Young Journalist Ireland (the new name for what was ‘Press Pass’) is NewsBrands’ Student Journalism and News Literacy programme for Transition Year students. Teachers and students can find out more infomration on the website YoungJournalist.ie

Our free school programme gives students the opportunity to gain a greater understanding of the media, how it works and who to trust by learning to do journalism themselves. Research shows that if a student knows how good journalism is made, then they are better equipped to interrogate the information that bombards them daily.

Since the programme launched in 2012, approximately 130,000 students have benefited from it. With the full support of the Department of Education, the Young Journalist Ireland programme seeks to improve news literacy and critical thinking skills while helping students to develop a deeper understanding of news media and how it communicates about the world around them.

Registration for the next Young Journalist Ireland programme is now open. The programme commenced in January 2025. Registered schools receive a range of free resources including access to digital newspapers, a free subscription to The Irish Times, Lesson Plans , newsletters, and a Student Handbook. Through our programme, students become familiar with the variety of language types (information, argument, narration, persuasion) that they will encounter during the Leaving Certificate English programme. Students also learn to analyse content and are asked to think and form opinions about important social issues.

We also arrange talks from journalists in schools through our ‘Pop-Up Newsrooms’ and provide CPD workshops for teachers which are delivered in partnership with Oide.

A highlight of the Young Journalism Programme is our annual Competition to find the Young Journalists of the Year. See more details on our Competition Page. The deadline for the next Competition is March 2025.

The Young Journalism Ireland programme would not be possible without the support of our members: Business Post Group, The Irish Times, Irish Farmers Journal, Irish Examiner, DMG Media, News Ireland, and Reach Ireland.

For further details. please contact Lisa Buckley at NewsBrands Ireland (lbuckley@newsbrands.ie).