Careers and Britney

Want to get teens' attention? Talk about Britney.

I participated in Career Day at Alvarado Intermediate School in Rowland Heights on Feb. 6. Aside from journalism, the professions represented were cosmetology, forensic science, acting, event planning, police, firefighting and real estate.

I tried to explain how news gets into the newspaper. Since I had to do the presentation three times, I tried to use three different examples of an event that a community paper would potentially write about. First, it was, “Let's say we got a press release from your school about the new iMacs that are in front of you right now. The reporter will call your principal and try to get some more information about the computers.” Yawn. Then in the other session, I said, “How about we write about your Career Day?” Double yawn. In the other session, which had the more outspoken students, I had a brilliant idea: “Let's say the reporter is sitting at his desk and he gets a call. The caller says, 'Hey, did you know police officers are taking Britney Spears to the mental hospital right now?'” Bingo!

I got the most interaction from the students when I talked about Britney Spears and the paparazzi. I don't blame them. Why should they ask me if I thought we were heading for an economic recession? Or who I thought would win Super Tuesday? Instead, they asked me why magazines printed rumors like Hannah Montana being pregnant.

They had different reasons for wanting to become journalists someday but the one thing they had in common was that they loved to write. They knew the difference between rumors and news, but wanted to ask why rumors get passed off as news anyway. They laughed when I told them the newspaper once printed “barbecued children” instead of “barbecued chicken.”

They wondered about how much journalists make. I laughed before I gave them an answer: “You go into journalism not for the money. But if you love what you do, if you have fun doing your job, then the money won't matter. You adjust your lifestyle so you can keep doing something that makes your life worthwhile.” *crickets in the room*