Sarah Soghomonian challenges media team

In celebration of National Scholastic Journalism Week, The Feather Online had the opportunity to hear from one of Fresno’s very own TV producers, Sarah Soghomonian, about journalism as a career, Feb. 22. As a TV producer and production manager of Valley PBS, Soghomonian has had a broad background in journalism for most of her life.

For Soghomonian, most of her childhood was not spent at the keys of a computer writing news stories. Her parents watched nightly news reports but personally, she did not, at first, have a special connection to journalism.

She attended Bullard High School where she was involved in leadership activities but not as much in the school newspaper. As years went on, she took interest in writing and discovering details about major events occurring in America. These major news stories drew Soghomonian to consider a career in journalism.

Sophomore Alexander Rurik has already interviewed community figures while attempting to advance his interviewing and writing skills. He also appreciates Soghomonian’s efforts to educate The Feather staff.

“Adviser Greg Stobbe has pushed me to do many different articles, many way out of my comfort zone,” Rurik said. “Because of the diversity of people I have talked to and the topics I’ve written about, my writing has improved and I’ve discovered the power of networking, many of the things Soghomonian talked to us about.”

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Once graduating high school, she headed to California State University, Fresno, where she majored in political science. But after a few short months, she changed her major to Media Communications & Journalism, from here her writing content and skills grew. This decision led to her first article to be published on the Sanger Herald. This feature on the newspaper become one of many articles to be published in many newspapers in the future.

Through college, Soghomonian’s resume continued to grow, connecting her to helpful internships and resources. Her constant climb toward to top lead her to be awarded the MCJ Outstanding Department Graduate in 2007 and finish top in her class.

Soghomonian later interned for ABC30 where she spent long days shadowing news anchors and producers. She continued to excel in the journalism world as she took on producing jobs at CBS47 and Valley PBS. After years of dedicated work she now continues to work for Valley PBS By You, where educational videos are shared via online, similar to Youtube.

The Feather staff was very appreciative of Soghomonian taking the time to come and share her story. Mariana Fikse, ’18, thought that her story fit right into the week of scholastic journalism.

“I thought the presentation Sarah gave was very helpful and informative,” Fikse said. “I am considering studying journalism in college, so her story gave me a glimpse of what that would be like. I never knew the importance of being an intern until she came and talked with us. That is probably the most interesting thing I learned. I think her presentation fit perfectly with Scholastic Journalism Week.”

John Monke, ’19, is interested in the pursuing a career in sports journalism. He enjoyed listening to Soghomonian share her personal story.

“Sarah was a great speaker for me to hear,” Monke said. “I want my job to be something like hers but in sports. She told us what majors to take for it and the best way to get started in journalism. The main point I took away from the session was that we need to be working for the future, even when it’s not super fun.”  

After an introduction about Soghomonian’s career in journalism, she spoke to The Feather staff about ways to promote and exceed in the journalism industry. With hands raised, staffers asked questions on important characteristics to have as writers. Soghomonian stressed that honesty above all was important when covering news. With many connections, she was able to be placed in leadership positions. She advises that students create connections and save their work now to show later on.

As Scholastic Journalism Week comes to a conclusion, let The Feather know where you get your news, why it is important to you and/or why the First Amendment is so important to high school students? Use the comment section below to let us know. The Feather also has social media accounts, so if you share, please use the hashtag #SJW2017.

Valley PBS producer, Sarah Soghomonian shares journalistic insight from The Feather Online on Vimeo.

Besides working at Valley PBS, Soghomonian also writes articles for FresYes, a local online publication.

To read another article: Editors discuss need for community in journalism.

This writer can be reached via Twitter: @jennypenny8835