A partnership between ASU and The Arizona Latino Media Association will give Latino high school students the opportunity to gain insight on a variety of media careers.
The 10th annual High School Journalism Workshop is being hosted today at the Cronkite School and runs from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m.
According to a press release, students will have the options of looking into print, radio and broadcast journalism concentrations and will experience the fast-paced, real-life situations that would occur in the workplace.
Catherine Anaya, CBS 5 news anchor and vice president of ALMA, has been part of the program since the early 90s, but has taken on a more active leadership role in the last four years.
"We zero in on the high school students to prepare them for not only college, but the newsroom as well," said Anaya.
Valley high school students will be able to interview media professionals in a mock trial setting. A representative from the governor's office and an ASU sports representative will lead the press conference. The students will then compete in an on-deadline writing critique that offers the winner of the competition a scholarship, an iPod or a laptop computer.
"This is how students will learn how to deal with these types of situations," said Anaya. "They will be able to ask questions, take notes, then head to a computer lab to craft their story."
With the growing population of Latinos around the Valley, keeping students interested in journalism is a main goal for ALMA.
Diversity in the workplace is common among major corporations and the media is no exception.
"This Latino demographic is growing not only in Arizona, but nationwide," said Anaya. "When you are dealing with the explosion of the Latino population we need to have diversity in the newsroom. Having that diversity helps when you have people with those different experiences giving their input on a story."
According to the ALMA official Web site, its mission is to "create a stronger media industry through diversity initiatives that deepen the scope, coverage and understanding of Latinos."
ALMA was founded in 1997 and currently has 10 board members who are prominent Latino journalists from around the Valley.
Reach the reporter at: casey.kelsey@asu.edu.
