Every student aged 14–17 in pre-university education is welcome to apply to join Harbingers’ Magazine.

Please keep in mind that Harbingers’ writers are held to the highest standard of professionalism — as we are a member of the Independent Press Standards Organisation (IPSO), your writing has to meet the same criteria as that of the journalists writing for The Times or any other of 1,800 titles produced by over 100 publishers.

Learning journalism as a teenager requires commitment. At Harbingers’ Academy, we designed two ‘careers’ — a four-year programme for writers and a two-year programme for editors — that take you from the very beginning to the Editorial Board. As teenagers are busy, our courses were designed to require one 50-minute session a week and a similar amount of time to complete assignments.

Writer’s career

Contributor

You’ll be recognised as a contributor if you want to write a few articles, or have joined Harbingers’ by participating in our Open Workshops. For Contributors, there’s no long-term commitment required — just an interest in journalism and a story to tell. You might join as a Contributor mid-year or to test whether journalism is something you’d be interested in doing regularly.

Junior Writer

This title is awarded to those enrolled in our entry-level Introduction to Journalism online course, which will equip the student with the foundation for journalism. Between September and June, the student will aim to publish ten articles, averaging 400 words — including one written with limited supervision, as the year’s final test. Completion of this level allows progression to the next programme.

Introduction to Journalism is recommended to students aged 14/15 (Year 10 in the UK, Grade 9/freshman in the US). 

Writer

This title is awarded to those who joined the Essential Journalism online course, which will teach the student basic journalism formats, including reporting, opinion and basic feature writing. Between September and June, the student will aim to publish ten articles, averaging 650 words — including one prepared without the instructor’s support, as the year’s final test. As a Writer, the student can add the Correspondent title and unlock the Editor’s Career (see below). Completion of this level allows progression to the Senior Writer.

Essential Journalism is recommended to students aged 15/16 (Year 11 in the UK, Grade 10/sophomore in the US).

Senior Writer

This is awarded to those who join our Intermediate Journalism online course, which adds complex formats — including time-sensitive reporting, analysis and interviews —  to their journalism skillset. Between September and June, the student will aim to publish ten articles, averaging 750 words — including one unsupervised, time-sensitive reporting piece as a final practical test. As a Senior Writer, the student might carry the Correspondent title and become a Managing Editor. Completion of this level allows enrolment into an individual Columnist programme.

Intermediate Journalism is recommended to students aged 16/17 (Year 12 in the UK, Grade 11/junior in the US). 

Columnist

The highest Columnist title is awarded to those who have completed the intermediary course and want to continue writing for Harbingers’ in their last year before university. Columnists have few limitations — they can use all the skills mastered over the years to contribute with independently penned op-eds, use their sessions to record and edit What We’ll Change podcast episodes, or even pursue Investigative Journalism — it’s all up to them, as Columnist’s programme is tailored to their needs. All Section Editors are Columnists — but not all columnists have to be editors.

This individual programme is available to students aged 17/18 (Year 13 in the UK, Grade 12/senior in the US). 

Editor’s career

The Editorial Board is the backbone of Harbingers’ Magazine — they commision articles, evaluate pitches and edit articles before they are received by the Publishing Team. It’s the Editors who decide what is published and when.

Editor

High-performing Writers might be invited to join the Editor’s Programme, which runs from March until March, and teaches evaluating and answering pitches, fact-checking, deciding between requesting changes from writers and editing for publication, and making necessary changes before publication without interfering with the author’s concept. Editors report to section editors. Completing this programme might result in an invitation to become a Managing Editor.

The Editor’s Programme is available to accomplished Writers undergoing the Essential Journalism, by invitation only.

Managing Editor

A high-performing Editor might be selected to take responsibility for an entire section and thus enter the Managing Editor Programme. A section editor, typically in the last year before university, coordinates the work of their section, commissions articles from Harbingers’ writers to offer a diverse, up-to-date, and relevant selection of articles, answering the needs of the magazine’s global teenage audience.

The Managing Editor Programme is an individual programme available to accomplished Editors by invitation only.

Editor-in-chief

Each year, one exceptional teenager is awarded the title of Editor-in-chief. This individual is responsible for the entire magazine, from coordinating the work of the Editorial Board to finalising weekly publication plans and delivering Harbingers’ editorials. The editor-in-chief also represents the magazine outside.

The Editor-in-chief receives bespoke guidance.

Additional possibilities

Accelerated programme — students can complete the Junior Writer and Writer programmes in one year, with two 50-minute sessions weekly. Combining a Writer and a Senior Writer into one year is not advised, but requests are reviewed on a case-by-case basis.

Additional sessions — students requiring extra support can request additional sessions.

Correspondent — students particularly focused on a given subject might decide to become a Correspondent, providing in-depth coverage of their subject area by coordinating their weekly Harbingers’ Academy journalism sessions with an additional session with an expert. These additional sessions can be arranged by the Harbingers’ Academy or externally.

Multimedia creator — we do our best to include Photojournalism, the What We’ll Change podcast and other multimedia forms in our programmes, and working with the camera is a significant part of our attended courses (summer newsrooms and reporting trips). You might request those, subject to availability.