REAL WORK
TMN LEARNING
What happens when young people create and publish journalism in real environments
TMN® Creator Abigail Donkor interviewing Carlos A. Gutiérrez, Co-Founder and Executive Director of Cinema Tropical, at SXSW.
Every day, TMN® operates with the certainty that what we are building has no parallel in the traditional education systems of Western societies. But what exactly makes this approach different? And why is TMN® so effective at accelerating the media careers of young people?
New York City. TMN® Editorial
There are several reasons, but the most important one is simple: TMN® does not work with simulations.
It works with real journalism.
At TMN®, media is created in real environments. Students are exposed early to real deadlines, real editorial standards, real audiences, and real consequences. This exposure forces them to confront the most common mistakes that many graduates only face after finishing college, but without the tools to manage the stress, pressure, and failure that come with them.
Exposure accelerates the learning curve dramatically
Even more importantly, early exposure helps students understand quickly whether this path is right for them or not. This may explain why so many journalism students end up working in “something related to” communications rather than as journalists themselves. Does it really make sense to spend four years studying something only to realize, too late, that it is not what you want to do?
Early exposure allows for early correction. And early clarity.
TMN® Founder and CEO Pablo Herrera on why managing failure is key to success.
Simulation does not prepare students for reality
The problem starts even earlier. Many schools invest in media labs, long grant applications, and simulated newsrooms filled with screens, cameras, and sets designed to look like traditional media outlets. These environments may look impressive, but they are not effective at preparing students for real-world media work.
Young people do not need to learn how to press buttons or imitate news anchors. They do not need to be taught that there is only one way to do journalism. That approach limits creativity, narrows perspective, and prepares students for a media world that no longer exists. Worse still, it suppresses the voices of young people while traditional education often claims to celebrate “student voice.” Imitating adults is precisely what erases it.
What if instead they learned how to use the tools they already have, their phones, their voices, their curiosity?
What if they learned how to build a YouTube channel, cover a concert, interview an artist, or publish a piece for a real audience?
Wouldn’t that be more useful than simulating situations they will never experience in a rapidly changing media landscape?
TMN® is proving that exposure is far more effective
Today, young people participating in TMN® have approximately an 80 percent chance of landing a job within one year of joining the project. Read case studies here and here.
Why does this happen?
Because they explore, fail, and grow in real environments.
They work alongside professionals in press rooms.
They publish real content.
They receive feedback in real time.
They learn quickly what they are good at, what they enjoy, and what they do not want to pursue.
There is a fundamental difference between completing an assignment for a school system and creating media with TMN®. At TMN®, young people do not create to impress adults or collect credits. They create to communicate something real, to connect with an audience, and to take responsibility for what they publish.
The audience is not a professor or a teacher.
The audience is real people.
Real people engage with real work.
And that is where real learning happens.
Teens Media Network®
READY TO START BUILDING A CAREER AS A CULTURAL STORYTELLER?
The TMN® New Media Coverage course is now open for enrollment.
Experiential learning. Real media. Real work.
Welcome to TMN® Learning.
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