Commentary

Op-Ed: The Importance of Local journalism matters more now than ever before

In the two years since I graduated from college, my social media timeline has been filled with gut-wrenching announcements of journalists across the country being laid off from publications big and small. I was trained to talk to sources, how to craft compelling leads, and pitch stories, but no one prepared me for how to deal with the unstable market what this career path would entail.

Published

2 months ago

February 24, 2024

Oakland Post

Magaly Munoz

By Magaly Muñoz

I was trained to talk to sources, how to craft compelling leads, and pitch stories, but no one prepared me for how to deal with the unstable market what this career path would entail.

I watched small organizations in the Midwest vanish into oblivion, and more recently, witnessed legacy papers layoff staff in an attempt to stay afloat. The Los Angeles Times staff, a team I had once dreamed of joining, suffered a major blow when they laid off over 20% of their writers and editors in January.

If a legacy newspaper can’t keep their newsroom from slowly dying off, what does that imply for everyone else?

As I found myself spiraling into a rabbit hole of despair questioning my choice of such a rollercoaster of a career, I remembered that it’s times like these that force us to adapt because it’s not enough to just let the worst pass us by.

Yes, the future of journalism can look bleak to those of us hoping to stay in the industry for a long time, but it should also serve as a reminder that there are audiences out there relying on us to continue delivering the news that affects their daily lives.

The disparities amongst those holding all the cards and those who get crushed in the process of their choices is only growing, and it is up to journalists nationwide to go deep into the communities that they are in to expose these inequalities.

Who else is going to hold power to account when they think no one is watching? And in the Bay Area, there’s plenty of people to keep an eye on.

But news is not just the constant tragic event or political scandal, though it is important to stay on top of it. It’s also the uplifting stories that remind people why they should remain hopeful that things will get better.

I’ve had the privilege of interviewing and writing about young Black athletes with Olympic dreams, community based organizations fighting for the rights of those who don’t feel empowered enough on their own, and businesses who just want to bring a little love back into the community.

It’s these stories that stand as powerful and significant as the reporting that may not always be pleasant to write about.

In an era of social media and the quick spread of misinformation, especially in an important election year, we have to work twice as hard to make sure that our readers are getting the facts and are not being persuaded by clickbait articles suggesting otherwise.

But as journalists, it’s crucial that we keep fighting for ourselves and for conditions that allow us to keep doing the work that we do. We all deserve stability in these unprecedented times.

We need our audience to stay with and trust us, even when it seems like things are going off course. We will persevere, even when all else feels like it’s failing.

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Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 24 – 30, 2024

Published

22 hours ago

April 26, 2024

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Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

The printed Weekly Edition of the Oakland Post: Week of April 17 – 23, 2024

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1 week ago

April 19, 2024

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Commentary

Opinion: Surviving the Earthquake, an Eclipse and “Emil Amok.”

Last Friday, a 4.8 magnitude earthquake shook New York City, reported as the “biggest earthquake with an epicenter in the NYC area since 1884” when a 5.2 quake hit. A bit bigger. The last quake similar to Friday’s was a 4.9 in 1783.Alexander Hamilton felt it — 241 years ago. That’s why New Yorkers were freaking out on Friday. They were in the room where it happens.

Published

1 week ago

April 17, 2024

Oakland Post

In New York City, the eclipse was about 90 percent visible. Good enough for me. Though a full solar eclipse is a celestial rarity, blockages of any sort aren’t generally celebrated. My one-man play is about growing up with the eclipsed history of American Filipinos and how I struggle to unblock all that.

By Emil Guillermo

I’m a Northern Californian in New York City for the next few weeks, doing my one-man show, “Emil Amok, Lost NPR Host, Wiley Filipino, Vegan Transdad.”

I must like performing in the wake of Mother Nature.

Alexander Hamilton felt it — 241 years ago.

That’s why New Yorkers were freaking out on Friday. They were in the room where it happens.

And it just doesn’t happen that often.

Beyonce singing country music happens more frequently.

When I felt New York shake last week, it reminded me of a time in a San Francisco TV newsroom when editors fretted about a lack of news an hour before showtime.

Then the office carpeting moved for a good ten seconds, and the news gods gave us our lead story.

On Friday when it happened in NYC, I noticed the lines in the carpeting in my room wiggling. But I thought it was from a raucous hotel worker vacuuming nearby.

I didn’t even think earthquake. In New York?

I just went about my business as if nothing had happened. After living near fault lines all my life, I was taking things for granted.

Considering the age of structures in New York, I should have been even more concerned about falling objects inside (shelves, stuff on walls) and outside buildings (signs, scaffolding), fire hazards from possible gas leaks, and then I should have looked for others on my floor and in the hotel lobby to confirm or aid or tell stories.

Of course, as a Californian who has lived through and covered quakes in the 4 to 6 magnitude range, I tried to calm down any traumatized New Yorker I encountered by taking full responsibility for bringing in the quake from the Bay Area.

I reassured them things would be all right, and then let them know that 4.8s are nothing.

And then I invited them to my consoling post-Earthquake performance of “Emil Amok, Lost NPR Host…”

It was the night of the eclipse.

ECLIPSING THE ECLIPSE

For example, did you know the first Filipinos actually arrived to what is now California in 1587? That’s 33 years before the Pilgrims arrived in America on the other coast, but few know the Filipino history which has been totally eclipsed.

I was in Battery Park sitting on a bench and there was a sense of community as people all came to look up. A young woman sitting next to me had a filter for a cell phone camera. We began talking and she let me use it. That filter enabled me to take a picture of the main event with my iPhone.

For helping me see, I invited her and her boyfriend to come see my show.

Coincidentally, she was from Plymouth, Massachusetts, near the rock that says the year the Pilgrims landed in 1620.

In my show she learned the truth. The Pilgrims were second.

History unblocked. But it took a solar eclipse.

Next one in 2044? We have a lot more unblocking to do.

If you’re in New York come see my show, Sat. April 13th, 5:20 pm Eastern; Fri. April 19, 8:10 pm Eastern; and Sun. April 21st 5:20 pm Eastern.

You can also livestream the show. Get tickets at www.amok.com/tickets

About the Author

Emil Guillermo is a journalist and commentator. He does a mini-talk show on YouTube.com/@emilamok1. He wishes all his readers a Happy Easter!