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The SBMS Teen Press an online media publication representing teens and families in the Santa Barbara area and the local region, covering newsworthy events and individuals, and reviewing films, concerts and performances in Santa Barbara and beyond.

Operating out of Santa Barbara Middle School, the Teen Press has travelled to Washington, D.C. to cover the inauguration of President Obama, to Austin,TX to cover South by Southwest Festivals, twice to Las Vegas to INTERBIKE to review products and interview bicycle noteworthies, and twice to San Francisco to cover Macworld Expo

The Teen Press was originally formed in order to cover the 22nd Santa Barbara International Film Festival, which it continues to report on annually (23rd, 24th, 25th, 26th, 27th, 28th--and now the 29th!), and has since covered diverse topics including global warming, gun violence, city planning and the controversy surrounding the Santa Barbara News Press.

In honor of the 29th Santa Barbara International Film Festival, here is a sampling of the many amazing interview opportunities we've been granted since 2007:

Click on an image or link to see the interview...


Some notable figures interviewed by the Teen Press include former V.P. Al Gore, candidate for President Dennis Kucinich,the Reverend Jesse Jackson, Congresswoman Lois Capps, Anglelina Jolie & Brad Pitt, Helen Mirren, Will Smith, Forest Whitaker, Ray Bradbury, Jack Johnson, and scores of others. The Teen Press is happy to be a partner with The Lobero Theatre, providing coverage of select live performance events to our teen audience.


The Teen Press is comprised of student journalists who research, schedule and conduct interviews for their own stories, as well as write, create audio blogs, shoot and edit videos for online publishing under the direction of faculty advisors John Seigel Boettner, and David Teton-Landis. Teen staff members change three times in the academic year, and are admitted to the Teen Press on the basis of an application, sample work and teacher recommendations.


The Teen Press website has had approximately 85,000 viewers in the last twelve months, including visitors from North America, Europe, Africa and Asia. As of January, 2014, our channel statistics show over 471,000 YouTube viewings.



The SBMS Teen Press wishes to thank all of those individuals and organizations who have made it possible to explore the world of journalism by giving us their time and/or resources, in the form of an interview or by facilitating our access, or by sponsoring our activities.

A VERY SPECIAL thanks to:

Will SmithAL GoreFestival VolunteersMickey RourkeAnnette Bening and Warren BeattyRichard JenkinsKate WinsletJavier BardemJulianne MooreLouie PsihoyosCarey MulliganColin FirthAngelina JolieDanny BoyleViola DavisQuentin TarantinoMarion CotillardJulie ChristieSean PennJason ReitmanGore VerbinskiOctavia SpencerChristopher NolanElle FanningMike deGruyHarrison FordRobert DeNiroJames FrancoNicole KidmanClint EastwoodSandra BullockBrad PittCate BlanchettMartin ScorseseAmy AdamsQuvenzhane WallisBen AffleckJennifer LawrenceDaniel Day LewisBen AffleckJennifer LawrenceDaniel Day Lewis