tell stories,” said Kresnak. “The whole idea is to improve public policies to help these communities become stronger and better able to help families and kids.

“We can’t do this alone. We’ll be reaching out to parents and community partners in six Detroit neighborhoods to make sure they know we’ll be asking for space, computers, telephones and transportation.”

Mikaela Armstead is on screen while auditioning for KidSpeak Neighborhood News.

Kresnak anticipates productive partnerships with a variety of organizations, including ARISE Detroit!, Matrix Human Services, ACCESS (Arab Community Center for Economic and Social Services) and the Wayne State University School of Journalism. Cynthia Burton will serve as managing editor for Michigan’s Children, overseeing the creation of high-quality content for web and broadcast. The KidSpeak Neighborhood News Network will also be able to deliver stories from a youth perspective to public and commercial media outlets. That’s an important component, because the sweeping changes in mainstream media have eliminated a layer of protection, Kresnak said.

“We don’t have that journalism watchdog on children’s welfare, health and education, and it’s something the kids really need.”

Michigan’s Children, an organization that works with lawmakers, business leaders and communities to make Michigan a place where all children have the opportunity to thrive, has been active in connecting young people to policy makers through its KidSpeak initiative. In its current formative stage, the Neighborhood News is adding a new dimension in linking kids with their communities, schools and all media platforms.

In a defining moment for this region and state, there are hopeful signs that children’s issues are receiving priority status.

“We have a lot of interest from business and community leaders and some legislators to advance an agenda of education reform,” said Kresnak. There’s evidence that strides have been made in reducing dropout rates, with a six percent decline reported in the just-released Kids Count in Michigan 2009 Data Book. Activism and involvement in literacy efforts is surging, with thousands of adults volunteering for the Detroit Reading Corps.

There are plenty of stories to tell, as the casting call demonstrated. The KidSpeak Neighborhood News Network offers more than a youth voice. It provides a reason for young people to become involved in their community -- it has invested in them and wants to keep them here.

After telling the story of gun violence that devastated students at her school, Aza said, “I’m not afraid of my city, because there’s a lot of good people here.”

My City.

As the KidSpeak Neighborhood News Network gets rolling, more young people may be expressing a similar perspective

-- John O’Donnell is an Ann Arbor-based freelance writer.

Call to action

Are you a young Detroiter who wants to tell stories about and advocate for your neighborhood? If so, and you are age 11 to 19, apply to join in the KidSpeak Neighborhood News network. Youth selected for the program will have the opportunity to learn how to be journalists, tackling such skills as writing, reporting, videography and photography for print, TV, radio and the Web. If you want to participate or know of a young person who could contribute to the project, please e-mail Cynthia Burton, KSNN editor, at Cynthia@m ichiganschildren.org .