Chasing Stories with Austin Dave

When you’re having a quiet night at home and suddenly you hear sirens buzzing in the near distance and all you can think about is what in the world is going on? You quickly find a local news channel either on the radio or television and you get your answer. Have you ever wondered how or even who is the person that does this coverage?
Austin Dave, a local Santa Clarita resident, is that person who uses his skills as a reporter to inform the masses on breaking news. For Austin he has always enjoyed film and came into journalism by chance. “I got into journalism by accident, I went to College of the Canyons and asked about their film making program, registered and on the first day of class I walked into the wrong classroom, I wanted film but ended up in the news journalism class,” Austin stated. Austin would not figure it out until it was too late to drop the class. “This was ok for me because I ended up loving the class,” Austin added. This would launch his new-found love for journalism and combine it with his love for film.
On a typical day, Austin gets a lot of his leads from listening to the police scanners. “If it’s a windy night or very hot and dry I leave the scanner on all night and listen for the special sound that goes off when units in Santa Clarita are being dispatched,” Austin added. When he is unable to get out there and chase the stories himself, he has information sent in from other sources. “If I do not have a chance to chase stories, I will have people send in their video and photos,” Austin stated. Every day he takes a chance and delves into things people tend to keep away from, ready with camera in hand.
For Austin, news has always been a part of his life, even as a young boy he would take interest watching the news and knowing what is going on in the world. “I grew up in Canyon Country on Jakes Way, and the police where always in that area, so I developed a natural curiosity for what’s going on around me, I can remember being 8 or 9 and going up to the police and asking what just happened and they would just look at me like, ‘who is this kid’ even then I should have known that journalism was my calling,” Austin commented.
When he is not chasing the story, he works full time at College of the Canyons where he manages the broadcast and media facility, “At COC, I am able to take what I have learned in the field and put it into practical application for the students,” Austin shared. This has turned into a passion for him as he is able to show the students the how and why while building an arena for them to safely learn. “I love sharing my experiences on how to get here and how to get places and seeing what the students come up with after they leave the program,” Austin commented.
Going towards the future Austin plans on going towards hard hitting issues and giving the voices to the voiceless. “At some point I want to go into network news and travel around the country and tell stories. I love tackling issue based stores like homelessness, drug addiction and people being marginalized. When you think of something like homelessness, people who experience do not have a way to speak out, people tend to ignore them and I want to help give them a voice,” Austin added.

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