Public radio and local television have faced their own challenges, with some markets, including San Diego and Sacramento, consolidating coverage. At the same time, more Americans are turning to social media and video platforms for news, a shift that has accelerated in the past decade.
Amid this transformation, Braun and a host of other SDCCD faculty and adjunct professors continue to prepare students for careers in journalism. The work itself, even with growing uncertainty of career availability or security, remains indispensable.
“Because truth and the media still matter. How the news is conveyed is the question,” she said. “The jobs are different now. You’re probably not going to work at a large daily newspaper, but there are jobs, vital jobs, that are still out there.”
That helps explain why San Diego City and Mesa college journalism programs remain among the more successful in the region. Program alumni include former City College student newspaper editor-in-chief David Hasemyer, who became an award-winning investigative reporter at The San Diego Union-Tribune and shared a Pulitzer Prize for national reporting at Inside Climate News; and Artie Ojeda, an Emmy Award-winning news anchor for NBC’s San Diego affiliate who spent decades covering the city he loves before retiring in 2022.
Local programs span podcasting, broadcasting, reporting, and video editing, and campus news studios are equipped with the latest tools. Newsrooms are hubs of camaraderie, where students majoring in everything from English to cyber security forge friendships that can last a lifetime.
“We’re not only teaching them skills that are applicable to the journalism industry,” said City College student media advisor and associate journalism professor Nicole Vargas. “Those same skills are also used in a wide variety of industries.” Among those skills are digital literacy, researching, fact checking, asking tough questions, and not blindly accepting everything on TikTok or YouTube as fact.
“Teaching writing, teaching editing are vital parts of our program, but teaching digital literacy might be the most vital of them all,” Vargas said. “The heart of what journalists do is question what we see.”
With Excellence magazine recently checked in with a handful of SDCCD journalism alumni to see how they are reporting in an ever-changing media landscape.
Jesus Lopez
Broadcast meteorologist Jesus Lopez had already built an impressive résumé — working for a Telemundo affiliate in Oklahoma City, an ABC affiliate in Bakersfield, and AccuWeather in College Station, Pennsylvania — before moving to San Diego in 2019 and enrolling in City College’s media production program.
“It has to be one of the top programs of its kind in the country,” said Lopez, who earned a bachelor’s degree in meteorology from the University of Miami and relocated when his husband’s job brought them to San Diego. “I always wanted to learn what happens behind the scenes, and City College is highly regarded for its hands-on training in news production, technical operations, and journalism fundamentals. It also had a production studio where I learned to edit everything. I’m using the knowledge and tools I gained from City today.”
Today, Lopez is a broadcast meteorologist for TelevisaUnivision in New York City, a position he has held for the past six years. With the skills he gained at City College, he’s embracing the rise of artificial intelligence as a tool to cross-reference forecasting models and uncover deeper data insights.
“I don’t see it as a threat to broadcasting work; it still lacks the storytelling and charisma human meteorologists bring,” he said.
Jobeth Devera
Losing her job as an NBCUniversal producer and correspondent didn’t take the storyteller out of Jobeth Devera — instead, it sharpened it. After being laid off in November 2025, she turned setback into momentum, launching "Still Eating Good," a YouTube series rooted in culture and resilience. The pocket documentaries range from a former NBA champion’s journey beyond basketball to the cultural richness illustrated through the dishes served at the San Francisco Ferry Building.
Today, she draws up to 20,000 views per episode, with steady growth and plans to expand. The title comes from evolving cultural slang, where “eating” signals thriving — capturing Devera’s outlook of pushing forward despite adversity.
“When I lost my job, I was hurt, and honestly, a little bitter,” Devera said. “But I reminded myself: I’m still a journalist. I’m still a storyteller. I’m just going to do it my own way.”
That perspective was shaped at City College, where between 2011-2012 Devera honed her craft after graduating from San Diego State University. There, she learned not just reporting and editing, but how to notice the small details that bring stories to life.
“I didn’t realize it then,” she said, “but City taught me how to truly observe. That’s what I carry into my work today.”
Walker Armstrong
College wasn’t on Walker Armstrong’s radar when he was in high school. “I didn’t even know what the SAT was,” said the Encinitas resident. After a few aimless years, he found his way to Mesa College in 2018, where the journalism program sparked his passion and changed his life.
