Youth Communication: Who We Are

Papers on Youth Communication's Process and

the Context of Our Work

The following articles, all of which originally appeared in other publications, provide background information on the writing process at Youth Communication, how it relates to youth development, the learning process in the newsroom, and why the stories have such a strong impact on peers. Finally, several articles look at the historical context of the work.

THE WRITING PROCESS & YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
Teens Learn to Explain their Lives: Writing at Youth Communication
Flipping the Script: Form and Content in Teen Writing
Peer Support Through Teen Journalism
Youth Development and Youth Journalism
Fostering Resiliency Through the Art of Writing
Lighting the Lamp for Young Readers and Writers [PDF]

THE YOUTH COMMUNICATION PROGRAM
The Newsroom at Youth Communication
Experiential Education: How Youth Communication Teaches Skills
The Youth Involvement Model: The Evolution of Youth Empowerment
Starting a Foster Care Magazine: A Voice for Youth in Care
Supporting Social and Emotional Development in the After School Hours
The Original Vision: The Peer that Doesn't Pressure

THE HISTORICAL CONTEXT
The Movement for Youth Rights: 1945-2000
The State of Print Media for Teens: 2004
The Need for Teen Voices: A Review of The Scapegoat Generation
The 1970's-10 Years of Turmoil in the High School Press
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THE WRITING PROCESS & YOUTH DEVELOPMENT
Teens Learn to Explain their Lives: Writing at Youth Communication—Executive Director Keith Hefner describes the role of the writer and editor at Youth Communication in an essay from the College Board Review. (2004)

Flipping the Script: Form and Content in Teen Writing—Youth Communication editor Nora McCarthy explores the relationship between form and content in teen writing in an essay from Social Policy magazine. (2005)

Peer Support Through Teen Journalism—For many teens, the most important motivation for writing their stories is to help their peers. This essay, from Social Policy magazine, describes several examples of the power of peer education in our work. (1999)

Youth Development and Youth Journalism—Executive Director Keith Hefner describes promising practices, where money should be spent, and leaders in the field, including Geoff Canada at the Harlem Children’s Zone and Dorothy Stoneman of Youth Build, in an interview for the Stone Foundation newsletter. (2006)

Fostering Resiliency Through the Art of Writing—Youth Communication editor Al Desetta and psychologist Sybil Wolin describe how teens at Youth Communication use the writing process to reframe traumatic experiences in ways that emphasize their strengths and resourcefulness. (1999)

Lighting the Lamp for Young Readers and Writers—In an article for VOYA, the trade magazine for young adult librarians, Al Desetta describes the impact of the Youth Communication writing experience on professional writers among our alumni. The article features six Youth Communication alumni who have written books for young adult readers, including Edwidge Danticat, Veronica Chambers, and Ernesto Quinonez. (2009)

THE YOUTH COMMUNICATION PROGRAM
The Newsroom at Youth Communication—Keith Hefner describes the Youth Communication newsroom/classroom as a place of diverse voices and practical learning. (1990)

Experiential Education: How Youth Communication Teaches Skills—Youth Communication is run like a professional publishing company, not a classroom. Teens improve their skills largely through "experiential education." Keith Hefner describes the process. (1990)

The Youth Involvement Model: The Evolution of Youth Empowerment at Youth Communication—During its first decade, Youth Communication dispensed with some of the formal trappings of youth empowerment (such as teen editorial positions) to focus on empowerment through skill-building. Keith Hefner explains why. (1988)

Starting a Foster Care Magazine: A Voice for Youth in Care—In an interview in the magazine of the Child Welfare League of America, Keith Hefner describes why Youth Communication created a magazine for youth in foster care and its impact on young people and on staff. (2003)

Supporting Social and Emotional Development in the After School Hours—Keith Hefner writes about the special role of after school programs in supporting social and emotional development, and how that role is threatened by demands to turn after school into an extension of the school day. (2005)

The Original Vision: The Peer that Doesn't Pressure—This 600-word statement of why our brand of youth media works, written in 1983, still holds true. (1983)

HISTORICAL DOCUMENTS
The Movement for Youth Rights: 1945-2000—Youth media emerged from the larger movement for youth rights of the second half of the 20th Century. In this essay from Social Policy magazine, Keith Hefner describes how the youth rights movement reshaped programs for young people. (1998).

The State of Print Media for Teens: 2004—In an article written for the Open Society Institute in 2004—on the eve of the explosion of facebook and other social media—Keith Hefner surveys the state of print media for teens. (2004)

The Need for Teen Voices: A Review of The Scapegoat Generation—When adults are angered or frightened by social and cultural change, they often project their fears onto teens. When those fears are amplified by the media they result in ugly scapegoating. Keith Hefner explores how that happens in this essay-review. (1996)

The 1970's: Ten Years of Turmoil in the High School Press—In this essay, Keith Hefner describes the post-1960s scene in scholastic journalism that gave birth to the Youth Communication concept of independent teen magazines. (1980)

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