Summer sunbathing on South Shore may be all very well, but for 14 young people, aged 12 to 16, the opportunity to get the inside scoop on journalism was too good an opportunity to pass up. Every afternoon from July 14 to July 18, the youngsters met at the Bermuda Youth Library for three hours to learn something about news-gathering and reporting. They also tried their hand at writing articles and some of the results of their labours are printed in today's Young Observer section (with more to follow next week).

Explaining the reason for running the workshop, Youth Services Librarian Marla Smith noted: "Reading and writing go hand in hand. Therefore I feel that the journalism workshop offered teens the opportunity to use their reading and research skills with their ability to express themselves through their writing. Our young people need to be able to understand what they read and hear and be able to make informed decisions based on that."

The course, "Hot Off the Press: the inside scoop on journalism," was organised by Education Services Co-ordinator Jennifer Hind and sponsored by the Bermuda Youth Library and The Royal Gazette. It surveyed a number of elements of publishing, including the role of newspaper reporter, photojournalism, advertising sales, production and layout, and included a tour of the Gazette's premises.

Despite the rather windy start — Tropical Storm Bertha affected attendance on Day one — the young people made the most of their time, and worked on articles on a variety of topics, including the best beaches, summer employment opportunities for teens and inter-racial relationships. The response to the workshop was generally good. A comment on one evaluation form stated: "I enjoy projects like these. I hope there are many more."

While presentations from a reporter and photographer were welcome, "I would like to have presentations by the editor and publisher," noted one attendee. Another wanted "more time so that we can do hands-on stuff" like page layout and graphic design. While for one, the highlight of the week was a trip to The Royal Gazette, described as "amazing".

"I was impressed with the commitment shown and the maturity of the subject matter chosen for articles" workshop leader Jennifer Hind stated. "The young people took their role as apprentice journalists seriously, and I was pleasantly surprised to have such thoughtful articles submitted for publication."

"'Hot off the Press' allowed young people make informed decisions based on their reading," Mrs. Smith observed, "and by some of the topics they bought to the table, indicated some the issues that they feel are important. Each day the teens were keen and enthusiastic about attending the workshop and were dedicated to the whole process."