The Commonwealth Club of San Francisco, a national public affairs forum, hosted a journalism conference for Bay Area high school students on Thursday, Oct. 31. NBC Bay Area investigative reporter Bigad Shaban spoke at the event, along with San Francisco State University Journalism Professor Laura Moorhead. 

Student journalists from MVHS, Ygnacio Valley High School, Berkeley High School and The Branson School attended the convention. After Shaban’s speech, students participated in breakout and large-group discussions on ethical issues surrounding reporting.

The Commonwealth Club hosts hundreds of such events on a variety of social, political and economic topics to a variety of audiences. The Club approached Shaban — who has worked in broadcast journalism for almost 20 years and has won several awards, including the Peabody Award and two Emmys — as part of an effort to expand their programming for young journalists. Shaban’s speech, interspersed with anecdotes from his decades of experience, underscored the creativity necessary in great reporting. It also emphasized the importance of showcasing a variety of underrepresented perspectives and telling stories in the context of the truth. Shaban credits his mentors for introducing him to and preparing him for the formidable industry of journalism, an influence he hopes to extend to a younger generation of aspiring reporters.

“We need more great journalists,” Shaban said. “Bringing about a positive change or lasting impact is a difficult path to navigate. It can be an intimidating career, and I think being able to have more people reporting is incredibly important because there are so many stories to tell out there. We need different people to tell stories in different ways — when you have an idea of how you think things are going to go, things constantly surprise you, and that’s the thing that makes this job so beautiful.”