A Pluot Grows in Watts

Evan Pondel
| August 20, 2009 11:19 PM TrackBacks (0) Comments (2)
I am a native Angeleno, and sadly, yesterday was my first visit to Watts. I say sadly because as a journalist covering Los Angeles, I only stepped outside of the paper's comfort zone when an editor gave me the green light. This tangentially relates to the conversation we had in class today on the supposed autonomy we, as journalists, think we have (or had), even though it ultimately depends on our editors' edicts, which depends on our editor-in-chief's edicts, which depends on our publisher's edicts ... etc.


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Autonomy is a state of mind, a notion that journalists and, perhaps, Americans, believe entitles us to operate within our own sphere of consciousness. But in reality, autonomy can create a certain degree of factionalism that could breed ignorance and apathy toward other communities.

I grew up in Los Angeles and never considered visiting Watts, even though the iconic Towers play a role in my hometown's cultural milieu. From an outsider's perspective, Watts conjures up images of riots, gang violence and rampant vandalism. So, why visit this scary, scary place? I did yesterday on a privately-chartered air-conditioned bus that served as a buffer, a veneer of sorts.

This neighborhood of 45,000, which is a mere 18 miles away from where I live, was always a lot farther in my mind because of what I perceived as disparate realities. Not so. Obesity, employment and drug use are archetypal problems throughout Los Angeles. Clearly, there are different contexts for these issues, but in the end, people in Watts want to lead happier more productive lives, and so do people in West Los Angeles.

The challenge is finding a topic, as a journalist, that Michael Parks says, "improves the performance of society by seeking truth and sharing understanding." Among the issues in Watts, child obesity is taking notice from the Los Angeles County Department of Health, according to Dr. Maxine Liggins, an area medical director who discussed health disparities in the region during our tour.          

Dr. Liggins said there are virtually no supermarkets in Watts that provide access to quality produce, so the Watts Labor Community Action Committee and the County have developed a farmers' market that sells fresh fruit and vegetables every Saturday at Ted Watkins Memorial Park.  

The fact that you can buy a pluot in Watts and West Los Angeles certainly narrows any perceived disparities between these two communities. It also could serve as a bridge to help people in West Los Angeles relate to those who live in Watts. I suppose, as a journalist, I have to start thinking less about the differences between plums and apricots, and more about why a hybrid fruit could provide a lead-in for a story and discourse that doesn't involve riots, gangs and vandalism.   

Waiting for High Tide

Evan Pondel
| August 18, 2009 11:19 PM TrackBacks (0) Comments (0)
Day in and day out, students walk beneath the letter "A" that flanks the entrances to Annenberg's east lobby, and I suspect most students have no idea who is behind this ubiquitous initial.

I do not need to regurgitate Walter Annenberg's bio. But what strikes me is that the name itself also adorns a new photography exhibition space in Century City and a recently christened public beach house in Santa Monica.

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The photography space correlates directly with Annenberg's journalistic credo. The beach house is more of a stretch, even though the previous structure that stood on the very same sand was built by newspaper baron William Randolph Hearst for actress Marion Davies.

Personally, I think there is a bit of irony in the Annenberg's $27.5 million grant that was used to support the rehabilitation and reuse of the beach house. Journalists are losing their jobs because of cataclysmic changes in the way people consume information, and one of the most venerable names in journalism is spending money on nostalgic sand.  

As a student in specialized journalism, Professor Michael Parks on Tuesday said the following are essential ingredients for the future of our craft: access, knowledge, credibility, audience, time/money and support. The last two items seem particularly poignant amid the dismal realities many journalists face today. Money and support are critical to maintaining our craft, or else journalism is at risk of becoming nothing more than a serious hobby.

Governments and philanthropists are natural targets when it comes to seeking out monetary sustenance to secure journalism's future. So, how can we, as journalists, appeal to these agencies and institutions without simply bowing down and losing our sense of dignity and, some might say, objectivity?

I reckon journalism schools should start incorporating more curriculum from business schools on how to market and sell a brand. Chris Jenkins said in class today that self-promotion is shunned or avoided by some journalists. And I must agree, the notion of becoming a salesperson and peddling my own brand of ink is foreign and uncomfortable.

