Want to Know What Students Think of Your Reporting? Ask Them.

For many Los Angeles students, getting to and from class can be a risky proposition, as they navigate neighborhoods with high rates of homicides. In her report “Navigating a safe path to schools surrounded by homicide,” education reporter Sonali Kohli crunched the data and found surprising examples where the reality contradicted public perceptions of the “most dangerous” schools. To help identify and acknowledge perceptions of bias, The Los Angeles Times reporter asked students to line-edit news stories about campus violence and homicides near schools in high-crime areas. She also shadowed students in the Los Angeles Unified School District on their commutes, as they dodge gangs and other potential threats. Some of those young people have lost multiple loved ones to gun violence. Kohli also speaks candidly about her decision to briefly step away from the beat to address her emotional well-being after covering devastating wildfires and a mass shooting event, in addition to her work on the school commute project. And she offers advice to others looking for mental health resources and support for journalists.

This episode of EWA Radio originally aired April 30, 2019.