January 5, 2011

Today at the Times Picayune I was privileged to meet more interesting people, observe another video recording, learn about the front page layout, and attend a live neighborhood meeting concerning a hot issue in uptown New Orleans. My day began with meeting Keith Spera, who specializes in music news and reviews for the newspaper. Below is an image of Keith Spera and musician Elvis Costello, one of Mr. Spera's favorite artists and personal friend. Mr. Spera met Elvis Costello through the HBO Series hit show, Treme, and the two bonded over pictures of their children and being called "twins" as a result of their "nerdy glasses" and "unshaven faces." The series Treme is named after a neighborhood in the city of New Orleans and features residents rebuilding their lives after experiencing the traumatic destruction of Hurricane Katrina.


http://media.nola.com/treme-hbo/photo/keith-spera-elvis-costellojpg-cd2753a37f30e75c_large.jpg

I was actually given the opportunity to sit with Mr. Spera one-on-one in the Features Area Conference Room and converse with the accomplished reporter. I was intrigued to learn more about his "career with the rockstars." Mr. Spera explained that whereas one usually thinks of journalism as a career that only involves news stories and modular designs, it is, in fact, a flexible arena in which writers can pursue their own interests. Journalists like himself can research areas that fascinate them and create work to share with the public. Not a musician himself, Mr. Spera enjoys interviewing the stars and learning more about the music industry. For example, he often participates in conference calls with artists like Justin Timberlake, Beyonce, and Alicia Keys. Mr. Spera initially did not plan on becoming a journalist. As a New Orleans native, he went to Brother Martin for high school and proceeded to Texas A & M, planning on becoming a lawyer. When he joined the newspaper in college, he was hooked. Mr. Spera recognizes that as the Times Picayune moves towards becoming a more web-based publication, more of his work will appear online. He looks forward to reviewing Lady Gaga's performance in New Orleans in April.

Mr. Spera shared a remarkable anecdote with me about meeting Lil Wayne after his release from prison at a Hornets game. Mr. Spera explained that he had already met Lil Wayne as a younger rapper, but he was the first reporter to interview the rapper after his time in jail. According to Mr. Spera, he approached Lil Wayne at the basketball game with a notepad and spoke to him about his plans.

Besides working with Treme artists, reviewing music, and writing music stories for the newspaper, Mr. Spera writes a column entitled "Paternity Test" about his own children and the challenges of parenting.

In addition to meeting Mr. Spera, I also met Terry Baquet, the front page editor for the newspaper. I attended the meeting with a group of twenty-five editors who collaborated on the first section of the paper. They discussed the layout for the articles, potential graphic options to be used as secondary coverage, and the remaining research required for the next day's paper. Watching the editors and writers interact and plan for the issue was interesting, and I was also given the opportunity to watch the layout editors design the page.
I was impressed by their fluency in the InDesign program and with the skill and ease with which they were able to manuever the page. They truly were experts in the art of newspaper design, but I found it surprising that they discouraged me from pursuing newspaper journalism. They advised me that it was a "lost art" that is becoming rapidly replaced by multimedia and online coverage.

I was also awed by the precision and time the layout editors spent on their pages. In about 45 minutes, one editor was able to arrange a skybox, or a small section that appears in the top corner of the newspaper. The attention to detail was truly remarkable.

My day ended with joining reporter Becky Mowbray at a neighborhood meeting in uptown New Orleans. We gathered at the Laurel Street Bakery to discuss an issue with a Pilates building constructed in uptown.

Many uptown residents were concerned by the structure's height, design, and parking regulations. The meeting consisted of neighborhood residents, the Whole Foods Community Relations Spokesperson, a few of the Mayor's assistants, several councilmen, and the neighborhood board. The Pilates building was planned to be built on Magazine Street, an eclectic area that consists of both residential areas and unique, cultural boutiques. I enjoyed observing the controversial, heated meeting and learning from Ms. Mowbray's tips and advice on handling such a situation as an unbiased reporter.

Above is the Pilates building, halted in construction, on Magazine Street. The design of the building has created much consternation and controversy amongst uptown residents.

Below are a few pictures of the meeting I attended.

I learned a great deal today and am looking forward to the events of tomorrow at the Times Picayune!