Editorial staff meetings at news organizations are always interesting but rarely emotional affairs. The first opportunity for Local News Pasadena reporters and editors to get together in person following the horrors of the Eaton Fire turned out to be both.
While none of our regular correspondents lost homes in the firestorm, nearly everyone knew someone who did. Some of us know a lot of someones in that category.
We discussed how several of our recent interview subjects were now homeless, how multiple City of Pasadena staff members and journalists at other publications had lost houses in the fire, and what we personally witnessed during the evacuation of Altadena and a chunk of Pasadena.
As the meeting progressed, several themes emerged that will likely characterize our news coverage over the months ahead. While these themes many not exclusively define our reporting, it’s now clear as journalists and Pasadena-area residents what we feel is meaningful to write about.
Here are the seven themes we agreed were critical to pursue:
- Self care and healing
- Recovery and reconstruction
- Environmental concerns related to the fire
- Rebuilding community identity
- Practical helpfulness
- The impact of live performances on cohesion
- Addressing loss and struggle
These may not be the same themes other news organizations focus on, but as journalists who live where we report, that’s the type of news we can probably all use right now.
We’re right there with ‘ya.
