By Katie Ryu
Juniors Cassidy Dalva and Rocco Fantini of Granada Hills Charter (GHC) are the founders of recently launched No Cap News. Self-described as a non-partisan source of global news for today’s youth, No Cap News is a student-run multimedia news organization. Their goal, as per their mission statement, is “to create a streamlined, easily digestible news source for others to stay in touch with the latest stories from around the world.”
Dalva and Fantini act as the editors-in-chief for the rest of the No Cap News team, which consists of coordinators, correspondents, and writers not only from GHC, but from various high schools and colleges based in Southern California. They inform readers of the world’s latest political, economic, and social developments on their official website, NoCapNews.com. Their articles are supplemented by frequent and easy-to-read posts on various social media platforms, including Instagram. No Cap News provides regular updates on COVID-19 and consistently delivers factual information regarding important world events.
Dalva and Fantini have been working on No Cap News for months now as one aspect of their Creativity, Activity, and Service project under the International Baccalaureate Diploma Programme. However, the coronavirus pandemic changed things for the two.
“Having a lot of time to spend at home provided the perfect opportunity to build a website, hire a team, write articles, and really do whatever was needed for No Cap News. In fact, this was the first time I’ve ever built a fully-functioning website, so having the time to get over the learning curve was a necessity to get things up and running,” Fantini said.
Moreover, Dalva and Fantini were becoming increasingly frustrated with the rampant misinformation and confusion regarding the outbreak. Launching No Cap News appeared more important than ever in the face of this pandemic.
“Having a non-partisan news source run by their peers is integral to empowering young people to be more engaged in politics. I believe our website states it best: our fundamental belief is that, by keeping our peers informed about major global events, they will grow to become more compassionate, globally aware individuals, ready to tackle the global challenges of the future,” Fantini said.
Embodying the colloquial meaning of the expression, “no cap,” No Cap News prides itself on being a factual, non-partisan source of news directed at the world’s youth. Dalva and Fantini, who are dedicated to delivering the unbiased truth to young people, felt that “No Cap News” was a fitting name for their news organization. They and their team continue to keep their news, as always, 100% no cap.
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