by Lanz Christian Bañes

I bought my first smartphone one week before I started my Chips Quinn Scholar experience in 2009 — and I’ve never regretted either.

I was naive back then, using my new phone to mess around with Facebook and play online chess, never realizing the potential journalism tool I had in my hand. But enter my CQS instructors, whose teachings have truly shaped the way I do my job.

From Tweets and pages to Final Cut and Soundslides, my head was full of so much multimedia and social media that I felt well-prepared to return home and apply my knowledge to the Times-Herald newsroom in Vallejo, Calif.

That’s just what I did. Along with my trusty Chipster friend and co-worker who had originally goaded me to into applying for a CQS internship, my newspaper launched its Facebook page and Twitter account and jumped into the multimedia fray. Every week, we were producing new multimedia pieces, driving up our website traffic.

Eventually, we became one of the most active social media newspapers in the state, easily outranking our much larger sister papers and most of California.

Through it all, I had my trusty smartphone, helping me break news through a Tweet or capture images and videos to bring a sense of grounded reality to our readers.

As time passed and technology improved, I had to get a new device. But the things I learned from being a Chipster stayed the same—something I know will always be a constant in my life.


Lanz Christian Bañes is a crime and diversity reporter for the Times-Herald in Vallejo, Calif.