That's why we need business minds to help us. How about a lecture on grant writing and what it's gonna take to turn the heads of organizations that would and could cut a check, but need a compelling thesis? Tell me how to entice advertisers, attract a book agent, or come up with a catchy slogan so that I can simply make a living doing something I love.  

Journalists need to start taking copious notes from entrepreneurs, otherwise our craft, our profession, our passion is merely a sandcastle waiting for high tide. 

Video Assignments

Evan Pondel
| August 16, 2009 5:30 PM TrackBacks (0) Comments (1)
Below is my 34-second interview with a worm farmer who sells her homemade soil at the Santa Monica Farmers' Market. 



And here is my example of the BBC five shot rule. Full disclosure: Mary cuts my hair, too.

Trick or Tweet

Evan Pondel
| August 14, 2009 2:16 PM TrackBacks (0) Comments (1)

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I'm not a technophobe, even though I own five typewriters and a rotary phone. Technologically speaking, my journalism career has gone in reverse. It began at WSJ.com, then the Los Angeles Daily News, and now I'm back in school questioning my devolution.

When I started at WSJ.com in the late 1990s as a news assistant, most of my colleagues perceived the Journal's online edition as a prelude to working for the print edition. Day after day, I was compiling European and Asian market stories for WSJ.com, in addition to pitching features to my editor that I dreamed were destined for print.

Impatient and disillusioned from compiling wire copy for the Web, I departed from WSJ.com in search of what I thought was a proper journalism experience. I was soon hired as a business reporter in a coffee-stained newsroom filled with crumdgeons and hidden liquor cabinets. The experience satisfied my own romantic ideals about working as a print reporter in the trenches. I also realized that the lines defining online and print journalism were blurring.

So, now what? I'm sitting in a lecture hall learning about the merits of Twitter, blogging, and video. And yet, I still yearn for days of yore. Print appealed to me early on because of the anonymity it afforded the reporter. You didn't have to have a brand, a personality, a blog, to appeal to your readers. You didn't have to Tweet about what you thought was neat about the world. 

Is it possible that your relevance as a journalist is now dictated by how many followers you have on Twitter? I certainly hope not. Journalists should be judged on the light they shed on the dark corners and crevices of the world, not 140 characters about what they ate for breakfast, lunch and dinner. 

Granted, I imagine most journalists do not perceive Twitter as a primary source of news. But how about the lay public? Perhaps the lay public doesn't care about the source of their information as long as they are able to digest it efficiently. And that means the onus is on journalists to get involved in Twitter to ensure that Tweets are credible. 

Credible tweets. How nauseating.

Big Top Media

Evan Pondel
| August 12, 2009 11:09 PM TrackBacks (0) Comments (3)

Media, at least mainstream media, has gone the way of the circus, according to Professor Howard Gillman, dean of the USC College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, who spoke Tuesday night at the University Club.

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Indeed, many of us practitioners of mainstream media are finding ourselves in a precarious position, attempting to find the right balance between distilling information the we, our editors and sources believe is credible and valuable, and information that is entertaining and compelling enough to keep our readers from abandoning ship.

Yes, Dean Gillman, we, the media, are engaged in a high wire act, attempting to move seamlessly across a tight rope that connects legacy journalism and new media. The problem is, if academics, such as yourself, have the power and prestige to shape young mutable minds and influence society, then I implore you to read a newspaper, whether digital or pulp. It will imbue your critique on present day media with much more credibility, and ensure that the information you are lapping up from the Daily Show and Colbert Report is more than comedic dribble.

I do agree, though, that Five Thirty Eight has done an excellent job analyzing political data. Now if only mainstream folks, and I do mean mainstream folks in the most folksy way (not 13 year olds who read the New Yorker), understood the value of Five Thirty Eight then perhaps we would have a much more informed electorate. But the fact is, most people don't have the time to digest polling analysis. Have you tried reading Five Thirty Eight while eating your Wheaties? I think not.

So where is the balance? Maybe Politico is a more mainstream approach to covering political news. I find its content informative and entertaining.

You see, Dean Gillman, the circus you speak of is in the eyes of the beholder, and when you generalize that the media has become a circus, you do a disservice to the very students who walk the halls of your university. I believe your sentiment toward media perpetuates a resounding cynicism that discourages students from pursuing careers in journalism.

Perhaps it's time that leaders like yourself champion media, including publications such as the Los Angeles Times. But first, you should probably read the newspaper.