9/9/2009 6:00:00 AM Young PT reporter makes it to national scene
Brennan LaBrie and his father, Denis, talk to Leader Publisher Scott Wilson during the paper’s 120th birthday party on Saturday, Sept. 5. Photo by Melanie Lockhart
By Allison Arthur of The Leader
Budding Port Townsend journalist Brennan LaBrie has been chosen as one of 12 youths nationwide to serve as a Time For Kids reporter.
The 9-year-old, who has been writing and publishing Brennan'sSpruce St. Weekly for the past year and a half, scooped The Leader on his honor Sept. 6, when he reported he had won a competition for Time magazine and would serve as a Time For Kids reporter for the 2009-10 school year.
Writing about himself, the writer-publisher said: "He became one of the 22 finalists out of 400 entries, and from there, became one of the 12 Kid reporters. Future issues will carry updates on this adventure."
LaBrie said on Monday he hopes to interview actress Cloris Leachman when she comes to the Port Townsend Film Festival and he expects to cover the 2010 Winter Olympics because he lives close to Vancouver, B.C.
Only one other young reporter, a 15-year-old girl from Leavenworth, is from Washington state, LaBrie said.
How many stories he writes is up to him. People can check out his work online at timeforkids.com.
And NPR too "It's really exciting. It's the biggest accomplishment I've had my whole life except for NPR," LaBrie said Monday of the Time For Kids honor.
LaBrie was interviewed last Saturday by Scott Simon, host of National Public Radio's "Weekend Edition."
"I was a little nervous," LaBrie said, adding that Simon made him feel at ease. "It was a great first experience being on national radio." (Check out npr.org/brennanlabrie.)
LaBrie said he learned about the Time For Kids contest through his brother Bodie's teacher, Dorothy Stengel. Stengel's class at Grant Street Elementary subscribed to LaBrie's newspaper and another publication, where she learned of the national program and suggested to Bodie that Brennan might be interested.
"I signed the form and said I'd be a good Time For Kids reporter because I'm excited about it and I've done it before and I'm pretty good at it," LaBrie said.
LaBrie has been branching out into other journalism endeavors and is interested in radio and television. He credited Jack Olmsted, a Post-Intelligencer blogger, with teaching him video blogging. Dennis Daneau also helped him make a video for the Time for Kids contest.
"I want to try all of them. Right now I'm getting into video journalism," LaBrie said.
He said he's excited about learning more about the Internet and "new ways to reach thousands of people."
"It's not just me, anyone can," he said of the new media.
LaBrie stopped by The Leader's 120th birthday party on Saturday with copies of his paper in hand. He sold some copies of his paper for 25 cents to several reporters looking to crib good material. He chatted with Leader staff about the honor and about journalism.
He intends to cut back his weekly newspaper to a monthly now that school has started and he needs to do the Kids stories, but he noted that there would be more content in the monthly publication.
He'll be attending Blue Heron Middle School through the ICE program as well as working at home on some projects.
"The monthly will be four pages and will cover things going on throughout the next month and things that happened last month," he said of not abandoning his first journalism love - the newspaper.
Besides, circulation is up because whole classes in the elementary school are subscribing to his newspaper. He's up to 150 copies now, maybe more.
And he's covering national events locally.
In a front-page story in the Sept. 6 issue of Brennan's Spruce St. Weekly, LaBrie wrote about Congressman Norm Dicks and his forum on health care in Port Townsend.
"The next question was if these forums really influence his actions or are just a sounding board for local voices. He then gave a lengthy response, but I was not sure if the answer was in it," LaBrie wrote.
Next to that story was a short piece on the start of school and a suggestion that it is time to follow the speed signs on San Juan Avenue.
A feature story on Bub's Taco stand, complete with a drawing of the red wagon, rounded out the issue.
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