As director of Youth Neighborhood News (YNN), Vanessa Denha had an enormous impact on the lives of the young people in the program. They learned to be good, ethical reporters who aren’t afraid to ask tough questions and are polite enough to listen to the answers. They learned technical and writing skills and produced stories that helped change the image of the Detroit region and the way it views itself. Under Vanessa's tutelage, YNN was nationally recognized and was one of only 15 high school programs chosen as a contributor to PBS’s NewsHour. The YNN team also earned awards from the Michigan Student Film & Video Festival, an excellence award for its news packages and an honor award. These were all terrific accomplishments for the YNN team but Vanessa’s real contribution was in working with these young people to give them confidence in themselves and a passion to learn. Every student who “graduated” from YNN has gone on to higher education and many still call Vanessa for guidance or just to check in. That speaks volumes for her impact on these terrific, talented kids who now have their eyes on a strong future. The Detroit Regional News Hub is proud to have worked with Vanessa to create this high school broadcast journalism program.
