The Underground Workshop is a collaborative network of student journalists from across Vermont, reporting and writing for VTDigger’s statewide audience.
The Workshop is led by a team of student editors from ten of Vermont’s high schools and colleges. The editors gather on zoom every two weeks, with student work at the center of each meeting. Any student is welcome to attend, to pitch ideas for stories, to submit drafts for feedback, or just to listen in.
One of our goals for this year is to launch an instagram page, showcasing student journalism and photography from across Vermont. We hope to gather material for several posts before we officially promote the account later this month.
To submit work, or for more information, please email the Workshop’s editor, Ben Heintz, at ben@vtdigger.org.
We are seeking…
1. “Snapshots” : photographs that document events or situations in your school or community.
There are 3 requirements:
a. Accompany your photo with a caption, (2-4 sentences) giving context for the image
b. (in most cases) Include a quote from someone in the photo, or tied to the situation in the photo
c. Make sure you have consent from anyone featured in a photo
2. Highlights from student publications
Was there an excellent piece of reporting in your school newspaper? Something of relevance to a larger audience? Send us the link (including at least one strong photograph) and we’ll make a post!
3. Student art and photography
We’re interested to showcase the most interesting visual arts from students across Vermont, from photography to painting and illustration, costume design, comics, etc. The key here is an excellent photograph (or several photographs) of the work. The photo should be credited to a student photographer (who may also be the artist).
These photographs should also come with a short paragraph giving context, and ideally a quote from the photographer / artist– What’s the story behind this piece? What ideas or techniques were employed? Is there an intended message or effect for viewers? Etc.
Other Opportunities for Publication with the Underground Workshop
1. Statewide Commentary: The Black Lives Matter flag in Our Schools
We published six stories last year about the BLM flag in Vermonts’ schools– just a fraction of the complex experiences surrounding the flag in our state. We invite students to share stories, to offer their opinions, and to help us improve the civil discourse around these issues in our communities. The deadline is Nov. 13. More information is here.
2. Invitational Series
These series seek to explore an issue across several communities, as we did with our series about the BLM flag in our schools. Students interested to contribute to an invitational series should email Ben Heintz at ben@vtdigger.org, who will put them in touch with the student editor leading the project. The stories will be published on an occasional basis, as they are completed, through the 2021-2022 school year.
Bright Spots in Our Schools Student Editor: Adelle Macdowell, Lamoille High School
Our schools are in a period of disruption and change, and students should have more voice in the discussion. This series seeks to document the most meaningful learning experiences in our schools, from the students’ perspective. These can be new or innovative projects, or traditional learning experiences, like a great class discussion. The key here is to “show don’t tell,” to bring the reader through a specific example. The first story in the series is here.
New Vermonters Student Editor: Rebecca Cunningham, Burlington High School
This is a series profiles people who have come to Vermont from another country. These could be recent immigrants or refugees, or people who have been in the state for years. Our goal is to collect a handful of diverse profiles, telling stories about new Vermonters from several nations and all walks of life. The first story in the series is here.
3. Ongoing Opportunities
Independent Submissions: We’re always interested to support feature stories or projects of your own design, just email ben@vtdigger to start the conversation. The key is for stories to have relevance for a statewide audience.
Dispatches: VTDigger does its best to report on all of Vermont but can’t cover the news in every community. Student journalists can contribute to local news coverage in the form of “news briefs”: short articles of a few paragraphs, with a lead, a quote or two, and a couple of good photos. If you think you can cover a piece of local news, let us know– the key here is to be timely, publishing while the story is still news.
Voices: Interviews with people who have a story to tell, an unusual or underrepresented perspective, or special insight into an issue of statewide relevance. The finished Q&A opens with an engaging lead and a paragraph or two introducing the interview subject, then transitions to an edited interview, with a few strong photographs to complement the text.
We are also eager to work with teachers to develop projects for their students.
For more information please contact Ben Heintz, the Workshop’s editor, at ben@vtdigger.org.
For more information please email Ben Heintz at ben@vtdigger.org
