Journalism and Me
- brendapayangarcia
- Jan 16, 2024
- 4 min read
The Inspiration: Most children in the Latino culture grow up watching sports like fútbol with their parents; I grew up just watching Univision and the local news with my dad. As I considered this to be a way of bonding with my dad, in my eyes, I grew to really care about the news and what was happening in the world and in our community.
The Development: Watching the news taught me to pay attention to the problems in the world and my community, how important politics were, how the media worked, what kind of problems were reported and how.
My great interest in history also paired well with my interest for the news. I was always a great reader, too. Words were my greatest strength throughout my primary education. Even amongst my friends and family (most especially my dad's side of the family), we would always bring up whatever was going on in the world - politics, pop culture, or even local news - and discuss what the possible end result would be or the possible truth behind the situation. This taught me how to see different perspectives in a story and how the absolute truth may be hard to find or ever know, but how various speculations would always be a part of the mix. It wasn't until I took courses on news reporting in college where I learned that one isn't supposed to report story because of speculations, but on facts and authoritative and relevant statements.
Anywho...these discussions on news with different perspectives taught me how to think as well as new insights that would further evolve through my college experiences. In my family, immigration as well as Latino issues were crucial to us, as they not only impacted us, but our friends and family as well. These political events could make or break us. Living in a constant state of fear and worry for my friends, family and myself made me into someone who really cared about justice and activism for immigrant rights - later on for others as I learned more about the history of the world and other underrepresented and marginalized groups.
Education & the Beginning of My Career: I started off college with an understanding that wherever I was heading in my career, that Communications would be my strongest suit. Even though I chose public relations as my major, it was a newly added field that was still a part of the journalism department. This then led me towards mandatory journalism and media courses, that ultimately surprised me with success, connections, and accomplishments I didn't foresee in my (near) future.
I not only realized what it meant to be a journalist, but my new found understanding of journalism also made it more special to me as I realized how on par the field was with my activism goals and ethical values. All of my courses and organizations I had come across always made sure to emphasize ethics and morality; focusing on what affairs and events the community cared about, to look for connections with not only community members and the public, but most importantly, humanity. Journalism was to be a balance of cold hard facts but also fairness, consideration and respect...and I was all there for it.
I learned how to write articles; I learned how to fact check and verify what I see in the media with multiple sources. I learned the moral ethics/do's and don'ts of news reporting. I learned how to work with and edit all kinds of media; such as podcasting, long & short videos, writing articles, and photo stories (all except broadcasting of which I would be open to try some day). These classes put me in connection with other fellow journalists who taught me about what it meant to be in journalism, who their heroes were, and what stories they cared about. They taught me about the news world, what I could improve on, my strengths, and more. I'd end up joining groups such as NAHJ as well as sitting in for sessions from well known and local journalists, such as from the Long Beach Post and The Los Angeles Times. Most importantly, through the Solutions Journalism Network, I learned that journalism doesn't have to be all about problems, but it can be about solutions as well.
As internships and joining organizations in our fields were vital for undergrads before graduation, I ended making a decision that impacted my life in every aspect - I applied to be a part of the Latinx focused magazine on campus called DÍG en Español. It was the first and only all-spanish media in Long Beach, and when I saw how their 2019 Fall issue had a cover on Oaxacan representation (one of my interests at the time), I was all in for whatever they needed. As my hometown and community had been 4 hours away, and I wasn't able to find much on my culture in the big city yet, I was also just looking for more ways that I could find and connect with my culture authentically once more...and I found it through journalism.
Some of my favorite journalistic career highlights include: interviewing with and talking to John Quiñones and Bill Whitaker. Getting to attend an event with Jennette McCurdy on her latest book "I'm Glad my Mom Died" for a campus story. Being in charge of releasing FOUR issues for an all Spanish then bilingual magazine. Being Editor-in-Chief and guiding a great team of Latinx journalists. Helping the magazine to grow in audience and services, including merch. Getting to attend several conferences in amazing cities such as San Francisco and Washington D.C. where I also won awards (1st Place for Best Page Spread in a Magazine). Attending events and festivals and such as the NFL Super Bowl KickOff and interviewing some of my favorite culture representatives like the musical group Mariachi Arcoiris de Los Angeles and La Sonora Dinamita.
These are just a few of my highlights and I have loved every other piece of my journey in journalism, it has all been an adventure for me and I am ready and excited to once again connect with my community as well as new members I have never heard of or met before that are making an impact on this world.
Comments