Informed NJ
NJCH believes that an informed New Jersey equals a stronger New Jersey! Understanding how and why people learn about the issues that matter most to them—from school board elections and town voting sites to environmental regulations and economic issues—is vital to promoting civic engagement.
That’s why we are committed to funding, creating, and amplifying humanities-grounded programming that raises media literacy and expands support for local journalism—particularly in communities and places that are seldom covered by traditional media outlets. Helping New Jerseyans create and consume local news in new and groundbreaking ways helps to ensure the future health of our state and its democracy.
Learn more about our current Informed New Jersey initiatives below.
Featured Program
Fueling Grassroots Journalism in NJ Community Colleges
NJCH and Journalism + Design at the New School are partnering with community colleges to create and deliver tuition-free noncredit certificate programs, to offer journalism, storytelling, and media literacy trainings to new populations around the Garden State. Learn More »
A look back at the inaugural South Jersey Community Reporters initiative
In January 2024, the New Jersey Council for the Humanities and the Center for Cooperative Media (CCM) at Montclair State University embarked on a collaborative project known as the “South Jersey Community Reporters” initiative.
The South Jersey Community Reporters program aimed to develop a cadre of skilled community reporters across South Jersey, enhancing local news coverage and fostering cross-cultural understanding and resilience against hate.
Take a look back at the past year of remarkable work, in this post from the CCM »
Informed NJ Programs
Fueling Grassroots Journalism in NJ Community Colleges
NJCH and The New School will deliver tuition-free certificate programs and journalism, storytelling, and media literacy trainings to new populations.
Democracy and the Informed Citizen
We trained and continue to support "Community Scribes" from six South Jersey towns in partnership with community-engaged reporting experts.
NJCH and Journalism + Design at the New School are partnering with a set of community colleges around the state to create and deliver tuition-free noncredit certificate programs, to offer journalism, storytelling, and media literacy trainings to new populations around the Garden State.
These programs, unique to each school and created with input from local community partners and media organizations, will power a more engaged and informed New Jersey.
The Fueling Community Journalism initiative is currently supporting free, non-credit certificate programs at four NJ community colleges. Click here to learn more about them and the program, or reach out to Project Director Cole Goins, cole.goins@gmail.com, for more information.
Fueling Grassroots Journalism is made possible by a generous grant from the New Jersey Civic Information Consortium. The Consortium, created by the state of NJ in 2018, is an independent, 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that funds initiatives to benefit the State’s civic life and meet the evolving information needs of New Jersey’s communities. Learn more about their work and other grantees at: https://njcivicinfo.org.
Democracy and the Informed Citizen
This grassroots initiative explores the essential role that the humanities and journalism play in creating an informed citizenry—and in turn, a healthy democracy. The initiative is funded by the Mellon Foundation with support from the State Federation of Humanities Councils.
NJCH is partnering with the Community Foundation of South Jersey and Journalism + Design at The New School to give more New Jerseyans the tools to effectively tell and share stories from and with their communities. Our 2022-23 work is focused upon South Jersey, a region that is all-too-often underrepresented in media coverage about the Garden State. The program includes training, hands-on project support, and network-building for community participants and members of the media.
2022 Community Scribes
Not pictured: Meghan Wren (Downe Township), Shoanne Seijas (Downe Township), Denise Mazzio (Hammonton), Barry Stevenson (Salem), Joe Thomas (Winslow Township), Lisaraye Horne (Winslow Township), Christy Phillips Renzulli (Winslow Township), Renee Giustino (Woodbury)
The New Jersey Council for the Humanities wishes to thank the Mellon Foundation for their generous support of this initiative and the Community Foundation of South Jersey and Journalism + Design at The New School for their partnership.
People
Photos by Adeolu Eletu and ConvertKit on Unsplash
