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L.A. YOUTH, The Largest Newspaper in the usa By and About Teens, Plans 20TH Anniversary Special Edition Teens Offer Perspectives on Things That Matter Most in Their Own Lives ( Los Angeles , California ) L.A. Youth will celebrate an important milestone in January 2008--- turning twenty years old. The not-for-profit organization was founded in 1988 by former teacher and community organizer, Donna Myrow, after a U.S. Supreme Court decision (Hazelwood) empowered campus administrators to control the content of school newspapers. Many high school journalism programs and newspapers were devastated by the decision. L.A. Youth filled the void with a program that fosters critical thinking, writing skills, literacy, civic education. From its modest beginnings with only a handful of teens and limited funding, L.A. Youth has since become the largest independent newspaper by and about teens in the USA . Over the past 20 years, LA. Youth has provided a forum for thousands of teens-- addressing controversial issues such as sexuality, racism, drug abuse and violence-- to the more “ordinary” topics of finding a job, dating, fashion, and music trends. “The youth-driven content has generated mostly very positive and even touching feedback from our readers,” Myrow said, “Although there have been occasional threats made by individuals who don’t like what we are doing, we will continue to encourage the principles of the First Amendment so that young people can have their voice heard.” In honor of their 20th anniversary, L.A. Youth will publish a special commemorative anniversary edition, featuring a selection of the best articles from past and current issues. Quotes of congratulations from legendary newsman Walter Cronkite as well as from several prominent journalists including Bill Moyers, Mike Wallace, Larry King, Keith Olbmermann, Patt Morrison, Giselle Fernandez, Joel Stein and others will be featured throughout the pages. Said Mr. Cronkite: “I congratulate and wholeheartedly applaud LA Youth Newspaper for 20 years of motivating teenagers to become journalists. I was fortunate indeed, to have had that opportunity in high school and it set my course for life. It is vitally important for our young people to become active in our country’s civic dialogue, giving their voices to those issues that effect their environment and their lives. I don’t believe there is a better way for them to do this than to be the reporters of those events. They and the readership of LA Youth will benefit greatly from the experience. The future of America depends on it. And, I might add, it also bodes well for the future of journalism.” L.A. Youth serves as a model for other teen publications and its stories have been reprinted or referenced in mainstream media domestically and globally including: Time, CNN, BBC, National Public Radio, The Los Angeles Times, McGraw-Hill, Voice of America among other prominent media outlets. Having grown from an initial press run of 2,500 copies, L.A. Youth now prints 120,000 copies six times a year. More than 1,300 middle and high school teachers use the publication to develop lesson plans that engage students on a variety of important social issues. Through the Foster Youth Writing and Education Project, which began in Fall 2003, L.A. Youth also mentors, trains, and publishes stories written by foster and probation youth, providing a forum to voice concerns, while also informing others about the system and the respective challenges. With a strong presence on the internet, including the popular site, YouTube, Myrow estimates that L.A. Youth reaches more than half a million readers. According to Myrow and her staff, “We’re still growing…up!” L.A. Youth is published by Youth News Service (YNS), a not-for-profit corporation. Offices are located at 5967 W. Third St, Suite 301 , Los Angeles , CA 90036 . Web site: http://www.layouth.com. ### CONTACT: Melissa Havard, Media Relations email:
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. Ph: (310) 770-7959
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