Posts Tagged: media

Parenthetical phrase hits the nail on the head

Sometimes it’s the little side comments people make that are most telling. This could certainly be true in a brief Chico Enterprise-Record story published over the weekend about artisan olive growers. In the lead sentence, business editor Laura Urseny called UC Cooperative Extension “food and farm information central.” That’s a label I think we could get used to. For the brief, UC Cooperative Extension farm advisor Paul Vossen told the writer that about 25 percent of California's olive oil comes from small artisan producers and nearly all California olive oil is fresher and better tasting than imported oil.

Antioxidants a key to brain fitness

A long, slightly irreverent diatribe on brain fitness in the independent online local news conduit the Sacramento News & Review does two things: it offers a UC expert the opportunity to present scientific information and it makes the old-school reader wonder, "Is this really the future of news?"

The article, by Matt Perry, annihilates the rules of conventional journalism:

• Written for the infinite scope of cyberspace, the harangue rambles on for more than 1,500 words.
• Science writing about aging is peppered with teenage slang. Who will read it?
• The writer inserts himself into the piece. To wit: "My eyes shift to (fitness trainer Scott) Estrada, who represents to me the future of health: fit, active, engaged, holistic … and completely responsible for his own health. Welcome to the future of fitness: not just a just a buffer body, but a healthier brain."

To its credit, the article provides UC Davis nutrition professor Liz Applegate a forum for research-based information. She told the writer she likens brain-damaging free radicals to small fires in cubicles around an office. Putting out these free radical fires requires a diet rich in fire extinguishers - antioxidants.

Perry said she recommended:

• A diet of varied colorful foods
• A Mediterranean diet
• Omega-3 fatty acids, folate and choline

In related news, a bastion of traditional journalism, the Associated Press today ran a story about what could be another sign of the traditional news industry's struggles. According to the story, San Francisco investment banker Warren Hellman is teaming up with the UC Berkeley's journalism school and public broadcaster KQED to create a nonprofit news organization to report local news. Bay Area News Project will use a combination of paid reporter/editors and (presumably unpaid) journalism students to produce stories for a Web site, KQED's radio and television outlets, and a print edition.

The making of a blueberry story

Los Angeles Times freelance writer David Karp sent a response today to last week's ANR News Blog post about his May 27 blueberry production story. The nicely written article covered the introduction of a crop usually associated with the Northwest, Michigan and Maine into California; it didn't go into UC's role.

Karp wrote in his e-mail that he agonized over what to include in the article, given the amount of space he would have in the newspaper. He interviewed more than 40 sources, but only had room to cite two.

"If I had room to cite the contribution of three or four persons, and explain what they did, I would certainly have cited (UC Small Farm Program farm advisors) Manuel (Jimenez) and Mark (Gaskell)," Karp wrote. "I'm quite aware of their very substantial contributions to California's blueberry industry."

Karp mentioned that he spent two months of his life and thousands of dollars of his own money to research the article because, "I'm passionate about writing about fruit only when I really know what I'm talking about."

In conclusion, he said, "I apologize to Manuel (Jimenez) and Mark (Gaskell), Ben (Faber) and Gary (Bender) and others, but I'd like to think that they understand that in telling a shortened version of the full story for a newspaper, writers face difficult choices."

 

Bee's new garden writer uses UCCE sources

Not only did the Fresno Bee lose veteran ag reporter Dennis Pollock to its recent buyout cuts, the paper's garden reporter, Mzong Xiong, decided to take the buyout and continue her maternity leave indefinitely.

But it hasn't taken long for her replacement to find UC Cooperative Extension. Margaret Slaby, who together with columnist Mary Lu Aguirre are now covering the garden beat, wrote a charming piece about heriloom corn this week that included quotes from two Tulare County UCCE advisors.

The story centers on Gary Jones of Tollhouse, who is growing corn with kernals ranging from red, purple and pink to blue, black and teal, the article said. Small farm advisor Manuel Jimenez noted in the article the reasons why such varieties are less popular with commerical growers.

Modern field corn (for animal feed, corn meal and flour) and sweet corn are more disease-resistant, store better, and the ears tend to be more uniform in size than heirloom corn, Slaby paraphrased Jimenez.

Slaby also gave Carol Frate's self-evident assessment about the term "heirloom corn." Varieties are considerd "heirloom," according to Frate, when they've been around a long time. There are thousands of varieties of corn in all colors. Some varieties -- but not all -- are heirloom.

Frate and Jimenez were also credited in the story for providing information on planting and growing corn.

 

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Incidentally, in a conversation I had today with the Fresno Bee business editor, Mike Nemeth, I learned that agriculture will be covered, for the most part, by Bob Rodriguez. A few years ago, Bob was dedicated to the ag beat, but then was reassigned to cover mainly energy and workplace issues. Nemeth said his business staff consists of four reporters, down from seven when he took on his post three years ago.

Newspaper buyouts hit home

I've written in this blog about the sad news in the print media, with many California and national newspapers cutting staff and shutting their doors. The trend has hit home. Over the weekend, the Fresno Bee's agriculture reporter Dennis Pollock announced that he is one of the paper's staff taking the buyout and retiring.

Pollock marked the change by noting the retirement of UC Cooperative Extension advisors who were frequent sources for his stories over the years.

Pollock wrote in his farewell column:

"'He's retired now,' someone would say when I asked for farm advisers like Harry Andris, Ron Vargas, Bill Peacock, Mario Viveros. And on and on."

Pollock also mentioned a conversation he had with UC entomologist Walt Bentley about the many UC farm advisors retiring after decades-long careers.

"But he quickly added that the new ones coming on are as sharp as they come," Pollock wrote.

Pollock was a champion for UC Cooperative Extension and did much to spread the word about its important work in the San Joaquin Valley. He will be missed.

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