The Media Literacy Programme
The Telegraph
The target was attracting 16 to 18 -year-olds who traditionally don't get a chance to obtain work experience or find out how the news business works.
Without being exclusive, we have deliberately focussed on schools from areas with a high proportion of free school meals and those who live outside of London who wouldn’t ordinarily get access to national newsrooms.
It is all about celebrating trusted, accurate journalism in a world of misinformation, and exciting school students about the employment opportunities available.
The great news is that the programme has expanded each year. It started with 30 youngsters and last year more than 600 took part. The MLP now reaches throughout the UK, including schools in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland.
The other great news is that MLP alumni are now coming through the recruitment programme, with several going on to apply for our Work Experience Scheme for university students.
The MLP lasts for a month each year, with live one-hour broadcasts every Tuesday for four weeks. The MLP is all presented by Telegraph journalists. The students watch the programmes on their laptops or phones with support from their teachers and families. The programmes are presented by Telegraph editors who talk about their work in an engaging, lively manner. The programmes are aimed at young people who are often tired at the end of the school day and might have short attention spans.
So the sessions are deliberately at a high pace, broken up into multiple sections including interviews, videos and journalism ‘’challenges’’.
Amongst those interviewed are editors from the Beauty, Sport and Video teams. Others include a design editor, music writer and travel expert.
Each week the MLP engages with the students by inviting them to take part in a journalism challenge when they can win a voucher. It might be, for example, to write a short feature about their favourite travel destination, which could be anywhere from their local park to further afield.