Students to Cover Opening of Getty

Christopher Hale thought it would be a good idea to get some of his students at Van Nuys High School in to the opening of the Getty Center.

He made a few calls and was surprised to find out he was the first one to ask.

“They said no one approached them on it, but that it was a good idea,” said Hale, coordinator of the school’s magnet program.

That is the story of how two journalism students and one television/video student will get to cover one of the biggest news events of the year in Los Angeles at one of the center’s opening ceremonies Thursday.

While art and history enthusiasts across the Valley call everyone they know, hoping somehow to get an invitation, Susanna Cho, Kiyoshi Tomono and Fong Kang are preparing to cover a story that is a bit more high-profile than the typical student government meeting.

“It’s such a great opportunity and a privilege,” said Tomono, a senior and managing editor of the school paper, The Mirror. “But it’s also a big responsibility.”

Because of the story’s importance, the students have spent more than a few periods discussing strategy and ways to cover the event like no other news agency.

“We’re going to approach it from a teen’s point of view,” said Cho, the paper’s editor in chief and also a senior. “We want to show the educational and research sides of the center.”

The students will spend an entire day at the Getty Center. While Tomono and Cho report the event, Kang, a junior, will get it all on tape. The trio will produce television news-style coverage as well as a special two-page section in the school paper.

The event will give the students a chance to cover an event outside school from a student’s perspective, something their journalism teacher is always trying to get them to do.

“We want to cover things the students will be interested in,” said teacher Sara Fife. “I’d say this is definitely one of those things.”