Free community journalism course offered

For the second year in a row, Sussex County Community College (SCCC) will offer a free program to help residents develop the skills to serve as community journalists.

“Becoming a Community Journalist” will be offered from March 18 through May 6.

Participants will learn the tools needed for understanding local issues, how to report important stories, and how make connections with publishers seeking news and fresh ideas.

Cheryl Conway will return as the instructor of the certificate course.

She teaches Journalism I and 2 at SCCC and has decades of experience as a reporter and editor at community newspapers and magazines and as publisher of an online publication in her hometown.

“I want the participants to begin thinking like journalists and be prepared to effectively engage with their neighbors and local government,” Conway said.

“Our aim is to prepare them to become more civically active, get involved in the community media ecosystem and seek the confidence to become a published writer.”

$40,000 grant

In 2023, SCCC was one of four New Jersey community colleges that received $40,000 awards to train faculty members and fund tuition-free, noncredit certificates in community journalism.

Nancy Gallo, director of the Center for Lifelong Learning, wrote the grant application on behalf of SCCC and the center. She previously worked as a community reporter covering events in her hometown.

“We are so appreciative to the New Jersey Council for the Humanities for choosing SCCC as a worthy recipient of this grant,” she said. “We want to train local citizens on how to write news articles and be part of the democratic system of providing information that leads to informed citizens and decisions.”

“This grant promises to have far-reaching and long-term benefits for our county and its citizens,” she added. “The certificate is designed to teach journalism skills and design practices for anyone in greater Sussex County who wants to share stories and information that their communities need to thrive.”

The New Jersey Council for the Humanities designed the grant with input from the Journalism + Design program at the New School.

The certificate will be offered in person and online. The in-person workshops will meet eight consecutive Tuesdays on the SCCC campus. The online version of the certificate course is offered asynchronously.

For information about the course, send email to cconway@sussex.edu

To register, send email to Tiffany Spear, assistant academic affairs coordinator, at tspear@sussex.edu