Press Release: MNN El Barrio Firehouse Community Media Center Will Host Summer Youth Program in Partnership with East Harlem and Manhattan NonProfits

MNN El Barrio Firehouse Community Media Center Will Host Summer Youth Program in Partnership with East Harlem and Manhattan NonProfits.

Over twenty young producers will complete the paid employment program and become certified media producers at the Firehouse

New York, June 27, 2016 — Starting July 5, the MNN El Barrio Firehouse Community Media Center will host a five-week youth program in collaboration with Alianza Dominicana, El Barrio Operation Fightback, and the Police Athletic league through NYC's Summer Youth Employment Program, a citywide initiative that connects youth ages 14-24 with meaningful, paid summer employment opportunities.

During MNN's Summer Youth Program (SYP), students will take studio, field and editing classes; workshops on storytelling, public speaking, issues impacting young people’s lives and social media; field trips to the Democracy Now! Studios and El Museo del Barrio; and a social justice tour of East Harlem.

“MNN’s  Summer Youth Program goes beyond providing technical media training,” said MNN CEO & President Dan Coughlin. “We are passionate about making sure that our students can both critically analyze how mainstream media covers the issues that matter to them and contribute their voices to the narrative.”

Every student in MNN’s SYP will create a field or studio production and will present their finished projects at a graduation ceremony on Thursday, August 11 at 6:00 pm at the MNN El Barrio Firehouse Community Media Center, 175 East 104th Street.

Founded in 1992, MNN is New York City’s free public-access cable network. Operating five channels (Community, Lifestyle, Spirit, Culture and HD Community) and reaching over 600,000 cable subscribers in the Manhattan area, MNN is the largest public-access cable network in the nation, with programs airing in more than 40 languages. Find MNN on Twitter, Facebook, and YouTube and at MNN.org.

In 2012, MNN opened a state-of-the-art community media center at the old Engine Co. 53 Firehouse on East 104th Street in East Harlem. The facility features three HD production studios, including a three-camera studio, as well as editing services and a Youth Media Center, which offers free media education programs to youth ages 14-24. The Firehouse offer classes in English and Spanish and hosts community events throughout the year.

Members of the press are welcome to visit MNN’s Summer Youth Program at the El Barrio Firehouse or to attend graduation on August 11. For more information, or to schedule an interview, please contact Linda Romano, MNN’s Director of Communications & Marketing, at lindaromano@mnn.org.