Video: A look inside the new gym at The Great James Madison High School
Dallas Free Press Journalism Pathway Fellow Imani Burton gives a tour of the new gymnasium at “The Great” James Madison High School.
The renovation came from a nearly $29 million investment funded through Dallas Independent School District’s voter-approved $1.6 billion 2015 bond package.
Construction began in spring 2021 and was completed in fall 2025, just in time for the boys basketball team to start their run to become the UIL 3A Division I State Basketball Champions. Other features included in the two-story gym renovation are new locker rooms, a weight room, laundry room and updated offices for coaches.
The Dallas Free Press Journalism Pathway Fellowship program supports high school students in reporting on their communities. Fellows are based at Dr. L.G. Pinkston Sr. High School in West Dallas and “The Great” James Madison High School in South Dallas. They learn reporting skills and gain real journalism experience covering stories from their campuses.
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Prior to joining the Dallas Free Press as a visual journalist, Camilo Diaz Jr. was a video intern at KERA, the NPR and PBS member station for North Texas, where he developed a deep appreciation for video production, making his inner child smile by working at a station he watched growing up. He also worked as a multimedia fellow at the Fort Worth Report, covering local news in his hometown. As a teenager, he began documenting his community and identity through photography, leading him to the world of photojournalism. He went on to earn a bachelor’s degree in journalism with a concentration in photojournalism from the University of North Texas.
Beat: Visual and multimedia approach to capturing community and civic life
The images of our communities that appear in local news media are mostly of crime and blight, which doesn’t at all reflect their beauty and assets. This visual journalist sees neighbors and captures community and civic life in all of its facets. The journalist is a multimedia reporter with a photographic eye, who has the skills to meld images, video and audio for storytelling, and the desire to reach under-covered audiences.
