L.A. Youth, the Largest Newspaper in the USA by and About Teens, Plans 20th
Anniversary Special Edition
Teens Offer Perspectives on Things That Matter Most in Their Own Lives
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 8 /PRNewswire/ -- L.A. Youth will celebrate an important
milestone in January 2008 -- turning twenty years old. The not-for-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, civic education. From its modest beginnings with only a
handful of teens and limited funding, L.A. Youth has since become the largest
independent newspaper by and about teens in the USA.
Over the past 20 years, L.A. Youth has provided a forum for thousands of
teens -- addressing controversial issues such as sexuality, racism, drug abuse
and violence -- to the more "ordinary" topics of finding a job, dating,
fashion, and music trends. "The youth-driven content has generated mostly
very positive and even touching feedback from our readers," Myrow said,
"Although there have been occasional threats made by individuals who don't
like what we are doing, we will continue to encourage the principles of the
First Amendment so that young people can have their voice heard."
In honor of their 20th anniversary, L.A. Youth will publish a special
commemorative anniversary edition, featuring a selection of the best articles
from past and current issues. Quotes of congratulations from legendary
newsman Walter Cronkite as well as from several prominent journalists
including Bill Moyers, Mike Wallace, Larry King, Keith Olbmermann, Patt
Morrison, Giselle Fernandez, Joel Stein and others will be featured throughout
the pages.
Said Mr. Cronkite: "I congratulate and wholeheartedly applaud L.A. Youth
Newspaper for 20 years of motivating teenagers to become journalists. I was
fortunate indeed, to have had that opportunity in high school and it set my
course for life. It is vitally important for our young people to become
active in our country's civic dialogue, giving their voices to those issues
that effect their environment and their lives. I don't believe there is a
better way for them to do this than to be the reporters of those events. They
and the readership of L.A. Youth will benefit greatly from the experience.
The future of America depends on it. And, I might add, it also bodes well for
the future of journalism."
L.A. Youth serves as a model for other teen publications and its stories
have been reprinted or referenced in mainstream media domestically and
globally including: Time, CNN, BBC, National Public Radio, The Los Angeles
Times, McGraw-Hill, Voice of America among other prominent media outlets.
Having grown from an initial press run of 2,500 copies, L.A. Youth now prints
120,000 copies six times a year. More than 1,300 middle and high school
teachers use the publication to develop lesson plans that engage students on a
variety of important social issues.
Through the Foster Youth Writing and Education Project, which began in
Fall 2003, L.A. Youth also mentors, trains, and publishes stories written by
foster and probation youth, providing a forum to voice concerns, while also
informing others about the system and the respective challenges. With a
strong presence on the internet, including the popular site, YouTube, Myrow
estimates that L.A. Youth reaches more than half a million readers.
According to Myrow and her staff, "We're still growing...up!"
L.A. Youth is published by Youth News Service (YNS), a not-for-profit
corporation. Offices are located at 5967 W. Third St, Suite 301, Los Angeles,
CA 90036. Web site: http://www.layouth.com.
SOURCE L.A. Youth
Melissa Havard, Media Relations of L.A. Youth, +1-310-770-7959,
Melissa@Casablancaconsulting.com
