Wayne State University's Department of Communication will host auditions for high school students interested in joining Youth Neighborhood News the Logan Network (YNN). Auditions will be held from 4 to 6 p.m. on Nov. 21, in room 420 of Manoogian Hall on Wayne State's main campus.

YNN is a broadcast journalism education program for high school students, founded by Detroit Regional News Hub and sponsored by Strategic Staffing Solutions.

Students meet two days a week to learn journalism skills such as writing, interviewing, editing and storytelling, and report stories from throughout metro Detroit. YNN focuses on broadcast journalism and includes blogging from YNN reporters. Its news reports typically are three-to-five-minute packages, with an emphasis on positive stories told from a younger perspective.

The YNN team has covered events and programs such as "College Students comment on Detroit's Mayoral Race," "2013 Woodward Dream Cruise," "Governor Snyder Talks Education on Mackinac Island" and "Farmers Market at Wayne State." Reports can be found online at http://youtube.com/ynndetroit.

"When we founded this program our goal was to help young people become objective journalists, good writers and strategic thinkers," said Marge Sorge, Detroit Regional News Hub executive director. "Our partnership with Wayne State and its excellent Department of Communication helps take that objective to its highest level."

There has never been a better time to be a journalist, according to Lee Wilkins, chair of the Department of Communication and a former journalist. "Learning how to write and report a story, and how to get your story to an audience is the essence of the profession -- one we know this program promotes," she said.

"As students graduate from high school and move on to college, we hold auditions so we can maintain a team of about 15 YNN reporters," said Vanessa Denha Garmo, producer, YNN Logan Network. "We look for students primarily interested in writing, reporting and editing."

For more information about the Nov. 21 auditions, email Denha Garmo at ynndetroit@gmail.com.

The Department of Communication at Wayne State University is a division of the College of Fine, Performing and Communication Arts, offering programs in journalism and broadcast journalism, communication studies, dispute resolution, film, media arts and studies and public relations.

Wayne State University is a premier urban research institution offering 370 academic programs through 13 schools and colleges to nearly 29,000 students.