Home Mission Statement Development 2007-08 Team Join the Team Awards Contact

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT AND GROWTH

Unleashed was created in 1999 by former Yakima Herald-Republic education reporter Colleen Pohlig McBrinn and current news editor Jeff Garretson.

The object was to give local young people editorial content directly aimed at their age group, as well as gain a foothold in a readership group that could help increase the circulation of the newspaper. The Herald-Republic also wanted to give youth a chance to learn about and try out journalism and photojournalism, and experience what it's like to work at a newspaper.

Today, the Unleashed team has grown to about 40 teens. The team typically has 25 writers, six photographers and four artists. They come from the city of Yakima as well as outlying cities and towns, some an hour away.

Unleashed provides a forum for teens to express themselves, and encourages them to develop, test and strengthen their ideas and opinions. Teens practice working and interacting with others, while learning interviewing skills and story structures, the finer points of photography, and the importance of the editing process, journalism ethics and meeting deadlines.

Unleashed is a job. There's no hand-holding involved in the process, but teen staffers receive mentoring and guidance as needed. Since its inception, almost 200 students have passed through the year-long program.

Today, more voices are represented in the newspaper. Adult readers look to Unleashed to learn about the issues, ideas, hopes, dreams and goals of local youth. Parents read it to find out what their kids and their friends are interested in and talking about. Educators use the section in their classrooms.

The Herald-Republic uses it to connect the community -- and unleash the reader, journalist, photographer and artist in Yakima Valley teens.