“I was focused on doing the best I could to get to the next step,” he said. “All the professors were so focused on their students, and the journalism program was excellent. It fostered in me the belief that, hey, I can do this.”
Armstrong earned his associate degree in journalism, transferred to Boston University, and later landed his first reporting job at the Cape Cod Times, owned by USA Today. After one too many freezing winters, he returned home, joined The Coast News, freelanced for the Voice of San Diego, and then secured a job covering South County for The San Diego Union-Tribune, where he’s worked since September. “I couldn’t be happier.”
As for journalism’s uncertain future? “Will I get laid off at some point? Maybe,” he said. “But whatever happens, I’ll deal with it. Journalism is evolving, but we’ll keep adapting and roll up our sleeves to bring news to people who care about their community.”
Jakob McWhinney
A career in journalism was the furthest thing from Jakob McWhinney’s mind while growing up in La Mesa.
“My dream was to be a rock star and make music,” said the Voice of San Diego reporter who now covers education. But when gigs and part-time work dried up during the pandemic, McWhinney enrolled at City College in 2020 and took an introductory course in journalism in 2021. “I fell in love with the concept right away and decided this was something I was going to pursue.”
He hasn’t looked back. At City Times, the campus news operation, McWhinney served as podcast director, multimedia journalist, managing editor, and operations manager. That led to an internship with the Voice of San Diego, which hired him full time even before he transferred to SDSU.
“I finally feel like the work I’m doing means something that matters,” McWhinney said. “At a time like this, where traditional journalism is collapsing, working at a nonprofit, like Voice, and covering a community that you love is more important than ever.”
Like many in the industry, McWhinney is anxious about how AI and deepfakes will shape journalism’s future. For now, though, “I’m just enjoying the ride.”
Lauren Mapp
Mesa College alumna Lauren Mapp has learned to roll with the punches in a changing media landscape. A former reporter for The San Diego Union-Tribune, Mapp grew disillusioned after hedge fund company Alden Global Capital purchased the paper in 2023. Seeking a more community-driven newsroom, she teamed up with two former colleagues to launch Daylight San Diego, a nonprofit site covering areas often overlooked by the legacy media. Grants and donations have helped keep the publication afloat.
“If I was going to stay in journalism, I wanted to work somewhere not managed from corporate offices outside the area,” said Mapp, who’s also an adjunct professor at Mesa College.
It’s a far cry from what Mapp set out to do when she graduated from Mesa College in 2016. Though she was a staff writer at campus papers from elementary through high school, her goal was to become a food writer. That path shifted when she transferred to San Diego State University, landed an internship at inewsource, and secured a job at the U-T where she covered East County, indigenous communities, and senior care.
At Daylight San Diego, Mapp and her co-founders are planning a transition to a paid membership model with a $1 million annual budget and a staff of 11. “It’s a challenge, but it’s work we love.”
David Pradel
City College couldn’t have done a better job preparing David Pradel for his career as a video journalist and editor at some of San Diego’s most popular news stations. He was deeply involved with Newscene, City College’s award-winning weekly broadcast filmed in state-of-the-art studios. He honed his writing and reporting skills at City Times. And he produced several podcasts through City Times Media using the latest industry tools.
“The equipment and resources at City mirror what actual news stations and newsrooms have,” said Pradel, who earned associate degrees in broadcast news and digital journalism and now works at Fox 5/KUSI, covering everything from brush fires to off-the-beaten-path human interest stories, as well as this year’s Padres Opening Day.
“From newsroom meetings to the planning of a newscast, everything felt familiar once
I started working professionally.”
It’s a career he loves. “It’s a lot of responsibility. You have to make sure your
stories and live coverage are reported fairly, that your reporting provides information
people need, and that you remember the work you’re doing will impact people in some
way.”
Pradel, who attended City College between 2013-2017 before transferring to SDSU, admits to some anxiety about the future, but he feels ready for it. “While the transformation we’re seeing presents new challenges, it also brings new opportunities.”
Training future journalists
At City College, students can gain real-world experience through the City Times digital-first news organization, CTTV and Newscene (weekly TV news broadcast), CT Sound (student-run radio station), and CityScene (news magazine). Mesa College students can test their mettle by working at The Mesa Press campus newspaper.