Through the Digital Natives program, a University of Georgia journalism student with digital news expertise will connect with your newsroom to help your staff accomplish 1-2 specific goals, such as launching or improving a social media account or email newsletter, creating digital content, experimenting with a new product, increasing audience engagement, combatting disinformation, or applying Trusting News concepts.

The student will work with you and your newsroom starting in November to do research and create a plan for training. Then, the student will spend one week at your news organization — Jan. 2-5, 2024 — to learn, train, and implement strategies for your goals. Students receive a $1,000 stipend for their work, and their travel, hotel, and food costs are covered by a generous gift from Richard T. and Debbie H. Griffiths. Digital Natives is part of the Journalism Innovation Lab in the Cox Institute for Journalism Innovation, Management & Leadership.

See the introduction video below for more details. You can contact Dr. Amanda Bright, Digital Natives director, at amanda.bright@uga.edu with any questions.

If your newsroom is interested, please fill out this application by Nov. 10, 2023. We hope to select 10-15 news organizations for the program this year.

BONUS: Richard T. Griffiths, of the Georgia First Amendment Foundation and a former CNN vice president, has graciously offered to present a Trusting News and Open Government training seminar for your newsroom — for free — on ways news organizations can build trust with audiences and gain better access to records, meetings, etc. See the option on the form below to request this training, and it can be scheduled at the convenience of the newsroom.