USC Annenberg students receive 15 nominations for Los Angeles Press Club awards

Fifteen Annenberg Media stories — from an in-depth portrayal of a homeless student’s struggles to finish high school to an Annenberg TV News segment on the Great ShakeOut Earthquake Drill — have been honored as finalists for the 58th SoCal Journalism Awards by the Los Angeles Press Club.

Annenberg Media is a student-run media organization that produces “compelling and informative stories stretching from Los Angeles to the world.” The organization combines mobile, social media, digital video, web, television, audio and public relations teams that work together to cover news, community, politics, sports and entertainment. Annenberg Media operates out of the Julie Chen/Leslie Moonves and CBS Media Center at Wallis Annenberg Hall.

Stories were recognized in categories from hard news to personality profiles to investigative and educational reporting.

“We’re thrilled to learn that the Los Angeles Press Club has recognized the work of our journalists,” said Willow Bay, director of the School of Journalism. “The nominations reflect both the breadth and depth of their multimedia reporting.”

Competing with the pros

Stacy Scholder, professor of professional practice in journalism and an Annenberg Media Center faculty adviser, noted how important it is that student journalists at the USC Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism are able to compete against other journalism professionals across multiple platforms. The student pieces are nominated in categories alongside notable outlets like the Los Angeles Times, LA Weekly, KTLA and KPCC, among others.

“I hesitate to call them student journalists,” Scholder said. “The truth is they are journalists, they’re just younger and less experienced. We try to set the bar really high for them, and I think this is a testament to the fact they are covering big, important stories and doing quality work as they’re doing it.”

The goal of the Media Center is to give practical experience to student journalists, said Martha Daniel, executive editor of the Annenberg Media Center.

“Students walk away from their time there knowing how to set up an interview, how to do a good interview, and how to produce and publish content that blends right in with the professional media,” Daniel said. “The real world of news right now demands that journalists be multitalented. We don’t want people to silo themselves.”

Last year, USC Annenberg students were recognized with 55 Los Angeles Press Club nominations. The winners will be announced at the June 26 awards ceremony.