By Jaime Sloane
J Camp Live!

Recently named the youngest correspondent in CBS’S history, J Camp alum Terrell Brown is the epitome of a ‘one-man-band’ journalist. Part writer, reporter, anchor, editor, and producer, Brown has become one of the leaders of the next generation of journalism.

“The industry is changing,” Brown, 22, said. “But the future is bright, and it is our duty to add new elements to journalism in order to move forward.”

Being a pioneer in an ever-changing industry is no foreign concept to Brown; at age 10 he started his elementary school’s first newspaper, producing two additions and charging ten cents per copy. In middle school, Brown was involved in everything broadcast related, from morning announcements to talent shows.

“I was always one of those weird kids with a crazy interest in journalism,” Brown said with a laugh.

As Brown grew older, his passion continued. In eighth grade, Brown moved from Chesterfield, VA, to Dayton, OH, to live with his dad. Wasting no time as a timid new kid, Brown lunged into his first television job at age 13 at Dayton Access TV, where he was the youngest producer on the staff.

The following year, Brown moved back to Virginia, taking his newfound writing and producing skills with him to Matoaca High School. Once again, Brown found himself in the limelight as he piloted the school’s first television station.

“It was a grueling year of work,” Brown said. “I had to rally students together, lobby for money from the school board, but we started out with nothing and built something great.”

By the time Brown was a senior, his brainchild has transformed from a small afterschool club, to a class whose show was broadcasted throughout the county. But Brown’s journalism work wasn’t limited to high school. During the summer of his sophomore year, Brown attended J Camp, a journalism workshop run in conjunction with the Asian American Journalism Association.

“J Camp laid the foundation for dreams and goals I never knew existed,” Brown said. “The workshop showed me journalism as a tool to make change and enlighten the public. It broadened my mindset from school reporting to country-wide broadcast.”

After J Camp, Brown returned to Chesterfield motivated to leap into the business. Throughout high school he held four internships, two at local affiliates of NBC and ABC, one reporting sports and news for a local radio station and yet another covering east coast high school sports for a local cable station.

Yet after all of his experience, Brown still feels the skills he acquired from J Camp most prepared him for his non-stop journalism work while attending college at Virginia Commonwealth University.

Three weeks before entering his college freshman year, Brown was hired as an intern at WWBT, local NBC affiliate. Working the night shift for four years, Brown progressed from editor to producer.

“It was a constant battle between balancing school and my full-time job,” Brown said. “I would work from 3:00 am to 12:00 pm, and start a full day of class.”

All of Brown’s long hours finally paid off when he was given the chance to launch, produce, and anchor his own show – “12 News Today” – which became Richmond’s highest rated Saturday morning newscast. In the midst of the show’s success, a mock newscast Brown anchored to train new employees fell into the hands of his then boss Frank Jones who immediately noted Brown’s undeniable talent.

“Frank put his job on the line to get me on TV,” Brown said.

Brown began anchoring and reporting. He loved being on camera. Toward the end of college, a CBS affiliate in Dallas, TX, saw some of Brown’s work and sent the tape to CBS headquarters. New York was impressed. After successful interviews, CBS hired Brown on June 2, 2009, as its youngest correspondent in its News Development Program. The program attempts to develop the next generation of producers and correspondents. Brown couldn’t be more excited about the future.

“It is our duty to preserve the sacred journalistic ideals of the past, but at the same time, we must modernize and evolve,” Brown said. “We should always be looking for ways to improve and progress.”