Native unfazed by news media’s troubles

Costa Mesa native Ashley Lystne, who was chosen from a pool of thousands of applicants to help produce National Public Radio’s “News and Notes,” is giving journalism her best shot, despite the dire state of the industry.

Lystne, 20, recently flew to Washington D.C., for the premiere of a national web broadcast produced, directed and reported by NPR interns called “Intern Edition.” It goes online today and as one of the major contributors to the effort, Lystne felt like she should be present at the unveiling.

Despite her standout journalistic résumé that won her the internship, coworkers aren’t exactly optimistic about Lystne’s future.

“Every time we have a meeting, someone from NPR feels the need to address us and say, ‘Journalism is really shaky. Are you sure you want to do this? There are other things you can do with your life that will be easier,’ ” Lystne said.

Now the co-editor in chief of the Cal Literature and Arts Magazine at UC Berkeley, where she is studying English, Lystne got her start in reporting and writing at Calvary Chapel High School.

While there, she brought back the then-defunct school newspaper with the help of some schoolmates. “The Premier,” as the publication is called, became a voice for students to talk about happenings inside the school and around the country.

“When I entered Calvary Chapel, there were no student publications. Three or four friends and I established the school newspaper junior year. We’re just kind of hoping that other people will pick it up,” Lystne said.

Since high school graduation, Lystne has not kept up with the happenings at Calvary Chapel — she has some ideological differences with the school’s administration, she said. But the newspaper is still running strong, Vice Principal Paul Woo said. It has even expanded to include coverage of school sports and a popular game section that challenges students to look for clues around the school to solve a puzzle in the hope of winning free tickets to the school’s formal dance.

Even though many news outlets have fallen on troubled times, Lystne thinks there will still be a bright future heralded by the younger generations.

“I think our generation sees bigger opportunities in new media that other gens don’t think are credible or worthwhile,” she said. “People who didn’t grow up with the Internet don’t have as much faith in it as we do.”

ALAN BLANK may be reached at (714) 966-4623 or at alan.blank@latimes.com.