Four young student journalists in the Midlands are rooting out and writing stories about activities happening all through May as part of Museums and Galleries Month 2008.

Funding for the project comes from Renaissance, the groundbreaking initiative to transform England’s regional museums, led by MLA, the Museums, Libraries and Archives Council.

Three students, Joanna Shimwell, Salma Conway (both from Nottingham Trent University) and Phillipa Davies (De Montfort University, Leicester) are covering the East Midlands, and Tom Powell (University College Birmingham) is covering Birmingham and the West Midlands.

Salma Conway, a third year student from Nottingham Trent University, is covering Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire.

“It’s been great to get the message across about the breadth of what’s going on in MGM across the East Midlands,” said Ruth Stockdale, regional communications officer for Renaissance East Midlands. “It’s all about raising the profile of a host of museums and galleries in the region.”

An open call to college courses all over the region led to interviews, writing tests, and finally the successful students were each awarded bursaries worth £300. The team are each expected to write from six to eight stories about MGM over the month of May.

Joanna Shimwell, also from Nottingham Trent University, covers Nottingham and the eastern part of the region.

“We’re making sure that a really good regional spread of coverage is built into the editorial plans for each student,” explained 24 Hour Museum Editor Jon Pratty.

“Each writer has an editorial plan worked up in close conjunction with Renaissance Hub staff. It’s all about getting out there on the ground and writing great stories about museums and galleries who maybe don’t get much media exposure at any other time of the year.”

Already Salma, Tom, Phillipa and Joanna have started to file stories to 24 Hour Museum about MGM, and both Joanna and Salma have made museum visits. Previews and reviews of exhibitions or events are being written, and most of the students are taking their own pictures to accompany the stories.

Phillipa Davies, from De Montfort University in Leicester, is covering Leicester and the south of the region.

“Right from the off, it’s been really positive,” added Ruth Stockdale of Renaissance East Midlands. “The feedback from museums is that they’re delighted the students are so enthusiastic and their stories are getting straight onto 24 Hour Museum and being seen by thousands of people.”

“We’ve been really impressed,” said Ruth. “The standard of the work is really fantastic. It’s really a win, win, win situation for the museums, the students, for Renaissance and for 24 Hour Museum. I’d struggle to think of a better partnership effort.”

Tom Powell, from University College Birmingham, is writing about events in the West Midlands.

In Birmingham, Linda Spurdle of Renaissance West Midlands is working with Tom Powell, a second year student at University College Birmingham during MGM 2008.

Tom’s bursary follows hard on the heels of another successful student journalism partnership which saw Jen Walker, a third year media studies student, covering museum and gallery stories across the West Midlands.

Jen Walker has just finished her three month Renaissance-funded bursary - she covered the diverse cultures of the West Midlands.

“There is some fantastic work going on across the West Midlands and this gives us a great opportunity to shout about it,” said Linda.

Jen’s stories concentrated on the diverse cultural scene across the region. Her work package saw her based right at the heart of Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery for three months; Jen’s now successfully got a job in the music press.

Here are some of the students' MGM stories:

Holocaust Centre Commemorates Disabled Victims Of The Holocaust

Nottingham Kicks Off Museums And Galleries Month In Style

Alfred East Art Gallery Gears Up For Its First Night At The Museum

Night At The Museum Across The West Midlands