Scholastic New Kid Reporters Announced!

By Shelby Fallin
November 16, 2009

Seasoned Kid Reporter checks out the new team.

The new team of Scholastic Kid Reporters was announced today. Some of the new reporters have already had stories published. They are all working on an important first assignment about the economy.

I’ll never forget my first assignment. I covered a memorial service in central Florida for the victims of the September 11 terrorist attacks. I then went on to cover the 2008 presidential election, which was an incredible challenge and unforgettable adventure! I even got to go to New York City for Election Day!

I spoke to one of the new Kid Reporters after his first assignment last week. Gowtham Balaji lives in East Brunswick, New Jersey, and is one of the 37 new reporters on the 2009-2010 team. Usually, only 25 new reporters are picked each year.

“We had more applications than ever this year,” said Editor Suzanne Freeman. “The quality of applications was really high, too.”

Gowtham’s first assignment took him to New York City to the Scholastic Headquarters in SoHo. He covered a live webcast featuring all five of the authors of The 39 Clues series. The webcast kicked off the release of Book 6 in the 10-book series.

After the webcast, Gowtham interviewed Jude Watson, author of Book 6: In Too Deep. Gowtham is not only a fan of the 39 Clues series, he is an avid reader of Watson’s Star Wars series as well. Watson clued him in on a big Book 6 secret.

“She said one of the main characters dies,” he said. “I am wondering who.” Watson wouldn’t tell him, but by the time you read this, Gowtham will know. When I interviewed him, he was busy reading Book 6 so he could write the review.

I asked him how he felt when he learned he was one of the recent additions to the Scholastic Kids Press Corp.

“I felt excited because I know I will experience a lot of cool events,” he said. “But I also know it is going to be a lot of work.”

Like all the other members of the press corps, Gowtham is busy working on a new Special Report.

“The Editor asked me to do some research about the economy and how it is affecting my community,” he said. “Next week I have to write about that.”

As more assignments come in, Gowtham is hoping to meet a few celebrities.

“I’m looking forward to meeting famous people and learning about them,” he said. He especially hopes to get an assignment about Major League Baseball. “Since I am a BIG baseball fan, I would like to cover a big news story about the World Series,” he said.

I told him to talk to Ms. Freeman. She’s a big fan, too. She and I went to spring training last March where I interviewed one of the newest members of the Tampa Bay Rays pitching rotation, David Price. The story ran in Scholastic News Edition 4.

I have a few other tips for all the new Kid Reporters coming on board this week. Work hard, have fun, and be prepared for anything!

Oh, yeah! Here are the names of the rest of the Kid Reporters chosen this year:

 

Andre Baker, Cleveland, Ohio

Gowtham Balaji, East Brunswick, New Jersey

Nick Berray, Washington, D.C.

Christopher Campbell, Bronx, New York

N’Naserri Carew-Johnson, Atlanta, Georgia

Liam Childers, Charlotte, North Carolina

Samantha Coffey, Sleepy Hollow, New York

Alexis Cornell, Evanston, Wyoming

Julia Desmond, Davidson, North Carolina

Henry Dunkelberger, Washington, D.C.

Shelby Fairleigh, Horseshoe Bay, Texas

Kenny Figueroa, Houston, Texas

Kiera Fobb, Homestead, Florida

Cecilia Gault, New York, New York

Alysa Goethe, Bettendorf, Iowa

Lily Haffey, Lexington, Kentucky

Emma Hall, Franklin, Tennessee

Susan Hepburn, Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania

Madeleine Horner, Leucadia, California

Jonas Hosmer, Potomac, Maryland

Charlie Kadado, Macomb, Michigan

Jordan Kahrhoff, St. Peters, Missouri

Andrew Liang, Alpharetta, Georgia

Topanga McBride, Windsor, Colorado

Grace McManus, New York, New York

Joseph O’Connor, Bayside, New York

Kaj Lund Olsen, Greenbank, Washington

Maria Ordoñez, Miami, Florida

Isabelle Quinn, Woodway Washington

Miranda Rector, Los Angeles, California

Mariah Reynolds, Cincinnati, Ohio

Kayla Rudess, New City, New York

Erin Sheena, Bellaire, Texas

Christian Snyder, Reynoldsburg, Ohio

Jeremy Sutton, Chicago, Illinois

Maya Williams, Phoenix, Arizona

Alexandra Zhang, Washington, D.C.

Now get to work, Everyone!

Source: Scholastic News Online

 

Editor’s Note: If you would like to be a Young Chronicle Reporter, we are looking for you.  You can contact us at dan@youngchronicle.com