ThreeSixty Journalism

Through year-round programming, including an online magazine, weekend and after-school classes and a career fair, ThreeSixty Journalism delivers a unique learning and career training opportunity for Minnesota teens ages 13 to 19, primarily from the Twin Cities. There are no other youth programs in Minnesota that offer the same level of in-depth and hands-on journalism, media literacy, and civic engagement training that ThreeSixty provides. At no cost to teens or their families, ThreeSixty serves more than 20 high schools and 400 teens each year, the majority of whom are from communities of color and from low-income households. Students are from high schools like Wellstone, Arlington, Harding, De LaSalle, North, Eden Prairie, Humboldt Junior High School and many others, like Watertown and Northfield. Participants, their families, and teachers tell us that their involvement with ThreeSixty helped them to write better, think more critically, ask better questions, become more engaged in community issues and perform better in school. The demand for ThreeSixty’s training in critical thinking, clear writing and rigorous fact-finding is increasing, especially since less than half of the state’s high schools even have school newspapers, particularly in Twin Cities urban schools. Laura Lee, a Hmong ThreeSixty alumna who is now an associate television producer said that ThreeSixty changed her life. “I knew I always wanted to write, but I wasn’t completely sure which direction I wanted to go with it. Being a part of this program and being exposed to what I learned confirmed that journalism is what I want to do. ThreeSixty opened many doors for me.” Dymanh Chhoun is another teen whose life has been significantly impacted by ThreeSixty. Having emigrated at the age of four from Cambodia, he was behind in reading, writing and math, but he loved news. He also had skills he hadn’t realized, like recognizing good stories and getting people to talk. He also found a love for making videos and made a series posted at www.threesixtyjournalism.org that examined the challenges faced by first-generation college students like him and why it is so tough to raise high-school graduation rates. He earned an associate’s degree in communications at Normandale Community College and is currently enrolled at the University of Minnesota where he plans to earn a journalism degree and work for a news organization. He is thankful for ThreeSixty’s support at every step. “You found something about me that I didn’t see about myself.”