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L.A. Youth staff contacts

Executive Director and Publisher Donna C. Myrow (323) 938-9194

Co-managing editors Mike Fricano or Amanda Riddle (323) 938-9194

L.A. Youth celebrated its 20th anniversary in 2008

L.A. Youth celebrated an important milestone in January 2008—turning 20 years old. The non-profit organization was founded in 1988 by former teacher and community organizer, Donna Myrow, after a U.S. Supreme Court decision (Hazelwood) empowered campus administrators to control the content of school newspapers. Many high school journalism programs and newspapers were devastated by the decision. L.A. Youth filled the void with a program that fosters critical thinking, writing skills, literacy and civic education. From its modest beginnings with only a handful of teens and limited funding, L.A. Youth has since become the second-largest independent newspaper written by and about teens in the United States.

“Nut graf” on L.A. Youth

Since 1988 L.A. Youth has been the only independent Los Angeles newspaper written by and about teens. Through its newspaper, website and journalism training program, L.A. Youth fosters job and educational skills, provides a forum for communication and gives young people a voice in civic life.

Background on L.A. Youth

A statement from our Executive Director and founder

Frequently asked questions about L.A. Youth

Bios for L.A. Youth’s adult staff

Executive Director and Publisher Donna C. Myrow

Co-managaing editor Mike Fricano

Co-mangaging editor Amanda Riddle

 

Recent media attention received by L.A. Youth
 
6/13/11 Staff writer Ernesto Pineda was featured on American Sauce, a CNN podcast about politics. CNN radio correspondent Lisa Desjardins interviewed Ernesto about the story he wrote about not being sure that college is right for him.
9/28/10 NBC Los Angeles (KNBC Channel 4) did a feature on L.A. Youth as part of the station’s Education Nation series. Students said that writing for the newspaper gives teens a voice that they otherwise wouldn’t have.
4/27/10 

 The Korea Times wrote a story featuring several Korean students who are part of the L.A. Youth teen staff. One writer said that through L.A. Youth Korean student reporters can write about Korean food and culture and introduce Korea to its readers. 
4/17/10 Marketplace published an adaptation of Amanda Ly’s story about how the recession and her lack of awareness about all the intricacies of the financial aid process, ultimately kept her from going to college out of state.
5/28/09 Staff writer Justin Fulcher appeared on Some Of Us Are Brave—a Black Women’s Radio Program committed to insuring that the voices of African-American women, in particular, are represented and respected—talking about the film he created about why South Central Los Angeles is worth investing in and wrote about in the March-April 2009 issue.
4/28/09 The Associated Press wrote a story about how the downturn in the economy, which has sharply affected media and newspaper companies, has forced the Los Angeles Times to stop providing free printing and delivery of L.A. Youth. The story also notes that L.A. Youth is increasing its fundraising efforts to keep the paper free to teachers and students in Los Angeles County.
1/18/09 Executive Director Donna Myrow was interviewed on KIIS FM’s Community Council public affairs show and talked about L.A. Youth’s history, mission and how L.A. Youth has transitioned into the digital era. Myrow’s interview starts at 18:15 (about halfway through).
8/16/08 Staff writer Lia Dun appeared on Off Ramp, a weekly radio show on public radio station KPCC, talking about a great place to get shaved ice. This interview sprang from a short piece Lia wrote for layouth.com. To listen to the interview you will need RealPlayer. Lia is the first segment on the show.
2/2/08 Los Angeles Times columnist Sandy Banks wrote about L.A. Youth and the unflinching view it offers adults into the hearts and minds of teens in her column “Newspaper for L.A. teens is still keeping it real after 20 years.”
1/31/08 

 Park La Brea News wrote a cover feature story about L.A. Youth in recognition of our 20th anniversary. Current and former writers were interviewed while attending a media roundtable moderated by Los Angeles Times sports columnist Kurt Streeter. Click on the link for “1-31-08″ to download the pdf. 
1/28/08 KTLA Prime News chose Executive Director Donna Myrow as the first person to profile on a new feature called “Spotlight,” which highlights people making a positive difference in the Southland. The segment aired on the 10 o’clock news.
1/20/08 DK of Mediasnackers.com, a website that analyzes how youth interact with news and media, interviewed Donna Myrow about the newspaper’s history, mission and anniversary. Click here to listen to the podcast, which is also available at the iTunes store.
Nov. 07 – Jan. 08 L.A. Youth Public Service Announcement—courtesy of Spotrunner—aired during the months of November, December and January on Starfish Television Network. Starfish gives voice to charitable organizations and helps them to better fulfill their missions.
10/8/07 The internationally syndicated radio network, Voice of America, featured L.A. Youth on a video segment, and interviewed several teen staff members and the editors about L.A. Youth’s mission and impact.
8/18/07 L.A. Youth was featured on a segment on the local television show YourLA, which airs five-minute video segments about places, people and interesting trends in Los Angeles.
7/24/07 The Voice of America internationally syndicated radio network profiled L.A. Youth, interviewing the adult staff members and two teens about the history of the paper and what it means to those involved and the community.
6/8/07 Staff writer Katherine Trujillo was interviewed about summer jobs on Patt Morrison’s daily radio show on KPCC (89.3 FM).
4/12/06 Staff writer Selina MacLaren appeared on the nationally syndicated radio show To the Point to talk about MySpace.
5/8/05 KPWR Power 106: Knowledge is Power, Ashley Zartner, Jasmon Smith and students from Jordan HS appeared on a talk show with host Charisse Browner taking live calls about school fights.
1/04 www.amazing-kids.org selected L.A. Youth as the “Amazing Kids of the month” for January 2004, and highlighted the Oct. 2003 “Jobs” issue.
3/23/03 KPWR Power 106 “Knowledge is Power” with Charisse Browner featured the views of L.A. Youth reporters Nicole Bryant, Valentina Cardenas and Andrea Domanick speaking about their views on the conflict with Iraq.
3/15/03 Black Entertainment Television interviewed L.A. Youth alum Candice Williams, student Monica Maeng and others about their experiences at L.A. Youth.
3/14/03 KTLA Channel 5 featured L.A. Youth reporters Sage Chung, Candace Coleman and Brynn Holland speaking about their views on the conflict with Iraq.
10/3/02 National Public Radio’s Morning Edition featured L.A. Youth reporter Carlos Overstreet describing his experiences being bullied. 
9/8/02 The Los Angeles Times’ “Teens Ready To Move On” described youth reactions to the anniversary of the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks.
4/30/02 

 National Public Radio’s Morning Edition featured L.A. Youth alum Prisco Serrano’s commentary on the aftermath of the Los Angeles riots. Prisco’s commentary can be heard by searching the National Public Radio archive at www.npr.org.
11/14/01 Pacifica Network News covered the reactions of L.A. Youth journalists to the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11 and their aftermath.
9/23/01 The Daily News covered an L.A. Youth roundtable on the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11.
3/7/01
 The Los Angeles Times featured L.A. Youth’s success in helping teachers make their classrooms more relevant.
1/20/01 The Los Angeles Times interviewed L.A. Youth writer Gar Caswell about her long struggle to get off the streets.
1/8/01 National Public Radio’s Morning Edition featured L.A. Youth writer Vincent Hsia’s commentary on coming to terms with his Chinese-American identity. Vincent’s commentary can be heard by searching the National Public Radio archive at www.npr.org, or the text of his commentary can be read by clicking here.
 
Vital information:
 

 L.A. Youth
5967 W. Third Street Ste. 301
Los Angeles CA 90036
Phone: (323) 938-9194
Fax: (323) 938-0940
E-mail: editor(at)layouth(dot)com