2008 Woodie Awards
De Anza's Insider magazine offers student guide to the campus
Dan Sealana
Issue date: 9/25/06 Section: News
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Insider magazine, a students' guide to the people and places of De Anza College, is now available on campus newsstands.
The 72-page magazine was produced by De Anza College's journalism program.
It was designed to be a fun introduction to the campus for new students, and entertainment for De Anza's old-timers.
Reza Kazempour, who was the publisher of Insider, said he enjoyed spending time in the summer to produce the magazine.
Kazempour gained experience in journalism at De Anza while a staff writer and managing editor of the campus newspaper, La Voz. Although working for La Voz helped Kazempour lead the magazine staff, he said that working on Insider was a different experience.
"The magazine was pretty cool because it gave me a lot of freedom to do what I wanted. With the newspaper, your role is very limited in terms of what your assignment is."
In addition to the printed magazine, Insider also has a companion Web site, www.DeAnzaInsider.com, that will feature videos and articles not printed in the magazine.
The staff of Insider decided early in production that they wanted to keep the tone of the magazine upbeat and positive. Before production began, they decided to drop two stories that they felt were too serious.
One story was about Al DeGuzman, a former De Anza student who was convicted in 2002 of planning a shooting spree on campus.
The other proposed story dealt with Alexandre Hochstraser, a former De Anza staff member who is on trial for murder.
"[The stories] just felt out of place," Kazempour said.
Copies of the magazine were shipped to De Anza last Friday, so that they would be on campus in time for the first day of classes.
Students who were interested in being on the magazine staff signed up for Journalism 61 during the summer quarter.
Since La Voz does not publish during the summer, the magazine class was able to use the Journalism department facilities during the newspaper's hiatus.
Although members of the magazine staff told La Voz that being on the Insider was a positive experience, the magazine did hit a few snags along the way.
As the deadline to send the magazine to the printing press approached, it was uncertain where funds for the production would come from.
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