Mark Klein Pursuing Reporting Dream

Article by Mia Freneaux
    Central resident Mark Klein is really making a name for himself in the broadcast world.  The Central High School graduate, now attending Louisiana State University at Alexandria, has been involved for 4 years now in a weekly travelogue on KALB News Channel 5.  Entitled "Down Home Louisiana", the program explores the "faces and places", as Mark puts it, that make Louisiana unique.  Last September he was on the road when he caught Louis Coco hosting the "Greaser Show" on KLIL radio.  Coco's enthusiasm was so contagious, Mark and KALB News Director Keith Lawrence Weiss decided to do a segment on him.  Submitted to the Associated Press, they were delighted to learn that they had received the "Best News Feature in the State of Louisiana" Award.  It's a good bet that Mark, 19 years old at the time, is the youngest award winner! 
    Mark, already a Central celebrity through his band "Mark Klein and the Last Sensations", will be a senior this year at Louisiana College, majoring in Convergence Media. He has also kept up with his involvement in music, performing lead guitar and vocals for "The Side Men" band (look them up on Facebook).  Never one to let the grass grow under his feet, he just returned from a 2 week trip to Oxford University, England, where he participated in a national broadcasters' association education session.  It was a great opportunity to see a beautiful city and experience intense instruction at the hands of the extremely capable professorial staff.  Mark says that and his experience at KALB have been priceless. 
    Mark, who has maintained a 4.0 grade point average throughout his tenure at LC, plans to pursue a career in features reporting.  "It's fun to look for something that may not have a lot of perceived news value but makes you feel good," he enthused.  "If I can continue to do that where ever I am I would be really happy.  Every single day the job is different, it's always interesting. Like Louis Coco claims, you go to work everyday like it's the first day on the job." 
    You can see Mark's television interview on KALB.com.  Congratulations!

Top:  Mark Klein,  Photo by Reverend Charley Photography, Bottom:  Keith Weiss