by Jonathan Arkin
Student Writer

USC Annenberg alumna and KCAL news personality Sylvia Lopez (B.A. public relations, '83) returned to her alma mater Oct. 11 when the School hosted its weekly “How Journalists Work” series. Speaking to a group of more than 60 faculty, staff and students – many with parents in tow for Trojan Family Weekend – Lopez recounted her steady rise through the ranks of broadcast journalists and producers who she said initially resented her early successes because she was young, female - and Latina.

Lopez also saluted the many parents present for the Family Weekend, having been introduced by moderator and journalism professor Bryce Nelson as a successful example of one who has succeeded in “combining the roles of journalist and mother.”

“I take my hat off to all of you [parents] who are here,” she said. Then she turned her attention to the students present. “Not so long ago I was sitting in your shoes, as a student. I had a vague idea of what I wanted to do. I decided to go to USC because they have a strong public relations department. While at USC, I developed a relationship with a mentor [journalism professor Felix Gutierrez, who still teaches at the School]. I was very grateful that the University provided an environment where I can do that. Here at USC you have an opportunity to work at the news station. When I was here it was much smaller.”

The years immediately following her time at USC Annenberg were fruitful, as she quickly landed an internship and found that she possessed a secret weapon of language that had long gone untapped in the world of journalism.

“When I was graduating,” she said, “there was no one in the newsroom who spoke Spanish…This allowed me a tremendous opportunity to work with [the late journalist] David Garcia, James Kennedy...Most of the time I had no idea what I was doing. I made monumental mistakes…tremendous errors. I don’t know how, but I was able to power through that. I worked a lot…up in the mountains covering lost hunters. Lots of plane crashes, covered a lot of politics…[I] got to know the governor [Toney Anaya].” Lopez, however, was quick to point out that her journey from USC Annenberg to the Channel 9 News at 9 did take her through a “gopher” job or two: “Go for coffee, go for the newspaper, go for the anchor’s contact lenses…I went for stuff.”

But those who expected the usual stories of the struggling young journalist who needed to succeed first in a remote market before arriving in the big city may have been somewhat surprised. Lopez distinguished herself early on, earning her stripes in a relatively large arena.

“Usually you start in a very small market and work your way up,” Lopez said. “I skipped a few steps, but looking back it would have been better to make those mistakes in a smaller market.”

Although Lopez spoke of her past at USC Annenberg with fondness, there was also a link to the future: in the audience was Kristen Steach (B.A. broadcast journalism, ’11), who is Lopez’s cousin.

School of Journalism director Michael Parks described the series to the assembled audience on Thursday: “In journalism, we try to bring journalists in to talk about what they do, and how they do it and how we might do it better.”

The “How Journalists Work” series continues at USC with many other leaders in the world of print, broadcast and online journalism scheduled to appear. Upcoming speakers include Kevin Sites of Yahoo! News and John Andrews from The Economist of London. Visit the USC Annenberg events calendar for more information.