Young Journalist Ireland, the student journalism and news literacy programme from NewsBrands Ireland, has been awarded Best Media-Led Media Literacy Initiative at the 2025 Media Literacy Ireland (MLI) Awards, held yesterday at Virgin Media Ireland.

The award recognises initiatives that make a significant contribution to helping citizens develop critical media literacy skills, empowering them to engage thoughtfully and confidently with the media around them.

Judges’ Citation

“Young Journalist Ireland was described as a ‘bulls-eye’ media literacy project. The judges felt it was an excellent initiative, with clear evidence to suggest that it has been adopted successfully by many classrooms across the country.
The scale is substantial, with ten thousand participants in four hundred schools this year alone.
It clearly achieves its goal of empowering young people to create and innovate, and promotes learning and understanding by doing.
This initiative champions entries from all backgrounds and abilities, and promotes inclusion by providing special access for schools with added diversity and for schools in lower-income communities.
At the heart of the project is the production of media materials and empowerment of students through the development of media content creation skills.
The Lesson Plans are clearly thought out for a successful execution, allowing students to think creatively and be inspired, but also allowing for the appropriate discussion and review.
The adoption of CPD workshops, in-class newsrooms and expert speakers shows that the project goes above and beyond teaching the basics and has the potential to encourage some students to go on to study journalism.
The use of professional journalists in this project shows that it can connect the industry with the classroom and with real-world examples.
It has established a detailed evaluation framework at different stages of its execution, and the evidence shows that the feedback is used to refine the project as it evolves year on year.”

Celebrating Collaboration and Impact

This award is a wonderful recognition of the collective effort behind Young Journalist Ireland – from teachers and students to journalists and our member news publishers – all working together to champion the role of professional journalism in a healthy democracy.

The Media Literacy Ireland Awards highlight the vital work being done across Ireland to support citizens, especially young people and community groups, in developing the skills they need to understand, question, and create media responsibly and effectively.

About Young Journalist Ireland

Young Journalist Ireland is a nationwide educational initiative that empowers students to explore the world of journalism through hands-on learning, creativity, and collaboration. The programme provides schools with free classroom resources, training, and mentorship from professional journalists, helping young people to think critically, tell stories that matter, and develop lifelong media literacy skills. For further details, go to: https://youngjournalist.ie/