MapleLine Journalism Program
Journalism Career Training
Skills Mentoring Program
$39.50+HST per workshop
Attend 1 or more workshops
Registration is ongoing for the monthly workshops of the 2010-2011 program. Write to workshops@maplelinemagazine.com or phone 250-642-7729.
Brookeline Publishing House Inc. (publisher of MapleLine
Magazine) conducts a journalism mentoring program for a new
generation of news writers in Sooke, BC. The
second year of the program
starts Tuesday, November 2, 2010 and continues to June 2011. Workshops
are held monthly, each one on a different topic.
The goal of this program
is to enhance the news-writing and
photojournalism skills of keen
adults (age 16+) so they
can make positive and professional contributions to print and online
publications across Canada. The focus is on producing CP Style writing
for Canadian news media (print and online).
For
2010-2011 the
program cost per participant is $39.50+hst per month. The
2.5-hour workshop is followed by article editing and/or career mentoring by
email.
The
program runs October through June. Payments due at the start of each
workshop.
To
register please phone 250-642-7729 or email to
workshops@maplelinemagazine.com .
The
program has an 'industry survey' format in order to cover a wide range of
topics and media coverage styles. Participants meet for monthly
workshops to learn about news writing, copy editing,
what makes a good story, how to submit a print or online story,
photojournalism and caption writing, Canadian Press Style standards and
guidelines, writing standards for the social media, and more. Between workshops there
will be on-going mentoring on various news writing and research projects
throughout the 9-month program. Each month one local news article (or
photo journalism contribution) must
be submitted.
Location -- all sessions held at the MapleLine Business
Centre, 6707 West Coast Road, Sooke.
Tues. Nov. 2/10 [7:00 to 9:30 pm]. First session. Guidelines for news writing, introduction to CP Press Style, overview of Canadian media in a changing world. First writing assignments will be issued.
Thurs. Nov.18/10 [7:00 to 9:30 pm]. Writing about politics. General guidelines for political coverage in the Canadian news media.
Thurs. Dec.9/10 [7:00 to 9:30 pm]. Writing about health issues. The importance of accuracy and developing a network of resources and contacts.
Thurs. Jan.20, 2011 [7:00 to 9:30 pm]. Writing about business and finance. Includes a special hour on preparing news releases.
Thurs. Feb.18, 2011 [7:00 to 9:30 pm] at Writing about education issues. Review current topics of interest and assess coverage techniques.
Thurs. Mar.24, 2011 [7:00 to 9:30 pm]. Writing about the arts. Tips for writing about arts and entertainment including restaurant and film reviews.
Thurs. Apr.21, 2011 [7:00 to 9:30 pm]. Writing about environmental issues. Review current topics of interest and assess coverage techniques.
Thurs. May 20, 2011 [7:00 to 9:30 pm]. Writing about families and social gender issues. Exploration of the issues and how to produce fair and balanced reports.
June 2011. No formal session. Students will undertake completion of outstanding assignments. Resume preparation tips provided as required.
The
curriculum has been developed by Mary P. Brooke, publisher/editor of
MapleLine Magazine. There may be guest speakers from various areas
of journalism, business, government and community to address how certain
topics are handled by the media.
Each
participant who completes all 8 workshops (including one article per
month for online publication) will receive a
certificate of completion.
Brookeline Publishing House Inc.
(publisher of MapleLine Magazine) underwrites the cost of this
program, along with contributions from corporate sponsors and magazine subscribers.
Registration
inquiries may be directed to
workshops@maplelinemagazine.com
or phone 250-642-7729.
About this Program
News writing for a new generation.
Thinking outside the box
Good
writing always finds a market. The old model is that journalism
must be a full-time, salaried employment scenario; the new model is more
flexible -- casual, part-time, stringer, freelance, associate, topic
specialist, etc. -- including both article writing and photo/video
journalism.
The students in the program will soon be doing well with writing for contribution (to community and profession) as well as financial income, in combination with other things they are doing in their lives (e.g. raising families, working at other part-time jobs, etc.). Some may go on to degree-granting institutes (e.g. Carleton, Ryerson, Univ. of Regina, etc.); the MapleLine program gets their feet wet with good writing standards and practical experience.
The MapleLine program contains much valuable information which can serve to prepare participants for degree-granting level training. For others it is a 9-month program to boost the working adult's interest in producing reliable journalism.
The delivery process includes instructional workshops and small group discussion with assignments and guests speaker workshops, plus mentoring. It's hands-on, and it works for those who are committed to writing and news delivery for its valuable contribution to community and society. We invite those with a positive attitude to find out more.
Other Writing Genres
In Fall 2010 we will also start a Journalism
Skills for Health Professionals workshop program.
Click here for more info.
In Fall 2010 we will also
offer a
Restaurant Review Writers Program.
See some of the
restaurant reviews we have
published.
Business & Community
Invitation to be interviewed.
Story opportunity.
If
you would like one of the news writers in our program to interview you
about your organization or business, please
contact the program coordinator, Mary P. Brooke, at
workshops@maplelinemagazine.com .
Testimonials
Feedback from students
Great program!
"My Grade 12 Writing teacher is very proud that I joined up with this course." ~ Samantha MacLean, Sooke (Dec.7/09)
"Thank you so much for an informative and inspiring first session! You really make me want to succeed at providing a factual and trustworthy service to our great community. Your honesty about the tasks and enthusiasm for this venture has made me take a deep breath and kindled a real desire to take the plunge and put myself out there." ~ Karen Laharty, Sooke (Oct.22/09)
Sponsorship
Be a corporate sponsor
Support young journalists
Brookeline Publishing House Inc. underwrites the cost of the MapleLine Journalism Mentoring Program, along with contributions from corporate sponsors and paying magazine subscribers. A small monthly tuition fee of $39.50+hst is the student's direct contribution.
This is a program that runs on its own steam, with the commitment of participants and the support of businesses and community leaders who realize the importance of well-written news. We are a business school, and at the present time we choose to operate without dependency on government grants or community grants.
Sponsors for the 2009-2010 program were the Sooke Harbour Chamber of Commerce, Sooke Harbour House and Village Food Markets.
Sponsors receive ongoing promotion within program materials and announcements, as well as ads in the print edition of MapleLine.
Sponsors may recommend guest speakers and are asked to provide a meeting space for one or more sessions during the year.
Sponsors may provide program materials -- with or without corporate logos at their discretion (e.g. notepads, pens, memory sticks, shopping bags, business cards, computer software, payment of travel costs, event reminder flyers, etc.).
For inquiries about being a corporate sponsor, please inquire to: editor@maplelinemagazine.com