Jamboree youth participants: Don’t just be part of the story; write it yourself

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Updated | April 22

This just in: All jamboree youth participants are invited to register as National Hometown News Correspondents.

An email home to Mom and Dad? These Scouts and Venturers will do one better, sharing their first-person jamboree experience with local news organizations back home. Get your guys and girls to register today and start making headlines in their local newspapers or TV stations.

Here’s the scoop: 

  • WHO? All registered youth jamboree participants are eligible.
  • WHAT? Hometown News, the jamboree’s youth media hub, where correspondents can write news stories, share photos and content, and/or transmit video from the Summit to media outlets back home. The Hometown News volunteer and professional staff will help the Scouts create their stories and provide the equipment they’ll need to do so.
  • WHEN? Throughout the 2013 National Jamboree, held July 15-24.
  • WHERE? The Summit Bechtel Reserve in West Virginia. Scouts and Venturers can roam the jamboree finding interesting stories to send to newspapers, magazines, radio stations, websites, and TV stations in their hometown.
  • WHY? Because National Hometown News Correspondents get access to special events, celebrity interview opportunities, behind-the-scenes photo ops, and more — all available only to them. And because it’s fun! In 2010, Hometown News reporters got to fly in a helicopter over the jamboree site, and they were the only ones allowed to ask questions at a special news conference with bestselling author James Patterson. Plus, it’s an opportunity for Scouts and Venturers to write an article for their local paper or appear on the local news.
  • HOW? I thought you’d never ask. Send your budding journalists to this page to register. Multiple Scouts and Venturers may register from one troop, unlike the “troop reporter” position, which is a separate operation from Hometown News.
  • IMPORTANT: Before registering, Scouts or Venturers should connect with a media outlet and gather the following information:
    • News organization name
    • Phone number of the media outlet
    • Name of editor or media outlet contact
    • Email address of editor/media outlet contact

More questions? Email jambo2013htn@gmail.com. If you have completed your registration, but need to make changes, email research.team@scouting.org.


Photo copyright Boy Scouts of America


About Bryan Wendell 3282 Articles
Bryan Wendell, an Eagle Scout, is the founder of Bryan on Scouting and a contributing writer.