hand-drawn "Weekly News," with children's writing, five issues laid out

A short note: Newsrooms that serve

It’s been one year and my niece and her friends’ news startup is going strong! They reached two-thirds circulation of their class and are now reviewing their costs (copying machines and staples) and distribution (reading period is a good time for news) while still serving their classmates. I’ve spent a lot of the last year […]

At The Bunker, deported veterans recover from war — and look for a way back home

Not far from the southern limits of the US, and the very busy San Ysidro border crossing into Mexico, a small group of men, ages 30 to 70, have made a home. They have family in the US. They fought in the US military. Some were injured in battle. Some have PTSD. They have all […]

Hollywood is a white boy’s club, says one report. Here’s an antidote.

Meena Ramamurthy is a filmmaker and storyteller. A colleague, another writer of color, once told her: “Don’t write a pilot with two people of color.” “It doesn’t come from a bad place,” Ramamurthy says. “It just comes from experience.” If you’ve watched “Master of None” (the “Indians on Television” episode), this probably sounds familiar. Studios, […]

#ChicanoCon

David Favela loves Comic-Con. One catch: He’s never actually attended. #Repost @loudenlo ・・・ Wonder Woman #borderX #ChicanoCon #XhicanoArt #sdcc2015 #legítimo #lyndacarter A photo posted by spartantown (@spartantown) on Jul 12, 2015 at 12:47pm PDT “I’ve never been able to get tickets,” says this San Diego native. “I’m what you would call a frustrated Comic-Con fan. […]

Guerrilla film project changes boundaries of movie-going

The cargo in Pacific Arts Movement’s overhauled moving truck is a motley assortment: In front, a Wi-Fi hotspot, charger, chemical compounds and grease remover, a pack of cigarettes and DVDs. In the back there are three white lab coats, a coffee table and two rugs, a small white parasol, orange safety cones, and a generator […]

Chinese Characters at the Los Angeles Times Festival of Books

Jeffrey Wasserstrom and I, co-editors of  will be at the legendary Los Angeles Time Festival of Books at USC on Sunday, April 21. Come to roam the festival and find us at 3:30pm in Seeley G. Mudd (SGM 124). Nonfiction: People & Place (Conversation 2084) Mark Binelli (Detroit City is the Place to Be) Bill […]

Digital Storytelling: A Symposium

I’m excited an honored to be speaking next week at UC Irvine at day-long event that is mouth-watering for anyone who loves to write. The Digital Storytelling Symposium features some of the most innovative people in long form writing today including, well, Longform folks themselves. The Atavist, Byliner, Equire, Noir Magazine, Matter and the Los Angeles […]

Ai-jen Poo: The Rock Star of Community Organizing

At a conference about social movements in Los Angeles last month, all it took was the mention of her name and the crowd erupted in applause. In the world of community organizing, Ai-jen Poo, the director of the National Domestic Workers Alliance, is a rock star. As the crowd sat, though, Poo asked the women to […]