By Paul Koidis As a quickly emerging household name in Toronto, TV news reporter Kris Reyes is also a believer in the age-old power of stories, even in these modern times. "I liked to tell stories," says Reyes, a graduate of Centennial College's Journalism Fast-Track program and regular on Citytv News, of her career choice. "If you break down all the complicated definitions of journalism, I think at the heart of it all you'll find that it's really just about telling stories." Reyes explains she always wanted to be an observer of world events, and views the profession of journalism and storytelling as a means to help people understand the world around them. Even with the advent of new technologies that provide almost instant information via blogs, text messaging, and social media, etc., the world still needs journalists to help transform raw data into meaningful information. "I think most people understand complicated theories, multi-layered world events, and complex characters through the stories we tell each other," Reyes says. Reyes credits her time at Centennial College as being an important step in her career, especially from a professional point of view. "Centennial was a great place for me to connect with people in the industry. My teachers at Centennial helped me get my first internship at CTV and also to land an internship in Washington, DC. They were always supportive of my enthusiasm which is all you can really ask for in a program," Reyes says. Even though she is becoming an instantly recognizable face on TV, more importantly, Reyes may also be representing a new generation of journalists who are looking at ways the ancient power of storytelling is being manifest in a fast-paced and 21st century technology embedded world. As a regular user of Facebook, the addictive social media site that has been both plague and panacea to communicators, teens, parents, employers, students, and educators alike, Reyes adapts the new technology for a very old-fashioned and important social use. "Facebook is kind of my personal town hall meeting/speakers corner for our viewers. It's a chance for me to open up the discussion we're having on CityOnline on the web." Reyes says. "I post links to stories I'm covering and use the video feature to talk directly to my Facebook community, a great place to connect with people who have stories." In the past, there was such a barrier of access into journalism or the means of being a reporter. But now the web is making it possible for everyone to be a journalist and in the next few years, we will see a lot important stories emerge that were ignored by mainstream media, Reyes says. So will this new technology forever change journalism? Not really, according to Reyes. Journalism isn't changing as much as the ways in which news is delivered and received is changing, she suggests. But it does present some new opportunities for emerging reporters. "At this point in the industry, the only advice I would give to an aspiring journalist is to take a back pack, fill it with a laptop, an SLR, an HD Cam, an iPhone and the ever-valuable Canadian passport ... learn to use all those tools and go out and tell those really, really good stories," Reyes says. "We are in the very early stages of a borderless world. Don't let where you live confine you." And no matter what new technology may bring, remember that the storytelling aspect of journalism will always be at the heart of the matter. "Even when you are trying to uncover lies and corruption, to give voice to the voiceless, which are your traditional battle cries for journalism, all we're really trying to do is to tell the story of the human being affected by his/her environment, country, society, etc." Reyes says. "I think what we can't forget is how important that is." Media Contact: Paul Koidis, Manager, Communications, Marketing and Development pkoidis@centennialcollege.ca / 416.289.5000 ext. 8609 | 
