She’s gone from using her hairbrush as a microphone at age 5 to graduating to a real microphone years later, creating news content first for kids and now for Gen Zs and older.
Walnut Creek’s Anya Gupta, 16, has created a nonprofit called KFN (Key Future News) with its own YouTube news channel (youtube.com/@KeyFutureNews). Gupta is also a dual-enrolled home-schooled student and business student at Pleasant Hill’s Diablo Valley College (DVC) aiming to not only graduate high school early, but also cram two years of community college into one and walk DVC’s graduation stage next year.
KFN first stood for Kids Friendly News, but Gupta says she outgrew the title and message and kept the same acronyms.
“I decided to name the channel Key Future News in the aspect that KFN news is the ‘key to your future,’ ” said Gupta. “That’s what we’re going for now — predictions of future industries, what your future will be like, interviewing professionals on their predictions, things to do and know right now to change the future.”
More than 198 videos later, running one to three minutes long (some longer), Gupta feels news is not just important but crucial.
“I think it’s really important we all stay up to date on things that affect and impact our lives and the lives of people around us. I also think there’s so much happening in the world: politics, tech, science, AI, change and so much more,” she said. “News channels help educate us on everything that’s happening locally, nationally and globally, and I’m so thankful that news exists.”
Gupta, who is also a board member of the Contra Costa Behavioral Health Board, which focuses on mental health and substance use awareness, says she loves the opportunity to educate and raise the consciousness of her viewers.
“This is why I do KFN as well, because while there are lots of news channels out there, I make videos for people who might not have heard about the specific news until they see the KFN video — even if it’s a small impact, it still is one,” she said.
Her current plans are to start focusing on quick and engaging content on YouTube Shorts, Instagram and Tiktok — with hopes to grab the attention of an audience in their late teens to late 20s.
“I’ve noticed a big reason why people (mainly teens and kids) choose to not watch news is because it’s complicated or unclear as to what the news is about,” said Gupta.
Her parents are delighted with what she’s doing.
“[I’m] very proud of her, how she’s making the videos, how she’s changing to see what the market needs and how she’s redefining her strategy,” said her dad, Prashant Gupta. “I think this is giving her a good taste of life and seeing what works — and if it doesn’t work, how to pivot to make it better.”
Her mom, Reena Gupta, is equally pleased.
“I’m so proud of Anya,” she said. “(From) seeing my little girl making fun slime videos [when she was 5] to sharing news videos and now to interviewing industry experts. It’s been a beautiful journey. I see her following her dreams and her passion in anything she does — be it her studies, news channel, volunteering. As a mom, seeing her grow into a beautiful, confident and thoughtful young lady makes me feel so happy.”
Gupta’s recording process, which takes roughly an hour, is simple and efficient, shot in one take, using her tripod in her room or on location.
“I write a script, record the video, merge the clips (which takes around 10 minutes), remove the background, edit, create a thumbnail and work on SEO (search engine optimization), and then I post on Sunday,” she said. “Recently, I started focusing on building KFN’s Instagram (instagram.com/keyfuturenews) as well, so I post there too.”
She memorizes her scripts a few sentences at a time.
“I might upgrade to using a teleprompter soon, but for now, my memorization skills are working great,” said Gupta.
While one might think Gupta’s goal is to become a news anchor, she says it’s not but won’t rule it out. For now, though, she hopes to attend Berkeley’s Haas School of Business after DVC.
Career-wise, she’s excited about the many options available.
“I have dreams of potentially going into law. I love business, especially finance, sales and management, and I don’t know how, but I somehow want to tie this to a law career and also maybe government work,” said Gupta. “I’ve also had this dream for the longest time of joining the CIA and doing work in cybersecurity, so I’m not completely sure what I want to do, but I know I’m excited for what the future holds.”
With graduation a year away, her goals for now are to maintain her 4.0 grade point average, continue to grow her KFN channel and look for other students who want to join her news team.
“I want to grow KFN because I see it as a way to build a strong and informed community, especially among young people who are often overlooked by traditional news platforms. There’s a huge gap in content that speaks to Gen Z in a way that’s relevant, engaging and also future-focused,” she said. “KFN isn’t just about reporting facts, it’s about helping people understand what today’s news means for tomorrow.”
Her YouTube and Instagram sites can be found at the links above.
Reach Charleen Earley, a freelance writer and journalism professor at Diablo Valley college, at charleenbearley@gmail.com or 925-383-3072.