Want to write your neighborhood's news? Apply to our Community Correspondents training program.

L to R: Community Correspondents Ian Randolph, Ivy Arnold, and Monique Rials listen attentively to a conversation on journalist ethics lead by trainer, Micaela Watts. (Cat Evans)

Micaela Watts, reporter for The Commercial Appeal served as the trainer for the inaugural Community Correspondents program. The program included eight residents from four Memphis neighborhoods. (Cat Evans)

High Ground News is looking for six North Memphis residents interested in researching and reporting their neighborhood’s stories.

Community Correspondents is a six-week training and mentoring program that equips residents with the necessary skills to report their communities’ news with truth, care, and nuance.

Passion and curiosity are required. Previous journalism experience is not.

The Spring 2020 High Ground News Community Correspondents program will begin mid-April. It includes four once-weekly, in-class instructional sessions and two weeks spent working with seasoned journalists to craft a neighborhood-based story.

Correspondents are paid for their time in class, mentoring sessions, and their first published story. They’re also provided laptops to keep and continue their reporting work post-training.

The spring program is open to anyone living in or around the Bickford-Bearwater-northern Uptown area. A second late summer-early fall program will be open to residents in other North Memphis neighborhoods.

Anyone interested in applying for the spring program is encouraged to attend one of two information sessions at the Bickford Community Center, 233 Henry Avenue. The sessions are scheduled for Tuesday, February 19 at 6 p.m. and Saturday, February 22 at 10 a.m.

Click here to apply for the Spring 2020 program. Applications are due by March 13.

Class days and times will be determined based on Correspondents’ availability.

The Spring 2020 High Ground Community Correspondents program is hosted in partnership with Oasis of Hope and funded by a grant from Memphis-based Thomas Briggs Foundation, with additional support from SouthernSun Asset Management. Oasis of Hope is a faith-based nonprofit based in the Bickford-Bearwater community.

Email engagement@highgroundnews.com for any questions about the spring or summer/fall correspondent courses.

The inaugural class wrapped in November 2019 and was funded by a grant from Facebook. Check out the video below to learn how the program works and hear from one of our first Correspondents, South Memphis resident Ivy Arnold.