WJI Spanish Course 2023
This course is designed for students who are fully bilingual in English and Spanish and are interested in expanding their skills and experience in multimedia journalism from a Biblical worldview.
There is a desperate need for reporters in Hispanic communities who do journalism based in facts and Biblical truth. This is WORLD’s first-ever intensive training for individuals who are interested in reporting with a focus on Spanish-speaking communities. This intensive will train storytellers to write for magazine, website, and radio platforms through instruction and hands-on experience. Over this five-day course, attendees will explore how to report from a Biblical perspective and how scripture informs the craft of storytelling. Instructors will be reporters with World and professors from Dordt University. WJI welcomes applications from those who are seeking to take their journalism career to the next level and amateurs hoping to hone their writing skills. Instruction will be in English.
During the week, students will:
- Learn how the Bible informs global reporting
- Develop and hone your skills alongside experienced journalists from WORLD News Group
- Encounter a community of Christians seeking to use media for God’s glory
- Report for multiple platforms including magazine, digital, and broadcast
WJI has been offering journalism training intensives since 1999 to multiple demographics with the goal of training journalists to tell stories that educate, inform and inspire. Students practice reporting for multiple mediums including digital, print and broadcast for both audio and video and learn to live out the Christian faith in the newsroom. Many have their work published in WNG platforms (Link), others are offered full-time jobs or paid internships. Students will finish this WJI with publish-ready work and may have their pieces published on WNG platforms. The course leads to opportunities for those with the talent and drive to report for WORLD.
Apply online here! Space is limited. Do apply early to increase your likelihood of securing a seat. The deadline is June 10, 2023.
Tuition, housing, and meals are provided through donor-funded scholarships. A travel stipend is also granted.
Required Items
- Gmail account (we will be doing group editing and document sharing through Google Docs, so every student should have a basic understanding of Google Docs)
- Smartphone for taking photos and recording
Instructors: *may include but are not limited to the following journalists
Mark Volkers
After serving for seven years as a missionary in an African village, Mark Volkers traveled the planet for a decade as a photojournalist and documentary filmmaker for Christian organizations. His films about the cultures, people and places of the world have earned him over 50 national and international awards. Mark continues to make films but now as a professor of digital media at Dordt University in Iowa. Students in the program are involved in storytelling in all corners of the globe, and have won numerous awards for their work.
Lee Pitts
As Washington Bureau Chief for WORLD magazine for more than five years, Lee's assignments sent him from Capitol Hill to the White House to the Supreme Court. But his reporting also has taken him beyond the Capital Beltway. Leading up to the 2010 elections, Lee embarked on a 10-day, 4,225 mile cross-country trip through competitive congressional districts in 16 states. In 2004-2005, as a reporter for the Chattanooga Times Free Press, Lee embedded with a National Guard Regimental Combat unit in Iraq for nearly 7 months, going on humanitarian and combat missions. Before joining WORLD, Lee served as press secretary for U.S. Sen. Lamar Alexander. Now in his fifteenth year in the media world, Lee earned a master’s degree in journalism from Northwestern University and currently leads the journalism program at Dordt University.
Program Price
For those who are accepted to the program, donor-funded scholarships cover all costs including tuition, housing, and meals. A travel stipend is also granted.
What are other alumni saying?
I was very encouraged to write about current issues in my country [ Italy] using a Biblical worldview. Focusing on the news can be confusing and disorienting. As a Christian journalist, I was encouraged to be more intentional about studying the Bible and theology more. [I want] to write [news that helps] readers remain faithful and grow in the knowledge of God.”
"I would definitely recommend WJI to Christian writers who want to tell great stories. You will have the opportunity to flex your media muscles and make some lifelong friends along the way. Your mind will be put to the test, but you will come out confident that you can write compelling stories."
I loved the classes and found the seminar to be very helpful. I especially enjoyed being able to critique each other's writing and do the line by line editing together. The hands-on experience was unbeatable.
It was immensely helpful for me to be publicly edited and educated at the same time during the course.