Mission Statement
MISSION STATEMENT
Unleashed, the teen program of the Yakima Herald-Republic, in partnership with Educational Service District 105 and local high schools and school districts, allows students the opportunity to write, report, take photographs and create illustrations to be published on the Web and in the pages of the newspaper. In short, it’s news by teens for teens.
The mission of Unleashed is to:
Promote literacy, newspaper readership and careers in journalism, photojournalism and art.
Cultivate future generations of journalists, photojournalists, illustrators and newspaper readers.
Train, educate and support young journalists, photojournalists and artists.
Provide a voice, creative outlet and public forum for youth in South Central Washington.
HOW WE DO THAT
Unleashed is dedicated to maintaining journalistic integrity and providing information and coverage of issues, ideas and events affecting local teens.
We take seriously our freedom of speech and the responsibility that comes with it. We don’t lie. We don’t steal. We don’t make things up. We also keep it clean, using former Yakima Herald-Republic editor Sarah Jenkins’ “grandmother standard”: If you wouldn’t say it in front of your grandmother, don’t put it in the newspaper.
But we don’t shy away from controversial topics and asking difficult questions. We seek the truth. We strive for accuracy. When we do make mistakes, we admit them and promptly correct them. We are accountable to the public. We aim to help our peers and adults get to know today’s young people and what’s important to us, start conversations and spark debate, and produce content that fairly reflects the communities in which we live, schools we attend and subjects we cover.
We aspire to create a sense of community and understanding through truth and storytelling.
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.
In February 2009, Unleashed — then nearing the end of its tenth year — fell victim to budget cuts at the newspaper. The cancellation of the popular program led to an outpouring of support: letters to the editor, emails to the publisher, calls to editors.
Six months later, thanks to a new partnership between the newspaper and ESD 105 as well as local high schools and school districts, Unleashed is making a comeback. The goal is to publish every other Sunday, beginning Oct. 4, 2009.
Unleashed, now in its twelfth year, continues to provide 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, about 300 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.
ESD 105 and the Herald-Republic use it to connect the community — and unleash the reader, journalist, photographer and artist in local teens.
