Six New Members Join the Journalism Advisory Board
Learn more about the six new members of the Journalism Advisory Board.
By Megan Schellong
Brad Davis (Journalism, '98)
Owner, Just Real Seattle LLC
Q: What are you most looking forward to as a member of the board?
A: I am most looking for an opportunity to make a positive difference within a department that had an enormously impactful influence on my life as a person and a working professional.
Q: What is your favorite Cal Poly Journalism memory?
A: There were many. Of the most prominent, I once wrote a potent opinion piece about a candidate for California’s 24th Congressional District. Lois Capps, who just last year retired from Congress, first ran in a special election to fill her late husband’s unexpected vacancy. Capps, a longtime educator, ran a great campaign and represented many of my values. On the other hand, Capps’ opponent Tom Bordonaro was a nationalist-brand of State Assemblyman who took anti-immigration, anti-bilingual education and anti-public education funding positions while serving as a State Assemblyman.
I passionately took many language liberties in my piece that made the New Times’ Shredder column (at the time – and they too wrote a similar opinion) look like child’s play. If it weren’t for the learning opportunity, I might otherwise express regret about my obscenities. Bordonaro had planned a campaign rally at Cal Poly the day my piece disseminated, and they cancelled it last minute. I also received a phone call from the Capps campaign headquarters in Santa Barbara, thanking me for my piece. Of course I also received some pretty passionate letters to the editor in kind and even a few physical threats for voicing my opinion in the days and weeks following publication. That’s the power of the press. The pen is in fact quite mighty; wield it with certainty!
Q: What is the most valuable journalistic lesson you learned in your experience?
A: One of the very first, golden rules of journalism, of course: always question authority.
Q: Any other fun facts/ details you would like to include?
A: One of my favorite pastimes was taking just myself and my higher education readings up to the beach at San Simeon. On one of my first such excursions, I arrived to an otherwise deserted beach on a gorgeous, sunny day. Not long after I cozied into the perfect spot in the sand, these giant creatures emerged from the surf. Elephant seals, by the dozen! Within several minutes I was surrounded by them, literally. They didn’t seem to mind me, and so I didn’t mind them. To be among these amazing, and incredibly large, docile creatures at the foot of William Randolph Hearst’s incredible estate, this was a most thrilling experience I hope to remember until my very last breath.
Cindy Carcamo (Journalism, '01)
Immigration Reporter at the Los Angeles Times
Q: What are you most looking forward to as a member of the board?
A: Helping our department prepare our Cal Poly journalism students to thrive in the real world of journalism.
Q: What is your favorite Cal Poly Journalism memory?
A: Working with Mustang Daily adviser A.j. Schuermann and Jennifer Ferrari (journalism student, too) at what was then called Mustang Daily.
Q: What is the most valuable journalistic lesson you learned in your experience?
A: Listen. Try not to fill in the sometimes silent — and sometimes awkward — gaps during interviews, because that's sometimes when sources give you some of their best information.
Q: Any other fun facts/details you would like to include?
A: Pay it forward. I was mentored a lot in my career and strive to do the same with others now. I wouldn't be where I am today if it weren't for people who supported me along the way, especially other women journalists of color. It's important to help out others, especially young aspiring journalists. You never know who will be your boss someday so be courteous, helpful and respectful with those who are just starting out.
Keith Eldridge (Journalism, '74)
Newscaster at KOMO-TV in Seattle
Q: What are you most looking forward to as a member of the board?
A: Being able to bring a real working world experience to the academic experience. I've been a working broadcast journalist since 1972 and every day brings a new challenge. The fact that I have so many years behind me gives me no 'free ride' in handling the next story. I'm up against much younger journalists and relish the challenge to maintain a cutting-edge approach to each day's coverage.
Q: What is your favorite Cal Poly Journalism memory?
A: Breaking through the “ice” of Jim Hayes and gaining his full support in my journalism journey. Being a chosen protege of Ed Zuchelli and just beaming in the spotlight that he shined on his broadcaster students.
Q: What is the most valuable journalistic lesson you learned in your experience?
