2026 Cleveland Media Academy ‘Graduation’ held February 28

The 2026 ‘Class’ of the Cleveland Media Academy ‘graduated’ from the eight-week program held at the Cleveland.com newsroom on Tiedeman Road.  The program, geared towards high school students interested in a career in journalism, provided hands-on instruction in podcasting, video, writing, photography, and more.

Guest speakers for the final session were Signal Cleveland video journalist Michael Indriolo, who took the students outside for a crash course in photography; and former Woodmere Village Mayor Ben Holbert who offered an inspiring discourse on how he got his start in journalism and later made a pivot to politics.

Throughout the eight-week workshop, students visited local newsrooms including Signal Cleveland, WKYC, and WEWS-TV5, and received insights from veteran journalists including Harry Boomer, Julie Washington, Cleveland.com sports columnist Terry Pluto and crime reporter Olivia Mitchell, and WKYC anchors Russ Mitchell and Danielle Wiggins.