Youthcast Media Group

Youthcast Media Group (formerly Urban Health Media Project) trains high school students from under-resourced communities to report, write, and broadcast stories about health and social issues that affect their neighborhoods and cities. Co-founded by then-USA TODAY health policy reporter Jayne O'Donnell and former DC health commissioner and longtime health care executive Dr. Reed Tuckson, YMG has been a 501(c)3 nonprofit since December 2019. It is funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Upswing Fund for Adolescent Mental Health, the Sozosei Foundation and private donors. Students' work has been published in numerous publications, including USA TODAY, the Indianapolis Star and Washington Blade. Our students learn to harness the power of their voices as journalists to share the rich experiences of their communities in a way that honors, informs and empowers. We understand "healthiness" results from a variety of forces as described by the World Health Organization, including "the mental, physical and spiritual well-being of a person or community." Not a day goes by without a news report highlighting socioeconomic and racial disparities in health outcomes; the insidious impact of violence; the alarming rise in teen suicide; and the importance of health policy concerns within the American political debate. Our students' reporting on these and other topics include video, audio, articles, and photography produced under the guidance of a diverse and experienced group of journalists, including reporters and editors who work or have worked at outlets such as USA TODAY, Miami Herald, NBC, (Cleveland) Plain Dealer, Baltimore Sun, PBS, ABC, The Wall St. Journal and The Associated Press. Our goal is to help our students better understand and communicate about health issues and disparities that directly affect them, and to foster a generation of diverse journalists that will enter and enrich news organizations across the country.