VICE News Presents NewsHive 2015

In line with its commitment to report on the world's most pressing environmental stories, VICE News will be presenting the 2015 NewsHive competition on April 24-25 in New York City.

The event will bring together high school journalism students from around the city, who will be mentored by local professional reporters and documentary producers. The students will work in small groups, and with guidance from their mentors, develop multimedia news pieces that will highlight local environmental topics told through innovative storytelling techniques, using text, images, and audio elements. A panel of professional journalists will select the best student projects.

"The NewsHive experience helps acquaint young journalists with the demands of reporting and writing on deadline. And this year's theme — climate change and environmental justice — is forcing us to reckon with what might be the most pressing deadline of all," said Ted Hamm, chair of Journalism and New Media Studies at St. Joseph's College, Brooklyn. "VICE News is at the cutting edge of climate change reporting."

During the event, students and mentors will visit various locations around New York, meeting with activists and residents to investigate their individual pieces. Mentors from the City University of New York and VICE News will instruct students on fact checking, interview skills, and weaving their reporting into works of high-quality journalism.

"We're excited to have the opportunity to work with and help develop the next generation of journalists," said VICE News Editor-in-Chief Jason Mojica, "especially in covering an issue that is often misrepresented in the mainstream media, and that we at VICE News strive to explore and investigate through every possible angle."

Projects will include reports from locations like the Newtown Creek in Brooklyn and Queens, the Gowanus Canal, the Red Hook section of Brooklyn, and other waterfront areas faced with environmental planning issues.

Robert S. Eshelman, Environment Editor at VICE News, said the young journalists couldn't ask for a better opportunity to explore environmental topics.

"Climate change is a global issue; but New York City is one of the best settings in the world for a journalist to explore the causes and the impacts of a warming world," Eshelman said. "Whether looking at the politics, science, economics, or cultural dimensions of climate change, these young reporters will have a treasure trove of sources and locations from which to tell their stories."

You can find more information on the NewsHive event here. Projects will be posted to the NewsHive website after completion of the competition.