Journalism Training

Coal Cracker, a Mahanoy City-based youth-led newspaper that is a project of Heron’s Eye Communications, will host a FREE journalism skills workshop titled “News Writing and Reporting for Your Community” on Thursday, July 9, from 1:00 – 2:00 pm, on the second floor of the Mahanoy City Public Library.

Chris Mele

Veteran journalists Chris Mele and Meg McGuire will lead the session. The workshop is open to young people, of any school district, grades 5 – 12. No prior journalism experience is required. Please pre-register at info@coalcrackerkids.com or 570-647-6407.

Mele is a staff editor on the Metro Desk at The New York Times. He previously served as Executive Editor of the Pocono Record in Stroudsburg, PA, leading that 25-person newsroom to dozens of journalism honors.

Meg McGuire

McGuire began her career in weekly newspapers, and continued in local dailies for 25 years. She values the connection between a community and its news voice. She has covered the police beat, and has served as a feature editor, a city editor and in senior management in two newspapers in New York.

About Coal Cracker:

Coal Cracker is a project of Heron’s Eye Communications, a publishing, content marketing and project management firm with offices in Schuylkill and Pike counties. Participation is free and open to young people grades 5-12. No prior journalism experience is required. Meeting space is courtesy of the Mahanoy City Public Library. Some funding is provided by the Community Reporting Alliance, a non-profit news support organization.