Montana Media Lab Expands Youth Voices Initiative with Grant Support
MISSOULA – The Montana Media Lab at the 老虎机攻略 School of Journalism has received $250,000 to expand its work fostering media literacy and audio storytelling in rural and Indigenous communities.
The School of Journalism-based program was awarded a two-year, $200,000 grant from the Hearst Foundations and an additional one-year, $50,000 grant from the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation. The awards support Montana Media Lab’s Youth Voices programming for young people from communities often overlooked by traditional media.
“Our goal is to give voice to those often marginalized voices from rural and Indigenous communities by giving them the tools to tell their own stories and to develop a deeper understanding of how media is made,” said Media Lab Director Mary Auld. “Through these initiatives, we aim to cultivate a new generation of storytellers who can advocate for their communities and contribute to a more diverse and inclusive media landscape.”
With the help of funding from the Hearst and Blank Foundations, the Montana Media Lab will launch a four-day intensive audio journalism camp in Missoula in July 2024 and 2025.
The summer camp for rising ninth through 12th graders will provide students with immersive media career training in audio storytelling, equipment usage, interviewing techniques and production skills.
Participants will have the opportunity to create their own narrative audio stories, conduct interviews and produce polished final pieces, which will air statewide on public radio stations.
The support makes it possible for students with an interest in audio journalism to participate in the July 21-25 camp regardless of financial need. Interested students can learn more and register by visiting the .
With funding from both the Hearst Foundations and the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, the Montana Media Lab also will offer a series of traveling workshops in regional rural and Indigenous communities. Instructors will provide teens with audio storytelling instruction and provide teachers with curriculum, training and equipment.
The workshops already have a track record of success. Montana Media Lab has offered the trainings in regional rural and Indigenous communities throughout the state for the past six years. The workshops equipped students with practical skills and fostered a deeper understanding of media literacy and relevant media career skills, empowering high school students to critically engage with and create media content.
Taylor Crawford, a journalism teacher at Browning High School, said participating in one of the workshops had a lasting effect in her school.
“The impact the Montana Media Lab workshop made on my students was profound,” Crawford said. “My students walked away from the workshop with a deep understanding and newfound love of audio journalism.”
Browning High School student Amanda Marxer added, “The best part of the media lab workshop was meeting all the new people and learning how to start a podcast. I think the workshop has broadened my experience in journalism.”
Many of the stories produced by students in the workshops have been shared with the public through partnerships with Montana and Yellowstone Public Radio and podcasts like “Living with Fire.”
“The support from the Hearst and Blank Foundations means more young people will have the power to tell their own stories,” said Lee Banville, director of the 老虎机攻略 School of Journalism. “We cannot wait to learn from them.”
The financial contributions are in addition to previous support for Montana Media Lab from the Hearst Foundations and the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, in 2019 and 2023, respectively.
are national philanthropic resources for organizations working in the fields of culture, education, health and social services. They identify and fund outstanding nonprofits to ensure that people of all backgrounds in the U.S. have the opportunity to build healthy, productive and satisfying lives.
is a philanthropic organization founded to help transform lives and communities by uniting people across differences to find common cause. Started in 1995 by Arthur M. Blank, co-founder of The Home Depot, the foundation has granted more than $1 billion to charitable causes. The foundation’s collective giving areas are Atlanta’s Westside, democracy, environment, mental health and well-being, and youth development.
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Contact: Mary Auld, Montana Media Lab director, 607-201-9567, mtmedialab@gmail.com.