Young Journalist Knows the Color of News

Looking back, the editor-in-chief of one of the San Fernando Valley’s most honored newspapers has one lament about the paper’s coverage of the David Duke debacle at Cal State Northridge.

“It’s a shame we’re in black and white, because you can’t see the . . . “

Christina Almeida, 17-year-old senior at Notre Dame High School, suffered a split-second of self-consciousness.

“The, um . . . you know.”

The blood, Christina?

Yes, the blood. It’s a shame we couldn’t see the blood.

*

Moments such as these make Christina Almeida wonder about her sensibilities. When a bomb exploded during the Olympics, she stayed glued to the tube past 3 a.m. When an MTA bus recently was involved in a fatal freeway crash near her North Hollywood home, she found herself yelling at the TV set, imploring reporters to ask the right questions.

“I always ask my mom, ‘Do you think I’m weird?’ . . . She says no. But I still have to ask her.”

Her mother, for the record, says she’s very proud of Christina. And her mom isn’t alone.

Last summer, Christina was one of several outstanding young journalists who gathered for two weeks at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo for a 45th annual workshop of the California Scholastic Press Assn. The instructors are all volunteers and most are workshop alumni. (I must have attended the 22nd annual.)

At the end of the workshop, the instructors and counselors confer and cast ballots to honor one boy and one girl not only for the quality of their work, but the spirit with which it was produced. Wristwatches are presented to these students.

The award’s official criteria include “journalistic aggressiveness” and “not being a whiner.” The latter narrows the field, but it’s always a tough decision. In the end, Christina went home with a new watch.

The editor of The Knight called to ask whether I’d be covering the controversial debate between Duke, the ex-Ku Klux Klan leader, and civil rights activist Joe Hicks. Christina told me that she’d already gotten press credentials for herself, photographer Ryan Mero and faculty advisor John Allen.

The Associated Students public relations office later informed me that The Knight was the first news organization to secure press credentials. We pros got ours later--and I was so tardy I had to watch it on closed-circuit TV.

Christina hustles, but this time she had to credit her teacher. Early on, she said, Mr. Allen said Duke’s appearance would become a major story and that it would complement a special issue of The Knight focusing on prejudice.

And so, with their teacher looking on, Christina and Ryan ended up covering a story of national significance.

Early on, Ryan got a shot of campus police escorting a heckler from the debate. Christina found herself agreeing with arguments made by both men. “I didn’t clap or anything,” she assured me.

The rhetorical exchange indoors, of course, would be overshadowed by the violent exchange outdoors between protesters and Los Angeles police.

Her tape recorder was filled with Duke and Hicks, but once the debate was over, Christina and Ryan were busy with the rest of the story. Christina wanted to linger, but Mr. Allen reminded her that a deadline loomed. She had to write the story that evening.

They hiked around the demonstrators and police lines. When Christina reached for her cellular phone, her teacher commented on how professional she looked.

Of course, the other reporters were calling their editors. Christina was calling her mom to let her know that, despite the images on TV, she was all right.

*

The Knight’s fourth edition was circulated two days after the debate. It has 16 pages, including a cover illustration of a young person in a spider web with the title, “Caught in a Web of Prejudice.”

Inside are graphics that describe the ethnic breakdown of Notre Dame’s student body, as well as the results of a poll that found 87% of students “felt that the school has at least some problem with prejudice.”

There were pro and con opinion pieces on affirmative action, as well as a brief essay by viewpoint editor Tova Katz, about her experience as a Jew attending a Catholic school. And there was coverage of the Duke debate, including Ryan’s photo essay on the back cover.

“SHOWDOWN . . . at CSUN,” the headline declared.

The word showdown, it should be noted, was printed in red. The Knight could at least do that, even if the photo of the bandaged, prone protester was all shades of gray.

Sensational? No more so than most media coverage. Besides, this issue of affirmative action is important to students preparing for college. The coverage was typical for a newspaper that last year was ranked ninth nationally in the best of show competition sponsored by the National Scholastic Press Assn. and the Journalism Educators Assn.

And Christina had other stories in this issue too, including her coverage of Bob Dole’s campaign stop at Sportsmen’s Lodge, along with Ryan Mero’s photo.

They didn’t have credentials for that event, she said. They just showed up, talked their way in and got the story.

Scott Harris’ column appears Tuesdays, Thursdays and Sundays. Readers may write to Harris at the Times Valley Edition, 20000 Prairie St., Chatsworth 91311. Please include a phone number.