A: Be accurate, be thorough and be on deadline time. Above all be accurate.
Q: Any other fun facts/details you would like to include?
A: Cal Poly's Learn by Doing philosophy served me well. The radio station is the perfect lab to get you comfortable talking. The newspaper is the perfect lab to get you to realize every word counts. Hayes and Zuchelli were the perfect tandem of giving me the foundation that I needed for my 46-year career, and still going.
Steve Enders (Journalism, '97)
Senior Partner Engagement Manager, News, Music & Sports at Roku, Inc.
Q: What are you most looking forward to as a member of the Journalism Advisory Board?
A: It’s opening up the lines of communication between alumni and students and also alumni and alumni. I think that there should be a better network of people that come out of Cal Poly Journalism, and we have tools and resources to do that now through the internet, so it’s a great time to put pieces into place for people to be connected.
Q: What was your favorite Cal Poly Journalism memory?
A: The No.1 memory I have is spending time with the great group of people. It’s more like a family when you’re producing the Mustang Daily and everyone spends a lot of time together every single day in the department. You form a lot of great bonds that last a lifetime coming out of that. My second best memory: We had the honor and privilege of creating what I think of as the Mustang Daily “Gonzo” edition, where we tried to create a special edition produced by “gonzo journalist” Hunter S. Thompson. It was a success and we had fun doing it. Those are the types of things you can only do in college.
Q: What is the most valuable journalistic lesson you learned in your experience working with Mustang Daily?
A: The most valuable lesson I learned coming out of the Journalism Department is the ability to listen. It has helped me immeasurably throughout my career. When I was a working journalist, it helped to have the ability to do an interview quickly upon arriving at the scene. And then there’s listening to feedback and constructive criticism from staff or another member of the newsroom or even now on the business side. You need to reel in information to make a decision that impacts the business. If you’re empathetic to somebody’s life or cause, you’ll do right by them.
Q: Any other fun facts/details you would like to include?
A: Have an open mind whether it's in your reporting or your career path, and you'll find opportunity in unlikely places.
Raiza Giorgi (Journalism, '08)
Owner/Publisher of Santa Ynez Valley Star and Santa Barbara Family and Life Magazine
Q: What are you most looking forward to as a member of the board?
A: Connecting with my alma mater and helping the next batch of journalists. I am excited to see all the fresh ideas and energy from the students, and just being involved is amazing!
Q: What is your favorite Cal Poly Journalism memory?
A: Going to Hearst Castle with Richard Gearhart and our Journalism History class. I ended up taking this my senior year as it wasn't offered until then, and it was a blast.
Q: What is the most valuable journalistic lesson you learned in your experience?
A: Get to the point of your story and what you would want to know if you were reading the article. My mentors, Tom Bolton (executive editor of Noozhawk) and Dave Bemis (now works with me as my copy editor), taught me that and even now as their colleague, I still think about that every time I get stuck writing an article.
Q: Any other fun facts/details you would like to include?
A: Coffee is life. Journalism is the best career ever because you can do everyone else's careers without actually doing them. Every day is different. Never compromise your ethics. You know you're a journalist when you hear sirens and immediately start checking your sources.
Lauren Rabaino (Journalism, '09)
Executive Director of Operations at Vox Media
Q: What are you most looking forward to as a member of the board?
A: Having the opportunity to shape the educational experience for the upcoming class of journalists — hopefully, in a way that will change their lives.
Q: What is your favorite Cal Poly Journalism memory?
A: Our first major live video stream! Right before iPhones were mainstream and definitely before live-streaming capabilities were core to social platforms, we were able to get live video and a chatroom on the web to cover a State of The Student Address and faculty/student Q & A. It felt like we were at the forefront of digital innovation. It was total chaos.
Q: What is the most valuable journalistic lesson you learned in your experience?
A: The power of talking to people. Hearing many different perspectives. Truly being an active listener, and using those inputs to get the information you need. It was an essential skill for being a reporter and telling the best stories, but has also translated to the most powerful part of my leadership role at a modern media company.