A self-described “smart-ass” in high school, Daniel Ito sits in his English class, slouched in his seat & trading wisecracks with his friends. His teacher gives the class an assignment: break into groups and write a creative essay to present to the class. His classmates push their chairs together, leaving Daniel and his friends in a group. The three of them laugh, saying “I guess we’re the dumb group.”

They each write their own essay, but choose Daniel’s paper to present to the class. After all the groups read their essays, the teacher chooses one winning essay— and the author turns out to be no one other than Daniel Ito.

The Hilo boy began making waves in the journalism industry at a young age. Attending college in San Diego, Daniel landed his first internship at Surfing Magazine. His work can be found in publications such as ESPN, Hawaii Magazine and Free Surf Magazine.

All about the waves, young Daniel spent most of his days burying his nose in surf magazines. Little did he know that he would turn his passions for surf and storytelling into a career.

Q + A with Daniel Ito

+ What's your favorite part of journalism?

By far it’s being the champion of the little guys. Secondly, I love talking with people. I love hearing people’s stories and telling people’s stories. I find the further I get in my career as an editor and digital media director, I have less opportunity to do that. I oversee a lot of other people’s content that they create. Yet, I feel genuinely drawn to situations where I have eight hours to turn around a 700 word story and a stressful deadline.

+ What skills are needed for a career in journalism?

You need to have a strong writing background. You need to be good in front of the camera and behind the camera. You need to know how to shoot photos, edit photos, shoot video, edit video, and really have a good understanding of search engine optimization and website platforms. What should be as multidimensional as possible. I see that from the kids now. There are interns who don’t know how to do newswriting, but they can edit long form video at a professional grade look. Kids are doing it just for fun, and if it’s not fun for you, you really shouldn’t be in the field at all. You’ll burn out fast.

+ What can a student who is interested in journalism do right now?

The first thing kids can do is read the newspaper every day and watch the news every day. I’m not talking about social media timelines. I’m talking read the newspaper cover to cover and watch the news beginning to end. The second thing you can do is seek out a mentor. Contact the Hawaii Journalism Association, contact your school counselor, write for your school paper, do an internship.

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