Zoe Gonzales / Daily Nexus

During Women’s History Month in March 2024, the Daily Nexus spoke with women from multiple campus organizations about their experience in the media industry.

Guadalupe Paz Coria and Olivia Nguyen — KCSB

Courtesy of Guadalupe Paz Coria

Across from the Daily Nexus’ office under Storke Tower lies the KCSB radio station, home to eclectic and non-commercial music playing all-day everyday. Behind the microphones are students, alums and Santa Barbara locals alike, two being second-year political science and data science major Guadalupe Paz Coria (DJ Bunny) and her co-host, second- year data science major Olivia Nguyen (DJ Ollie), who host their show Lip Service, a “music program combining both music history and personal anecdotes,” according to KCSB’s website, on Mondays from 3-4 a.m. 

Music is a big part of both their lives and KCSB offered them the perfect opportunity to explore their own music taste while also sharing it with everyone listening. “The radio allowed me to share music and make people feel something even though I’m not very musically talented,” Paz Coria said. “What drew me to this position as a radio host is the opportunity to surround myself with all different walks of life and be musically inspired by the diverse range of tastes within the KCSB community. I am constantly learning about new things, whether it be new artists or new genres, and I hope to be that inspiration for others as well,” Nguyen said.

Like most UCSB student journalism platforms or publications, KCSB has drawn in students with no prior experience of hosting a radio show or broadcast journalism. Both Paz Coria and Nguyen were forced to become comfortable with being uncomfortable and embrace learning something completely new, while also being live on air. They’ve now entered their second quarter hosting Lip Service.

“So far it’s been great but definitely a learning experience everyday. There’s always something new or something you’ve forgotten and getting more comfortable on air and finding music.”

“There’s definitely no shortage of tech difficulties in the studio,” Paz Coria joked.

Planning for the future, Paz Coria, although not set on becoming a professional radio DJ, has considered staying in or around the media industry. “I hope I can do radio for as long as possible. It’s not necessarily my career but I have given some thought to journalism if international relations doesn’t work. I think I’d like to see more intersectionality between topics discussed and always relating music to the bigger picture.”

The hosts of Lip Service also find it important to include female voices in the media. “It shows the female audience that they too have the potential to pursue this industry. Having equal representation is essential in creating content that is enjoyable and appropriate for all,” Nguyen said.

“Everything is told from a male, generally cis, perspective and it’s important to bring in other sides of the conversation. Also we tend to know a lot more about certain topics men rarely discuss,” Paz Coria added. 

Paz Coria’s favorite women in media include singer-songwriter Hope Sandoval and fashion and interior designer Iris Apfel. Nguyen loves singer-songwriter Lana Del Rey.

Kiana Perez-Granados — The Catalyst

Courtesy of Kiana Perez-Granados

UCSB’s The Catalyst is a creative arts magazine that acts as a student publication and a quarterly course. Students have the opportunity to learn how a magazine works while also working on their own poetry, prose and artwork to submit.

Its editor-in-chief, Kiana Perez- Granados is a fourth-year English and Black studies double major who has been working on the magazine since 2022. While her media involvement initially began with the Daily Nexus, she enrolled in the The Catalyst course her sophomore year. She decided to switch because of her growing interest in creative writing.

She decided to apply for an assistant editor position at The Catalyst in her third year after receiving positive feedback in the class, right before her term as the editor in chief. The Catalyst offered her the perfect space to combine media and writing, experimenting in page design and layout, the concept of space and even with what she wants to do in the future.

“I think it’s helped me shape what I’d like to do in the future… Hopefully entering the publishing industry or the editing industry coupled with my own creative writing endeavors,” Perez-Granados said. “When it comes to the arts, the job market is so competitive … and there’s not enough opportunities for writers to make a living. But in terms of editing there’s definitely way more stability there and I thought it was way more comforting to have that experience.”

Now holding a major editorial role, Perez-Granados admitted to writing less, focusing on her leadership skills over her writing skills. However, she also said that this has not stopped her creativity and continues to write on her own time. In the future, she hopes to find a community she has found working at The Catalyst.

