On 24 July 2025 the Global Youth & News Media Prize board bestowed a special award on the PBS News Student Reporting Labs for outstanding editorial achievement. Special adviser Andie Korenge, a chief editor at Eagle Eye News (Florida, USA), interviewed Clapman on 1 August. 

 

Leah Clapman tells how she went from a physics major at Princeton to the creator of Student Reporting Labs, a student journalism training program associated with PBS News. She explores her motivations for starting the program back in 2009, as well as how she would approach and advise others to approach a similar feat now. From adapting to high demand to having to supplement the loss of government funding, SRL has persevered for 16 years as an inspiration in the public service broadcasting world. Under Clapman’s leadership, SRL has cultivated resilience in student journalists, provided a means for the youth to learn important skills, and helped young people build a more trustworthy and respectable future for journalism. 

SAMPLE : What are some common benefits that you see in young people learning to do journalism, whether it be through SRL or otherwise? [00:02:09]

FULL INTERVIEW  [00:33:00]  

Here's where to find some key moments: 

00:14 Background
3:19 Universals
11:31 Current Challenge
18:21 Students

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AWARD ANNOUNCEMENT STORY FROM OUR MEDIA PARTNER, NEWS DECODER