By Courtland Thomas
J Camp Live! Staff Writer
The official Saturday morning welcome of the tenth Journalism Camp, or “J Camp,” included a cannonball splash in entertainment writing from two experts. Hosted by the Asian American Journalists Association at the Loyola Marymount University in Los Angeles, the “J Campers” were able to listen, question, and interact with the journalists while learning that entertainment writing is not a business to be taken lightly.
Both journalists had clearly identified the importance of journalism in entertainment writing, indicating that, despite the journeys and opportunities each writer experienced, producing valid information was the purpose of their reporting. Derrik Lang, an entertainment reporter for The Associated Press in Los Angeles, risked injury in an unofficial attempt through a Wipeout course and Cynthia Wang, the Los Angeles based assistant editor of People Magazine, interviewed several cast members of Fox’s Glee following their 19 nominations for The Emmy Awards. One could fantasize about doing either of these events — Glee fans having the opportunity to hear Jane Lynch joke about Sue Sylvester’s various new track-suit costumes and adventurous viewers of Wipeout wishing to compete in the perilous obstacle course — but for Wang and Lang, their first motivation is capturing raw facts.
“[I like] taking down the man,” said Wang, a fan of the film All the President’s Men. Likewise, Lang admitted that neither he nor The Associated Press purchase stories or photos. Both introduced the idea of the confidence needed for strong writing and how such self-assurance is a product of reliable reporting. “At least two sources,” told Wang to campers in small lecture hall as they vigorously attempt to jot down every word spoken.
However, students with additional questions had the opportunity to meet both journalists in a more personal Q&A.
The pair left the crowd of teenage journalists with unprecedented knowledge of the world of celebrity journalism. Wang particularly understood that this subgroup of journalism includes a time-accuracy trade off: as quickness to produce an article increases, accuracy falls. However, she emphasized, along with Lang, that accuracy is no less a priority in this subcategory of news than any other form of journalism.
Of those who were most influenced by Wang’s words include Andrea Munoz, a student whose interests lie primarily in teen fashion magazine reporting. “She gave me five tips to interviewing a celebrity,” said Munoz, which included: don’t be nervous, do research prior to the interview, and don’t ask for an autograph. When asked if she could interview a celebrity now, Munoz chuckled, shook her head, and said, “Practice,” meaning she would take those tips to heart.
As both concluded the opening teaser of J Camp, Lang and Wang lit a flare in each of the 42 attendants’ interests that will always leave them questioning, “Is this story reliable?”