“I would like there to always be a community … it definitely helps to have women to bond with that also love to write.” she shared. Through her two years at The Catalyst, Perez-Granados’ favorite part has been the gratification and satisfaction of seeing the effects of her writing, the pride she feels when seeing everything she has written and all her hard work in a tangible form.

Her role model, and favorite woman in media, is professor Catherine Barnett from a poetry workshop she did abroad.

Alexandra Goldberg — UCSB TV and USC Annenberg student

Courtesy of Alexandra Goldberg

Alexandra Goldberg’s first headline was part of a class assignment in sixth grade: “Aphrodite’s Beauty Tips.” From then on, she was hooked on journalism, from journalism summer programs to her high school paper to being a news reporter and anchor for UCSB TV, a newscasting program covering everything UCSB-related and now, University of Southern California Annenberg School for Communication and Journalism.

Coinciding with her start at UCSB TV, COVID-19 was also at its peak. So, Goldberg learned all the ins and outs during a very atypical time. She learned how to be adaptable and learned as much as she could in the setting she was given. Her third year, she became the producer, leading a team of five reporters — now out in the field instead of within the confines of social distancing and five producers and videographers.

“UCSB TV was where I really found my passion for broadcast,” she said.

At the same time, Goldberg was also working on a podcast at the Santa Barbara Independent. She calls this one of her favorite journalistic experiences as she worked as “a one-man band.”

When facing graduation at the end of her third year on campus, Goldberg decided to apply to USC Annenberg, a year long program to earn a master’s in journalism.

“I really wanted to get the complete toolbox to be a multimedia reporter and to get every skill I could in the industry and I knew a place like USC would be the place for me to really get that experience,” Goldberg said. Being interested in both national and international politics, USC gave Goldberg the chance to explore that passion in the real world. She has covered the European Union in Brussels, Belgium, the Iowa Caucus, global religion and the prime minister election in Chennai, India.

“I can confidently say I would not have these opportunities if I wasn’t in this program. I feel really thankful and really lucky that I’m able to get these experiences,” Goldberg said.

Goldberg said that it can be challenging being a woman reporting on politics, a job historically dominated by men. 

“To be a woman that’s really dedicated to this beat and to this area of expertise I think is challenging, but rewarding. I am ecstatic that more women are coming into the politics beat because some of my role models are people like Savannah Guthrie, Clarissa Ward and Rachel Scott … If it weren’t for them paving the way for women to get into politics and really be a trusted looked-at source in politics, I don’t know if I would be as inclined to be in this beat,” she said.

Goldberg is also focused on media consumption over social media and curbing the spread of misinformation along with creating a space that has journalistic integrity and ethics rather than click-bait or false news. At USC she practices adapting news and her own broadcast journalism to social media. Her role model in media is Margaret Brennan, the host of CBS’ podcast “Face the Nation.”

Nina Breister — Her Campus UCSB

Courtesy of Nina Breister

From college tips, pop culture breakdowns and relationship advice, UCSB’s chapter of Her Campus has got you covered. 

Her Campus is an online magazine written and run by college students for college students. With over 420 chapters across 14 countries, Her Campus has become one of the largest college-based media platforms in the world.

Fourth-year communication major and professional business writing minor Nina Breister, who currently serves as Co-President and Head of Public Relations, was initially drawn to Her Campus due to her interest in the media industry as a whole. Breister found herself struggling to find a sense of community on campus her sophomore year as her freshman year was online due to the COVID-19 pandemic. However, upon joining Her Campus as a writer on the editorial side, Breister found the community she sought.

“I just heard such great things about Her Campus, that it was just a really supportive group of women,” Breister said. “And so I was like, ‘I feel like this is the perfect way to start getting out of my comfort zone and trying something new.’”

Breister described her early experiences on Her Campus as a “lightbulb moment,” as she was able to develop and improve her writing skills. It also sparked a sense of professional motivation.

