Jazlyn Guerra, aka Jazzy, isn’t the type to be star-struck. For the past two years, the 11-year-old rising journalist from Bushwick, Brooklyn, has interviewed dozens of celebrities from Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez to David Beckham to even Jay-Z, who’s widely known to not give interviews.
Embodying the skills of a seasoned professional, Guerra arrives at her interviews energized and prepared, with a mental list of questions based on thorough research. She’s also equipped with a secret weapon that sets her apart from her mostly adult counterparts: approaching each interview from a kid’s perspective.“It’s important for kids to have a platform to talk about different topics,” says Guerra, which is why her interviews are geared toward her age group.
While he doesn’t take credit for her natural reporting skills, Guerra’s father, Luis DeHoyos, attributes Guerra’s general professionalism to the household in which she grew up in. “[Jazzy] has very strong communication skills, she’s able to articulate herself, her questions are very respectful and authentic—those are values that we instill in her in the house,” says DeHoyos. “That’s extremely important no matter what realm she decides to dive into.”
For now, Guerra’s intent on continuing to pursue a path in journalism. Sweet July spoke to Guerra about why she’s passionate about the field, the people who inspire her most and her professional plans for the future.
Can you talk about how you got started with these interviews?
Jazlyn Guerra: It happened two years ago. Me and my brothers went to get autographs by different athletes. And I thought it was really fun, but then after some time, I realized that we could do something constructive with our time. I really loved learning more information about people and learning the inside story, and speaking to different types of people. I was very confident in myself. That’s when I decided, hey, we have a mic; how about I start a YouTube channel? I can just do what I like doing best. I like asking people questions. That’s how it started.
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How do you decide who you want to interview?
JG: I have a whole list of celebrities I would love to interview. I cross off every celebrity after I interview them. Sometimes it’s just a coincidence when I just find different celebrities. I remember I was in Florida and coincidentally, Jake Paul came out of his building and I just got questions off the top of my mind.
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What do you think is unique about your interviewing style?
JG: I get to ask questions from a kid’s perspective that people don’t really see. I’m a young Afro-Latina and you don’t really see that many women doing interviews or doing journalism on camera. I think that I have what it takes to stop journalism from only being an adult or a man-only career.
What are your future professional goals?
JG: In the future, I want to become a host on my own talk show. Specifically, a kid host on my own kid talk show, where I get to talk about kid topics [in connection to] topics like entertainment, or sports, or anything like that. I think that’d be really cool. It’s important for kids to have a platform to talk about different topics that they would like to talk about. Kids don’t really have a show to relate to; they don’t have a platform where they could come on TV and say their opinions and say what they’re thinking.
Do you have a person or people who inspire you?
JG: Oprah Winfrey inspires me. Jay-Z inspires me, too, and Michelle Obama also inspires me.
You also recently interviewed Jay-Z. How do you come up with the questions you ask for these interviews?
JG: I have to do a lot of research, and it takes a lot of time. I also use my own knowledge that I have about that certain celebrity.
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What is your favorite part about interviewing people?
JG: My favorite part of interviewing people is confronting them and asking them different questions from a kid’s perspective. I think I ask different questions than adults do, mostly because, well, I’m a kid. And I like asking fun questions that not many people are going to think that an 11-year-old is going to ask them or any journalist is going to ask them.
This interview has been edited and condensed for clarity.
