Journalism

KTLA’s Chris Schauble Speaks to Journalism Students

November 26, 2014

Chris Schauble
KTLA news anchor Chris Schauble poses for a "quake face" photo after his presentation. Photo by Alex Gillman.

 

KTLA News anchor Chris Schauble, best known for his wide-eyed, shocked expression behind the anchor desk as an earthquake struck the studio during a live broadcast earlier this year, visited CSUN’s RTDNA club to speak with journalism students to answer questions and share personal knowledge about pursuing a career in journalism.

As he prepared to show the earthquake clip to students, featuring the now famous “quake face” he made during the St. Patrick’s Day 4.4-magnitude quake, Schauble prepped students in a way for them to not just enjoy the comedy in the clip but also the seriousness of it at the same time.

“The thing that I want you to enjoy is you know that part where you’re going to mock, and you’re going to laugh and all that,” Schauble said. “But then enjoy the journalism that happens afterward. There’s some things a lot of people wouldn’t know to do.”

Schauble, 44, has been in the news business for 23 years. He was adopted in Florida before moving to Colorado where began his journalism career at the liberal arts school of Fort Lewis College in Durango, Colorado, majoring in broadcast journalism. 

He had a few internships before working at news stations in Michigan, Alabama and South Carolina before landing a job in Denver. His career then took him to Los Angeles where he has enjoyed working at KTLA for more than three and a half years. 

Schauble even has a small production company he has appropriately named Quake Face Productions. 

“KTLA is just what I thought it was by watching this station,” Schauble said. “It’s a community oriented station. We do more local news than anybody.”

Schauble shared some crucial advice with students during his Oct. 1 presentation and even recommended some key websites that could assist students with kick starting their journalism career while they are still in school. These media websites include tvjobs.com medialine.com and resumetapebook.com. 

He also made it clear to students how important putting one’s self “out there” in anyway possible, especially interning.

“Don’t get out of college and say, ‘Hey I wonder if I should intern?’ Don’t get out of college and say ‘How am I going to make my reel?’” Schauble said. “You need to start working on that yesterday.”

Knowing how hard it can be for any journalist just starting out, Schauble mentioned how much effort it took before he final got his first break.

“I saved the rejection letters I got when I applied for my first jobs out of college and I would just use that to motivate me,” Schauble said. “I got more than 50 ‘no’s’ before my first ‘yes.’ ”

Schauble later engaged with students and took the time to answer individual questions. He gave suggestions and feedback on contract negotiations, the importance of a good agent and professionalism skills. 

“One of the neat things about this time in the history of the world is you don’t have to wait for anyone to give you permission to be a personality in media,” Schauble said. “Any one of you can be your own star of your own (YouTube) channel.”

After the conclusion of his presentation, Schauble was happy to take a “quake face” group picture with those who attended, as they embraced one of the local media’s most well known anchors.

“You can either embrace what’s happening or run from it and be embarrassed,” Schauble said. “I just chose to embrace the experience that I had and utilize it in a positive way.”

 

--Alex Gillman