Based on the name of the old town criers who used to deliver the news, The SCV Proclaimer is a brand spanking new news source online. Our staff of young and diverse reporters are dedicated to presenting the news fairly in the Santa Clarita Valley instead of the same old, same old which we have seen before.
Our Staff:
Stephen Daniels, Publisher/Host of “The Talk of Santa Clarita”
Originally from Kentucky, Stephen moved to Santa Clarita in 1993 to obtain his Master of Fine Arts degree in Film Production at the California Institute of the Arts. He has several years of experience working for non-profits and community radio. Stephen’s experiences with both inspired him to create the non-profit, Radio Free Santa Clarita, Inc. – an organization dedicated “To inform, educate and (hopefully) entertain the SCV” with different forms of alternative media.
He has been the host of “The Talk of Santa Clarita” podcast for five years and has done more than 160 shows interviewing everyone from unique people of interest, to congresspeople and even a presidential candidate. Despite his ties to media, Stephen prefers to not consider himself a journalist. Instead he says, “I’m just a guy who talks to people. I just happen to record it when I do.”
Ryan Mancini, Editor-in-chief
Ryan Mancini is a journalist, editor and a graduate of California State University, Northridge. Born in Los Angeles, he and his family moved to the Santa Clarita Valley in 2002. He previously covered local news for The Daily Sundial and The Santa Clarita Valley Signal, and he is also a host of the arts and entertainment podcast “Mars on Life.”
Kenneth Berry, Social Media Manager
Born in East Oakland and raised in the South Bay, Kenneth Berry has always seen the world from a culturally rich perspective. Kenny graduated from CSUN in 2019 and, before graduation, helped launch a podcast network at The Daily Sundial and recruited editors, staffers, acquired lots of free food and ran The Sundial’s social media accounts all while interning for PBS. When he’s not running The Proclaimer’s Twitter and Instagram accounts or creating guidelines and captions, he hosts his own podcast, “Touchdowns and Tangents,” which is going five years and over 230 episodes strong, as well as being a proud uncle.
Savanna Birchfield, Staff Writer
Savanna Birchfield is a 2021 graduate of California State University, Northridge, majoring in Broadcast Journalism. She spent most of her childhood in Santa Clarita and received her Associate’s Degree in both Journalism and Animation Production at College of the Canyons. She has reported in SCV as a member of COC’s Canyon News, an intern at The Santa Clarita Valley Signal, and as an independent journalist. At CSUN, she’s worked at 88.5 FM KCSN and On Point. When she is not focused on journalism, she volunteers for CAL FIRE, informing the public on fire prevention.
Noah M. Choudhury, Staff Writer
Noah M. Choudhury is a journalist who spent most of his childhood in the Santa Clarita Valley, deeply engaged with politics at both the national and local levels. A graduate of UC Santa Cruz with a degree in Social and Developmental Psychology, he is currently studying for a Masters in Computer Science. He has previously assisted in formulating and organizing advocacy strategies on behalf of the UC Santa Cruz undergraduate student body to lobby members of the Santa Cruz City Council, the California Legislature in Sacramento and Washington, D.C. on issues related to the welfare of student life. In addition to journalism, Noah is also an aspiring actor, voice actor and writer.
Matt Fernandez, Staff Writer
Matt Fernandez is a journalist specializing in entertainment news with bylines in The Daily Bruin, Variety and The Santa Clarita Valley Signal. He graduated from UCLA with degrees in History, Psychology and Film Studies. Matt is also a podcast producer whose projects include “Bleav in Overwatch League” and “Finding Founders.
Michaella Huck, Staff Writer
Michaella Huck is a Broadcast Journalism major in her third year at California State University, Northridge. While her focus is on broadcast, she enjoys the aspect of storytelling that writing allows her to do. Growing up with Dyslexia, she dedicated her childhood to learning to not use her handicap as a crutch. She is the current Arts and Entertainment Editor for The Daily Sundial, CSUN’s student-run newspaper and has written for L.A. Parent Magazine, FMhiphop and more.
Julianna Lozada, Staff Writer
Born in Danville, Illinois, and moving to Reims, France, for college, Julianna Lozada’s lived in Valencia her entire life. She’s currently a student with Sciences Po Paris and Columbia University pursuing a dual degree program specializing in politics and government, international relation, and human rights. During high school, she worked with political campaigns, sustainability, student-run activist groups and voting/elections which influenced her choosing to study politics. With a piano background, Julianna’s also become interested in the ways in which politics and social movements intersect with music and how artistic mediums can enact change. After college, she hopes to get a Masters in political journalism and work internationally.
Quynn Lubs, Staff Writer
Quynn Lubs is a journalist, born just outside of Detroit, Michigan and currently residing in Santa Clarita. Quynn’s interest in pursuing journalism began when she first started to attend backyard punk shows, realizing that there were so many talented bands and artists who deserved recognition. Quynn made it a goal to give these creatives a voice. Writing and publishing her own punk zine, JUNK! magazine, sparked Quynn’s interest in pursuing journalism and she began writing more and more, quickly discovering a passion.
Lee Barnathan, Investigative Reporter
Lee Barnathan is well acquainted with Santa Clarita, having worked at The Signal (1990-95) and the Daily News Santa Clarita bureau (1995-2002). Although he mostly worked in the sports department, he nonetheless saw many non-sports issues and people that shaped the city and valley at that time. After many years away, he returned via the Santa Clarita Gazette and Free Classifieds (2016-2020) and found many of the issues still existed. As the lead writer, he used his journalism background and desire to hold leaders accountable, helping the paper reach its highest level of notice and credibility before COVID killed it. He now brings the same desire and intensity to the monthly investigative stories he does for the Proclaimer.
