ASU's Walter Cronkite School of Journalism and Mass Communication is set to expand into downtown Los Angeles at the Herald Examiner Building.
Renovations to the building, which was the former home of the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner newspaper, are well under way. With the help of some enterprise partnerships and University Realty LLC, the new bureau will open in spring of 2020.
Cronkite News, a professional program for journalism students at ASU, already has bureaus in Phoenix, Santa Monica and Washington D.C. The existing bureau in California is primarily sports-focused.
“We don’t curate content for Cronkite News, we focus mainly on curating content for places like Fox Sports, sometimes for ESPN, sometimes for places like the L.A. Times," said Mikhial Tsatskin, a sports journalism junior currently working at the Santa Monica bureau. "It really depends on who’s asking for which content, and it’s helpful that we actually get the opportunity to work for these people."
The newer LA bureau aims to deliver broader content. Not only do consumers get to experience a greater variety of stories delivered from California, but student reporters can get more of an advantage by being out in the journalism market of downtown LA.
“It’s exciting so far; it’s a lot of work," Tsatskin said. "We typically have very long days, and we get to be focused on a lot of things we are doing. But once you get the hang of things, it starts to become an easy grind.”
Details on the exact cost of attending the new bureau haven’t been released yet, but Tsatskin said his experience in California was worth the price tag.
“The price isn’t too bad for something like this opportunity, and if you’re going to just basically throw away this kind of thing you’re not doing yourself justice," he said.
In addition, the LA bureau offers many opportunities for networking and other hands-on skills, according to those who have worked there.
“The connections and the kind of people I meet ... help me get a job once I am done with my four years at ASU," Tsatskin said.
Lauren Negrete, an ASU alumna who majored in journalism, said she was able live out her dreams due to the connections and networks she built throughout the her semester at the Cronkite News Santa Monica bureau.
Currently, Negrete is a multimedia reporter for local CBS 11 station in Kosuge, Oregon and said she was among the very first to attend the existing sports division in California.
Negrete said “communication was always hard” as a bureau reporter.
“It takes someone who is a go-getter, can work independently and stay on the task at hand,” she said about working in California.
According to an ASU spokesperson, the costs to attend the new LA bureau have not been determined.
"It’s not different; it’s not a separate school," a University spokesman said. "It’s part of ASU and that’s really the way to think about it.”
“(This LA bureau is there for the University) to expand its reach in Los Angeles and California," the spokesperson said. "It creates an opportunity for classes and for events and a focal point in new partnerships, new ideas and opportunities."
Reach the reporter at ddudurka@asu.edu and on Twitter @DianaPress55.
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