February 10 was a day of practice, learning, and taking a peek at their possible future for dozens of high school students. For the first time, the Los Angeles Times HS Insider program held a youth journalism conference on the LMU campus. Teens representing 24 schools from Santa Clarita to Irvine gathered at the Playa Vista facilities of LMU’s School of Film and Television.
The day began with a writing contest covering news, opinion, and sports stories. After a presentation and question and answer session, students had one hour to write their stories. The sports students interviewed LMU volleyball player Sam Hastings. Students who submitted multimedia entries participated in a workshop with the Times’ Ariana Hoshino.
Workshops on a variety of topics followed, led by both Times personnel and LMU faculty.
- Times reporter and podcaster Faith Pinho demonstrated how to incorporate audio into stories.
- Sonja Stott of the Times’ audience engagement team talked about how to stay connected with your community.
- LMU’s Carol Costello, a veteran broadcast journalist, spoke about interviewing.
- A sports production panel included LMU alumnus and voice of the Lions men’s basketball team, Jesse Kass, junior Journalism major Tyler Obalek, a pre- and post-game studio host for men’s basketball on KXLU, junior Journalism major Jordyn Gonzales, a sideline reporter for LMU women’s basketball and baseball on ESPN+, and journalism faculty member Kevin Curran, Ph.D., a long-time producer of radio play-by-play.
LMU alumna and KABC-TV 7 Eyewitness News anchor Jovana Lara wrapped up the event with some inspiring words and insightful answers to student questions.
The conference was organized by the Los Angeles Times HS Insider team, the LMU Journalism Department, and LMU’s Media, Arts, and a Just Society Initiative. LMU’s admissions office was also present to answer questions about how the students can continue their studies on the bluff.