Zaineh Saleh
Crimson Chronicle Editor-in-Chief
Crimson Chronicle Staff took a field trip to visit LAUSD’s Student Journalism forum at Arizona State University California Center.
The new ASU campus is located in what was previously the Herald Examiner Newspaper which closed down in 1989. The building has been modernized and equipped with the latest media technology, allowing ASU journalism students to transfer for a semester or a year.
Students were given a tour of the building and visited the offices, classrooms, studios, and even the control room. It was notably different from its previous state as a newsroom.
“When I worked in the 1980’s it looked very different,” said Karen Cusolito the journalism advisor. “It looked more like a TV show police station and a lot more classic”
The Superintendent Alberto Carvalho introduced the event with a speech highlighting the importance of journalism.
“If I believe there’s one entity in our country, in our community, and across the globe that actually brings the truth to power, it is the work of journalists,” said Carvalho. “The ones who force often government and private sector entities to be truthful are journalists.”
Various high schools across the district were present at the event including Bell, Banning, and East Valley.
After the speech, a group of notable journalists from different news agencies such as Fox News, Los Angeles Times, and ABC 7 answered questions from students and engaged in discussions regarding their professions. Among them was a University High School student named Enkhsaruul Sandagsuren was also a part of the panel.
Questions the panelists answered revolved around the future of journalism, why they chose journalism as their career path and general advice for future journalists.
“Now especially it’s more important to really take the time and look. where your audience is,” said Kate Sequeira, a writer at the LA Times. “Be really conscious of who you are trying to reach because your journalism is important.”
To end the day students were served lunch in fancy white boxes with labels, only to open it and find out it was typical school lunch.
“I honestly thought the food was going to be catered, and I was escaping the LAUSD lunch but I was disappointed when I opened the box,” said Karyna Luna, an SAS sophomore. “It was truly a prank.”