PrintAs the year slowly winds down, things are revving up at California Watch and its parent organization, the Center for Investigative Reporting. In recent weeks, we’ve released stories on issues ranging from the Latino achievement gap to aggressive billing at one California hospital chain. We debuted a new landing page for our California Lost series. And, alongside the San Francisco Film Society, we launched Behind the Story, a new quarterly event that will give audiences an insider's look at the backstory of some of our major reports.
On Monday, we host our biggest and most geographically diverse Open Newsroom to date. From 9 a.m. until noon, California Watch and CIR reporters will spread out at coffeehouses across California – and even in Texas – to meet one on one with our readers (and potential readers) and hear about the issues that matter most in your community. Got tips, complaints or questions? We are here to listen and learn.
Please stop by and say hello at any of the locations listed below, or follow our tweets with the hashtag #opennews.
To find out where each reporter will be, check out the list and map below. We’d also like to take this opportunity to thank the participating coffee shops:
Ashley Alvarado: As public engagement manager, I’m focused on identifying stories in neglected communities and ensuring that these stories reach both those affected and those who can make a difference. I’ll be in La Quinta for the Open Newsroom as we prepare for a community event nearby Nov. 15 (click here for details). Location: Old Town Coffee Company, La Quinta.
Agustin Armendariz: Agustin is an investigative reporter who focuses on data analysis. These days, he’s working on getting his hooks into various sources of stimulus data. Location: Royal Grounds, Berkeley.
Andrew Becker: Andrew covers the federal judiciary for CIR and is currently reporting on the immigration court system. Follow @ABeckerCIR on Twitter for updates on immigration, the U.S.-Mexico border and homeland. Location: Sacks Coffee House, Berkeley.
Carrie Ching: Carrie manages and produces multimedia reports for CIR projects, including California Watch, The Civil Rights Cold Case Project and The Price of Sex. Location: Sacks Coffee House, Berkeley.
Michael Corey: Michael, CIR’s digital innovations editor, specializes in front-end web development, interface design and online mapping. He was also co-leader of a regional Emmy-winning project commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Buddy Holly crash. Location: Actual Cafe, Oakland.
Chase Davis: Chase performs double duty at CIR as both director of technology and a contributing reporter. His interests include technology, money and politics. Location: Temple Coffee, Sacramento.
Will Evans: After traveling and freelancing internationally, Will is focused on settling into his new beat, money and politics. He’s working on government oversight and accountability projects, with a focus on the influence of moneyed interests. KGO News Director Kevin Keeshan will join Will at his Open Newsroom. Location: Jackson Place Café, San Francisco.
Serene Fang: Based in the Bay Area, Serene is a producer, editor and videographer for our digital team. She also directs and shoots a monthly web music series for PBS Arts. Location: Remedy Coffee, Berkeley.
Meghann Farnsworth: Meghann works with editors, reporters and multimedia producers to create comprehensive distribution strategies in print, radio, television and online media outlets, as well as blogs, online communities and social media. Location: Thunderbird Coffee, Austin, Texas.
Tia Ghose: A former Kaiser Family Foundation health reporting intern at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Tia now researches homeland security for CIR. Location: The Summit SF, San Francisco.
Christina Jewett: Health and welfare reporter Christina is working on a series of stories looking at hospital practices that have an impact on public money and patient care. Location: Broadacre Coffee, Sacramento.
Mark Katches: CIR and California Watch’s editorial director previously built and ran investigative teams at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and The Orange County Register. Now, Mark is focused on ramping up our distribution and engagement efforts. Location: Yali’s Café, Berkeley.
Monica Lam: Monica is a documentary film and television producer who has traveled on five continents producing, reporting and shooting for “PBS NewsHour,” “Frontline,” “FRONTLINE/World” and other PBS programs, as well as Swiss television and MSNBC. Location: Oakland Wonder Food Bakery, Oakland.
Erica Perez: A California native, Erica covered the K-12 beat at The Orange County Register. She moved on to higher education, first at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and now at California Watch. Location: Snappy’s Café, Hayward.
Stephanie Rice: A freelance reporter based in San Francisco, Stephanie works as a copy editor and reporter for California Watch. Location: Philz Coffee, San Francisco.
Susanne Rust: Environment reporter Susanne covers a wide range of important environmental issues that Californians face. Recent articles have focused on the plastics industry’s role in shaping a textbook curriculum and the Diablo Canyon nuclear power plant. Location: Café Zoe, Menlo Park.
Robert Salladay: California Watch’s senior editor has covered California politics and government for more than a decade. Location: Literati Café, Los Angeles.
G.W. Schulz: Since joining CIR in 2008, G.W. has written primarily about homeland security. He also runs Perilous, a blog on security, privacy and the public interest. Location: Thunderbird Coffee, Austin, Texas.
La Toya Tooles: CIR’s associate web producer recently earned her master’s degree from the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism; she considers herself a platform-neutral journalist. Location: Yali’s Café, Berkeley.
Lance Williams: Lance previously worked for the San Francisco Chronicle, where he helped break many of the newspaper’s exclusive stories on the BALCO steroid scandal. With Mark Fainaru-Wada, he wrote “Game of Shadows: Barry Bonds, BALCO and the Steroids Scandal that Rocked Professional Sports.” He now writes about hospital safety and campaign finance, among other issues. Location: Philz Coffee, San Francisco.
Ariane Wu: Ariane is the distribution assistant at CIR, where she has also produced multimedia, including this look inside California Watch. Location: The Summit SF, San Francisco.
Suzanne Yada: A graduate of San Jose State University, Suzanne is a veteran web producer and social media strategist. She’s previously worked at the San Francisco Public Press, the Silicon Valley/San Jose Business Journal and the Visalia Times-Delta. Location: Café 210, Visalia.
Bernice Yeung: California Watch’s newest reporter is looking at disparities in some of California’s most remote communities as part of our newly launched California Lost project. Location: Catahoula Coffee Company, Richmond.
Denise Zapata: Denise's newspaper experience began at The Bakersfield Californian, where she covered education and county government and was later named city editor. In 2000, Denise joined The San Diego Union-Tribune as an assistant metro editor, overseeing reporters focused on local government and education. And this year, she became an associate editor for California Watch and CIR. Denise will be joined by journalists from the San Diego Union-Tribune and 10News. Location: Caffe Calabria, San Diego
View Open Newsroom November 7th 2011 in a larger map
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