About/Staff
ABOUT CCSPIN AND CONTRA COSTA YOUTH JOURNALISM
CCSpin is the website of Contra Costa Youth Journalism, a collaborative effort involving educational institutions and professional news organizations dedicated to expanding opportunities for Contra Costa County high school students to share stories about their schools and communities. This initiative seeks to furnish Contra Costa County residents with pertinent and practical local news and information.
Thirteen students representing nine Contra Costa County high schools were selected for the program in December 2023. Between February and May 2024, they will be reporting and writing on a variety of news subjects relevant to their schools and local communities under the guidance of the CCYJ editorial team, which is composed of Bay Area news professionals and educators. These stories are also being made available to local news organizations.
The students have received lessons on reporting and writing news articles, including techniques for researching reliable information, conducting interviews, and structuring their stories. They have been introduced to the importance of a free press and the First Amendment, ethical considerations in journalism, and the incorporation of diversity, equity, and inclusion into news coverage.
The program was made possible through generous support from the CalMatters’ Youth Journalism Initiative. The Contra Costa County Office of Education is the program’s fiscal sponsor.
Research indicates that high school students who study journalism or participate in their school newspaper or yearbook achieve strong academic results that persist into college. Involvement in journalism also provides a creative outlet for students to exercise critical thinking, writing, communication and design skills.
Furthermore, professional news organizations are increasingly turning to student journalists to help provide much-needed community news coverage. Local news plays a vital role in fostering community engagement and addressing political polarization, with youth journalists making significant contributions to this effort.
CCYJ/CCSpin Staff
Bruce Koon, Program Coordinator and Writing Coach
Michelle Fitzhugh-Craig, Writing Coach
Sherman Turntine, Copy Editor
CCYJ Collaboration Representatives
Marcus Walton, Director of Communications and Special Projects, Contra Costa County Office of Education
Neil Chase, Chief Executive Officer, CalMatters
Michael Lozano, head of CalMatters Youth Journalism Initiative
Kat Rowlands, President of Bay City News Service; Executive Director, Bay City News Foundation, and Editorial Director, LocalNewsMatters.org
Stephen O’Donoghue, Director, California Scholastic Journalism Initiative and Coordinator/Writing Coach, Student Education Reporter/Sacramento School Beat
Mickey Huff, Department Chair, Journalism, Diablo Valley College
Michael Levitin, Assistant Professor, Journalism, Diablo Valley College
Chris Verdugo, Operations Director, Contra Costa County Office of Communications & Media, Contra Costa Television
At-Large Editorial Adviser and Instructors
William Gee Wong, author, former managing editor and columnist, Oakland Tribune, and reporter, Wall Street Journal
Charleen Early, workshop instructor
2024 Student Reporters for Contra Costa Youth Journalism:
- Louise Aparicio-Weil (College Park HS)
- Emma Mayta Canales (Deer Valley HS)
- Haley Chelemedos (Acalanes HS)
- Keerthi Eraniyan (California HS)
- Wendy Fernandez (Pittsburg HS)
- Grace Gallacher (Acalanes HS)
- Sophia Goyena (Dozier-Libbey Medical HS)
- Cassydee Guinto (Pittsburg HS)
- Loujain Habibi (Liberty HS)
- Andrew Ma (California HS)
- Anna Messerer (Alhambra HS)
- Tatiana Sims (Deer Valley HS)
- Bailey Winey (College Park HS)
For inquiries, contact [email protected]