NextGenRadio

Finding, coaching and training public media's next generation.

Next Gen Radio is a 5-day, audio-focused, digital journalism project. Our hybrid (some people in-person, some not) program is designed to give competitively selected participants the opportunity to learn how to report and produce a non-narrated audio piece and a companion multimedia story. Those chosen for the program are paired with a professional journalist, who serves as their mentor for the week, and the chosen participant is paid a stipend for their work.

Want to learn more?

NPR’s Next Gen Radio projects are hybrid (remote and in-person). Our selected cohort will report from where they are. Staffing varies with each project, but mentors fit into these general categories.

This Next Gen behind-the-scenes explainer video uses as a backdrop, our March 2023 project at the Wallis Annenberg School of Communications and Journalism at the University of Southern California.

You can also read our Frequently Asked Questions.

Get Project Details

IMPORTANT: You must live within the sponsors’ city/state/region and be there the week of the program. Our NAJA projects are the lone exception.

Here is our tentative schedule for 2023:                                                                    

  • Chicago Public Media/WBEZ June 18-24                                      
  • Iowa Public Radio July 9-14                                                        (APPLICATION DEADLINE JUNE 16, MIDNIGHT CT)
  • WUNC/North Carolina Public Radio July 30 – Aug 4        (APPLICATION DEADLINE JULY 5, MIDNIGHT ET)
  • Colorado Public Radio Aug 13-18
  • Texas Newsroom Sept 3-8 (El Paso)
  • St Louis Public Radio Sept 17-22
  • Capital Public Radio Oct 1-6 
  • Oregon Public Broadcasting Oct 22-27
  • NAJA Next Gen Radio: Indigenous (ABQ) Nov  5-10

PROGRAMMING NOTE:   In 2023, Next Generation Radio is considering the meaning of home. We are looking beyond the physical space and more at the feeling of home that changes as we move, work from home, and make other significant life changes. What is home to you?

Apply to a Project 

See our work!

Take a look at our most recent and past projects and all the work our students and fellows have produced.

Most Recent Project

Past Projects

“The connections I have made through the NextGen program have far outlasted the week I spent learning. You’re joining a community that will look out for you, support you and bring you up in an industry that desperately needs us.”

Katherine Ellis, KJZZ Phoenix, 2017