“Her Campus was one of the kind of pivotal moments in my college career where I realized that this is something that I kind of enjoy doing beyond school,” Breister said.

She eventually switched from writing articles to the public relations aspect of Her Campus, curating the social media presence of UCSB’s chapter. Breister’s switch was initially to fill in the gap left by former executive members, but eventually grew into her passion. “It was really interesting to look at social media and engagement, and to be a part of the process that develops the Her Campus image.”

“Having the editorial background really helped out with the PR side because I knew what I was promoting,” Breister continued. “I was very familiar with what Her Campus was, and blending those two together was really good.”

In recent years, the online image of UCSB Her Campus has grown significantly. Known as @hercampusucsb on Instagram, the account recently gained over 3,000 followers, and their TikTok account has grown to over 4,500 followers. Achievements like these can be credited to the all-women social media team behind the scenes, planning posts, brainstorming ideas and promoting articles in the process.

“It’s awesome to see the amount of creativity and just the amount of knowledge and diverse range of people who will apply for Her Campus … being able to expand on their creativity is really fascinating, and I love seeing what people bring to the table,” Briester said.

“Now that I’ve been in a leadership position in college, it makes me feel a lot more prepared, moving forward with my marketing career and feeling comfortable, you know, going head to head with other candidates,” she continued.

Breister’s favorite woman in media is her mom, Jennie Breister, who is the Senior Director of Engagement Marketing at Guild Education. Guild Education assists Fortune 1000 companies in managing adult education providers to employees.

Eva Grunburg and Tyler Smith — UCSB men’s basketball social media

Left to right: Angelica Nisbet, Tyler Smith, Eva Grunburg, Maddie Crafton (Courtesy of Lauren Washington)

The UCSB men’s basketball team’s social media presence has recently grown in popularity, gaining over 6,000 followers on TikTok with videos racking thousands of views (the most popular video at 1.7 million views). The brains behind this boost in popularity? The all-women men’s basketball social media intern team.

Two of the interns on the social media team, third-year communication majors Eva Grunburg and Tyler Smith, had previous experience running social media accounts. Smith was the social media manager for her high school women’s basketball team and currently serves as the Vice President of Marketing for her sorority, Alpha Phi.

Smith discovered the social media team position the summer before her freshman year through the UCSB basketball Instagram account. “I honestly didn’t completely know what I was signing up for,” Smith said. “I knew I had an interest in basketball and social media marketing. But I didn’t know how much I enjoyed it until we were in our position now.”

Grunburg met Smith near the end of their first year, where they bonded over their experience running social media accounts (as Grunburg ran the social media account for her freshman year residence hall, Anacapa). When Smith’s boss was looking to hire another social media intern for the team, Smith immediately thought of Grunburg.

“I didn’t know too much about basketball, but I love school spirit. And I was so excited because basketball is our only opportunity for school spirit here on this campus, so I was just like, really excited to combine those two things,” Grunburg said.

“All thanks to Tyler,” she added.

Basketball, which notoriously has a largely male audience, is often seen as inaccessible for the campus demographic. The two interns believe that their work has led the UCSB men’s basketball team to a larger audience.

“If it was only men running this [UCSB men’s basketball] account, they would miss so much of what the audience actually wants. So I feel like as college women, we can kind of understand what people want to see and kind of capitalize on that, and that’s something that we bring to the table with our experiences and voices,” Grunburg said.

“I think that it’s cool that we have the experience of being in it, but also like being able to have kind of an effect on what the media is that they produce,” Smith said.

Grunburg’s favorite woman in media is singer-songwriter Taylor Swift. “I’m a writer and I like to tell stories, whether it’s through writing or a silly little TikTok,” she said. “I think I see a lot of myself in Taylor and the way she expresses herself through her stories and her songs.”

Smith’s favorite woman in media is sports reporter Taylor Brooks, as Smith wants to continue working in sports media post-grad. “[Brooks] has made such a big name for herself within the sports community, which is something that is male- dominated. A lot of people know who she is and recognize and respect her.”

This appeared in the April 18 printed version of the Daily Nexus.