Reversing Media Bias: How the National Journalism Center Is Empowering Young Journalists

Reversing Media Bias:

How the National Journalism Center Is Empowering Young Journalists

By Larry O’Connor, WMAL Host and Member of the National Journalism Center Board of Governors

Over the past several decades, the blazing speed with which Americans receive news, information, and analysis has been mindboggling. Sadly, accompanying the efficient social media, streaming, and digital delivery systems is an equally mindboggling shift in basic journalistic standards.

The result has been colloquially described as a “fake news” crisis plaguing our once-sacrosanct corridors of journalistic excellence.

It was not too long ago that Americans of all ideological stripes could look past the left-leaning oped pages of the New York Times and Washington Post and still find value in the news pages and investigative reports of these publications.

Indeed, it was also not long ago that CNN was considered a reliable, if not somewhat dry, outlet for breaking news about the most serious, developing events of our time.

What was once known as “mainstream media” has devolved into a collection of advocacy rags that would make Hearst and Pulitzer blush, even compared to the heyday of “yellow journalism.” What is an informed citizen to do? It is not enough for conservatives to lament the media bias infecting our journalistic institutions. We need to do something about it. That is where Young America’s Foundation’s National Journalism Center (NJC) Larry O’Connor, talk radio host and member of the comes in. National Journalism Center Board of Governors, addresses students attending YAF’s Fall College Retreat in 2021. NJC’s internship program has become one of the most effective journalism training venues in the nation by providing students with the opportunity to learn the forgotten fundamentals of reporting the news and gain hands-on experience in newsrooms. Students learn how to deliver news to audiences outside of the liberal media bubble of Washington, D.C.— from behind the microphone and in front of the camera.

The National Journalism Center

Young America’s Foundation’s National Journalism Center (NJC) is the premier journalism training program in Washington, D.C., combining hands-on media placements with educational sessions dedicated to promoting truthseeking journalism.

Founded by M. Stanton Evans in 1977, NJC provides aspiring journalists with the opportunity to learn the principles and practices of responsible reporting. NJC’s 12-week internship program gives interns the tools and experiences to combat liberal bias in the mainstream media.

Students are matched with media outlets that reflect their interests and experiences, including the Washington Times, Fox News, C-SPAN, WMAL, the Santa Barbara NewsPress, the Federalist, Roll Call, the Washington Examiner, and others. These placements help young journalists develop practical journalism skills and a better understanding of media, society, and public policy and how the three intersect in Washington, D.C. and across the country.

To learn more about the National Journalism Center, please contact NJC Director Emily Jashinsky at ejashinsky@yaf.org or 800-USA-1776.

Recent NJC interns participate in the program’s orientation at Young America’s Foundation’s national headquarters in Reston, Virginia.

National Journalism Center intern Leonard Robinson meets with White House Press Secretary Sean Spicer during his summer 2019 NJC internship.

The results are astounding.

You likely know about the phenomenal success of NJC alumni in journalism like Greg Gutfeld and Malcolm Gladwell. But, as a proud member of the NJC Board of Governors, I have been able to see firsthand the impact the latest group of NJC alumni has already made in the media and our national conversation.

During NJC’s spring 2021 class, Gabe Kaminsky was placed at the Federalist, where he became the most prolific NJC intern of all time, penning more than 190 original articles during his 12-week internship. He has continued his field work as a freelance reporter with the Federalist and, most recently, as a fellow with the Daily Caller News Foundation.

Gabe’s work during his internship represented some of the more complex aspects of the lost art of investigative reporting. Even more impressively, he published stories virtually ignored by wellfunded, seasoned journalists whose ideological bias got in the way of their reporters’ instincts.

For instance, Gabe investigated an Illinois school district that hosted a leftist “equity and inclusion” training, which alleged that teachers were involved in “systemic racism” and “white privilege.” This report was featured on Daily Wire and Fox News for national audiences. The resulting outcry led to the high-profile national response that captured the evening news and eventually became the top issue in Glenn Youngkin’s gubernatorial victory in Virginia.

Madeline Leesman was a summer 2021 NJC intern and placed at Townhall, where I serve as a senior columnist. We were so impressed with Madeline that we offered her a job before her internship even ended. Less than a year later, Madeline is our web editor, covering politics, pro-life issues, technology, and the COVID-19 pandemic.

Leonard Robinson graduated from NJC in the summer of 2019, completing an internship with Reason magazine. He then pursued an advanced placement NJC internship at the Carolina Journal, numerous prestigious journalism fellowships, and worked as a staff writer for Consumers Bulletin. Leonard is now a reporter at the New York Business Journal, where he covers economic development and commercial real estate in New York City. Let’s be clear. NJC’s students are placed not only at the right-ofcenter media outlets with which NJC has strong and fulfilling relationships, but also at C-SPAN and Roll Call, among other organizations. When they are not working in newsrooms, NJC students participate in weekly seminars with hands-on instruction in all facets of the ever-evolving digital media universe, including podcasting, blogging, social media, and video. As a writer and talk radio host, I am proud to work with and motivate this next generation of voices who are bursting to tell their stories.

That pride is nothing compared to the inspiration I feel when I see NJC interns and alumni bring their independent perspectives to the newsroom, ready to stare down the media industry as they are surrounded by the next generation of Jim Acostas and Rachel Maddows in neighboring cubicles.

In the spirit of Ronald Reagan, NJC refuses to sit back and whine about media bias and fake news. We are doing the hard work of trusting but verifying. We are training journalists who love this country and recognize that our freedom of the press must be fought for and protected every day.