Overview:

Planet Detroit is inviting applications for its 2025 Neighborhood Reporting Lab, emphasizing profile writing. Led by Charlotte Morgan, the program aims to teach participants to create compelling narratives about community leaders driving positive change. The six-week course offers hands-on training and mentoring in generating curiosity, conducting impactful interviews, capturing engaging photos, and structuring profiles. Participants will receive stipends for published Q&As and final projects, along with dedicated mentorship. The application deadline is January 16, 2025.

FOCUS ON PROFILE WRITING

Do you have stories to tell about the people making a difference in your neighborhood? Are you interested in highlighting community leaders through journalism?

Planet Detroit wants to work with you! Apply to join our 2025 Planet Detroit Neighborhood Reporting Lab, where this year’s focus will be on profiles.

This class is free.

Participants will learn how to craft compelling stories about the people who build the social fabric and inspire and create positive change in our communities. Those who complete stories to publish in Planet Detroit will receive a stipend. Our class instructor will once again be Charlotte Morgan.

What You’ll Learn and Do
In this six-week program, you’ll receive hands-on training and mentoring on:

  • Generating curiosity and framing your story
  • Conducting effective interviews
  • Capturing engaging photos using your phone
  • Writing and structuring profiles that bring subjects to life

You’ll meet for one full-day session in-person and five virtual evening sessions, plus optional office hours for additional support.

No experience required. What you’ll need:

  • Curiosity and a desire to share your community’s stories
  • Access to a computer, the internet, and a smartphone for recording and taking photos

Class Schedule

  • Feb 15, 2025 (9 AM – 3:30 PM, in person): Kickoff session, training, and mentor introductions.
  • Feb 25, 2025 (6 PM – 7:30 PM, virtual): Profile writing 101 (Q&A assignment due)
  • Mar 4, 2025 (6 PM – 7:30 PM, virtual): Profile writing 102 (Q&As published, $100 stipend)
  • Mar 11, 2025 (6 PM – 7:30 PM, virtual): Writing and structure: ledes, nut grafs, transitions, and endings (Final project topic brief due)
  • Mar 18, 2025 (6 PM – 7:30 PM, virtual): Workshop and discussion
  • Mar 25 & Apr 1, 2025 (6 PM, virtual): Office hours for project support
  • Apr 1, 2025: Final projects due ($250 stipend)
  • April 2025: Profiles to be published in Planet Detroit 
  • May 9, 2025 (6 PM, in person): Class celebration

Stipends and Mentorship

  • Receive $100 for publishing your Q&A and $250 upon completing your final project.
  • Work with a dedicated mentor to guide you through the process.

How to Apply
Complete this application form by Tuesday, Jan. 16, 2025.
Finalists will be notified on Jan. 26, 2025 and asked to submit a profile pitch.

Questions? Email us at nina@planetdetroit.org.

You can view prior work from Planet Detroit’s Neighborhood Reporting Lab here.

APPLY NOW!

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Nina Misuraca Ignaczak is an award-winning Metro Detroit-based editor, journalist, and documentary filmmaker. She is the founder, publisher, and editor of Planet Detroit, a digital media startup focused on producing quality climate, equity, health, and environment journalism that centers grassroots voices, holds power accountable, and spotlights solutions. Planet Detroit has received awards and recognition from the Society for Professional Journalists Detroit, the Institute for Nonprofit News, and LION Publishers since its establishment in 2019. Prior to her journalism career, Nina worked in urban planning in local government and nonprofit sectors, holding a Master of Science in Natural Resource Ecology and a Bachelor of Science in Biology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.