If Laura Had Won…
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Photo:##http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2013/07/30/los-angeles-times-reporter-laura-j-nelson/personalities/in-the-green-room/##Zocalo##[/caption]
Ever since Steve Hymon departed the Los Angeles Times, the transportation coverage at the flagship newspaper for the West Coast has been lagging. Outside of Ari Bloomekatz, who managed the beat on two short beats, the coverage was haphazard and inconsistent.
Last year, Laura Nelson took over the beat and made it her own. As the year went on, Times readers began to get used to high quality and consistent transportation coverage. Nelson went deeper than "balanced" coverage that dominated the beat when there wasn't a regular beat writer to try and inform readers what was actually happening.
Nelson's no advocate, but the twenty-something reporter is an old-school journalist. For Livable Streets advocates, who know that truth is on our side, a quality reporter covering "our" beat and given a chance to really learn it over time is a luxury we had thought we were going to have to live wihthout.
Photo:##http://www.zocalopublicsquare.org/2013/07/30/los-angeles-times-reporter-laura-j-nelson/personalities/in-the-green-room/##Zocalo##[/caption]
Ever since Steve Hymon departed the Los Angeles Times, the transportation coverage at the flagship newspaper for the West Coast has been lagging. Outside of Ari Bloomekatz, who managed the beat on two short beats, the coverage was haphazard and inconsistent.
Last year, Laura Nelson took over the beat and made it her own. As the year went on, Times readers began to get used to high quality and consistent transportation coverage. Nelson went deeper than "balanced" coverage that dominated the beat when there wasn't a regular beat writer to try and inform readers what was actually happening.
Nelson's no advocate, but the twenty-something reporter is an old-school journalist. For Livable Streets advocates, who know that truth is on our side, a quality reporter covering "our" beat and given a chance to really learn it over time is a luxury we had thought we were going to have to live wihthout.