1. Where do you currently work and what's your role
there?
I work for the Associated Press bureau in Las Vegas.
My title is breaking news staffer; I show up to work at 6 a.m. and spend the
day writing short stories (think briefs or readers for broadcasters) about
whatever’s going on in Nevada and Utah. If the story requires a lot more
reporting, I hand it off to my co-workers in Vegas, Carson City, Reno or Salt
Lake City. But I feel like my most important role is helping set the agenda for
the day. I spend the first part of my shift scouring news outlets in both
states and sorting out the important stuff that has broader implications and
impact, from the stuff our small staff can skip. I pitch those stories to my
supervisors, and I feel I’ve accomplished my purpose when they take my
suggestions and the rest of the staff can start their day reporting without
getting bogged down in trivial things.
2. When did you come to Las Vegas? Where were you before?
Where did you go to school?
I came to Las Vegas in July 2011 after spending a few
months covering the Nevada Legislature for the AP and before that, working for
a newspaper in a small town in northern California. I went to school at Biola
University, a small, private Christian college about 15 minutes from
Disneyland.
3. What's your dream job or big career goal? I’d love
to stay with the AP, wherever that might take me, and be an expert on my beat.
I love reporting on cross-cultural issues, religion and the economy.
4. Tell us a little about your ethnic background. My
last name is German, and I’m also Swedish, English, Czechoslovakian, etc. (some
would call this a “European mutt,” but I think that term does a disservice to
how unique each of those different European ethnic roots are). I’m also a
quarter Mexican. My grandma is from the D.F. and immigrated to the U.S. when
she married my American grandpa at age 28. Spanish was my mom’s first language,
and while she didn’t teach it to us as much I wish she had, my brothers and I
have always known the full range of “tu” commands: “parate!” “sientate”
“callate!” From a young age, I longed to understand the secret language my
grandma and mom spoke amongst themselves. I started studying Spanish with a computer
program at 10 or 11, took all the classes I could in high school, majored in
Spanish in college (along with journalism), and studied abroad in Costa Rica.
Probably because of my amazing abuelita, Spanish has always been the language
of love to me, and the Hispanic culture has always felt like home.
5. What inspired you to become a journalist or public
relations professional? I think it was a coloring contest. My hometown
newspaper, The Manteca Bulletin, published kids’ art every Sunday and gave prizes
for the best drawings. I was a prolific contributor because I loved to draw and
loved the prizes I’d get. But the contest ended up hooking me to newspapers
overall. I started with the kids’ page and by looking through the colorful ads
that came every Sunday, but progressed to the real stories and started reading
the paper every day as a third grader. The people behind the familiar bylines
were my heroes. I considered other careers growing up, but realized I wanted to
pursue journalism when I became a senior in high school and worked on the
school paper. I think I was inspired by how powerful the media can be -- how it
brings hidden things to light and can stir entire communities to action.
6. What is the most difficult story you've had to
cover? What did you learn from the experience? I think politics in general can
be difficult to cover. You must constantly keep your guard up to ensure you’re
not being “used” as a tool by some campaign, and you’ve got to keep your
personal biases at bay. Covering the Legislature, you have to be shrewd -- hold
people accountable, not let them get away with vagueness or half-truths,
understand the many motivations that play into every vote. It’s not easy,
especially for people with personalities like mine, but I think one thing that
keeps you on track is understanding that you’re an advocate for the public and
you can only serve them best if you extract the truth from powerful people.
7. Of all the stories you've covered, which is your
favorite and why? Shortly after Michael Jackson’s death, I did a story about
all the Jackson impersonators that suddenly cropped up in Las Vegas. It was fun
to capture that very Vegas-ish mix of sincere love for the King of Pop and
opportunism. This story also stands out because one of the Michael Jackson
impersonators tried to ask me out, in full costume!
8. If you could interview any person, dead or alive,
who would it be and why? I recently read a book about Dietrich Bonhoeffer, a
German pastor who joined the resistance against Hitler during World War II and
ended up being executed for doing what he knew was right. I was so struck by
his courage and his ability to stand up to all his “reasonable” compatriots who
didn’t want to rock the boat by challenging the dictator. I hope that I could
be someone who’s able to recognize the right thing to do even when there are
vast tides going in the opposite direction.
9. What do you see as the biggest challenge facing
journalism or PR today? With smaller staffs, it’s becoming harder to
investigate the things that need investigating. We’re stretched so thin and
rely a lot on news releases, making the industry more vulnerable to the “spin”
people are pitching. It’s critical that journalism finds ways to be
economically viable, so we can get more people out there holding people
accountable.
10. Why did you join NAHJ Nevada and what do you hope
to get out of it? I was invited to NAHJ by my former AP co-worker, Cristina
Silva. At first I didn’t see the point in joining, but after six months, I
realize what an incredible community of journalists it has fostered. I love the
camaraderie we have, and I’m excited to see how we can help cultivate the next
generation of journalists that’s passionate about smart, sensitive coverage of
our diverse community.
11. If you were going to introduce us to the most
important people in your life, who would they be? I’d want you to meet my
incredible immediate family, including my two brothers (I’m the middle child of
three). But I really want you to meet my adorable grandma, who’s the most
loving, generous, witty 84-year-old you’ll ever know. She’s all the more cute
because she’s 4 feet 10 inches tall, has a thick Mexican accent, and named her
walker “Charlie.”
12. Tell us a fun fact we probably don't know about
you. The name of the town I grew up in is Spanish for “lard.”
