Sergio Lopez - Entertainment Writer
I'm a first-year journalist junior, writing for the entertainment section, but also move around sections if a story seems interesting. Through being a journalist, I've noticed my social skills and confidence improve, having to interview several people unfamiliar to me, and keeping a professional tone. My work is important to me as it's the people at Redwood's voices being shared, therefore it's key to represent them in a good light, keeping the integrity of the people that make the stories. This semester, I'm most proud of the different types of stories I've provided for the Gigantea, with each being easily processable.
Semester 2 Stories
Nicholas Garcia Pursues a Future Career in Music Production
This story covers Nicholas Garcia, a student on campus with a hobby of music production, and the process and journey he has gone through. What's best about the story is the detail, being able to grasp an understanding of both him and what he has gone through learning how to produce.
The story uplifts and brings attention to the start of a student's possible career as its important to tell students stories in the newspaper, especially because if the student goes on to achieve success in the future, it would be nice to capture a student's success first at the Gigantea and while still being apart of Redwood.
Andrew Ramirez leads History Day Club to State Finals in Sacramento
This story is a feature of the single student who made it to State Finals in the History day Club. The storytelling and perspective are what shines most about the story, giving the audience a better understanding of his accomplishment and how he feels.
The story matters as it highlights an event and acomplishment of a student that many wouldn't know about without the article. It further connects the community and builds up stories that would normally fall under the minds of many.
Semester 1 Stories
The Backbone of Theater: An Insight into Stagecraft
This story is a deep dive into the elective of Stagecraft, highlighting what it is, getting student perspectives on the class, and Galvan's thoughts on the class during a year of reconstruction of redwood. What's best about this story is the credibility, speaking directly to Galvan and getting opinions from students, making the story stronger.
This story is vital as it highlights a class that's largely unknown by the general public, and by providing a insight and deeper view into the class, it builds acknowledgment and respect for the students who create the stages used, while also influencing more to want to join the class
Back from the Dead: Ressurection of the Haunted Sierra Vista Tradition
This story covers the Haunted Sierra Vista event, getting students and link crew voices on their experiences. I think the interviewing diversity in this story is strong because the event is student-run, therefore getting both sides of the story informs the readers on the separate situations, making the report more informative.
The story matters as it voices several student experiences from both running and visiting the event, helping the community get a better understanding of the event and how students perceived it, being important to let students express their opinions.
Rangers Voice Their Diverse Music Taste
This story is an interview with multiple students on what music they enjoy, and their top albums and artists. Being my first story, I was proud of the reporting I was able to do off of having no prior interviewing experience and being able to correctly voice the people interviewed.
It's important as it provides student voices on a topic universally enjoyed, giving readers an enjoyable read while also further connecting the community with one another, and getting to know individual students' tastes in music.
The Effects of Elon Musks’ “Free Speech” Twitter
This story is a personal opinion on the social media app, Twitter, after its purchase by billionaire Elon Musk. There are no interviews in the story, but through the multimedia and reporting, the story is a good read.
The story matters as it informs the viewer about something in pop culture they might not know. Twitter is a huge social media and informing them of the changes to the platform helps the reader stay knowledgeable.
Reflection
Where have I been?
Prior to taking the class, I had seen the Gigantea in Newspapers and became interested in writing people's stories. I viewed Journalism as a small tight-knit community, writing about stories on campus. Looking at stories in the Newspapers, I saw the journalists as people who were expressing their passion for their subject through their writing, wanting to do the same, I signed up for the class.
Where am I now?
From being a Journalist, I can talk to people easier, prior I viewed talking to people who I wasn't familiar with as foreign, but from being placed in various situations where I was forced to, I've learned it's not as frightening. Even communicating too, I would normally fidget and avoid eye contact, but I can hold a formal conversation now without being overly anxious. Being placed in a mostly student-run and independent setting too has improved my procrastination and focus, having to set personal deadlines and having no support outside from an editor, having no one else to blame but myself.
Where am I going?
Next Semester, I'd personally to put out more stories, this semester I had 5 put out, but I feel like I'm capable of producing more. I'd also like to introduce more multi-media content into my stories, where most of my stories are simple interview texts, where I could add images or audio to improve the viewer experience. As for the Entertainment section, I'd like to see more outside influence on stories, often times Entertainment stories are opinion-fueled, and although not bad, having other student voices is important for a school newspaper.