The Sunday Agenda: Notes from a news summit
Caitlin braved the humidity to learn some new skills ... Let's talk about belonging and collaboration.
Our young staff continued to shine bright this week, with great pieces by both Susan and Angelina hitting your inboxes.
Our team has been having a blast digging into some non-election stories these past few weeks, given that there’s so much news out there and so few reporters.
But November’s General Election is critical (aren’t they all?) so we’ll be back to the grind soon enough.
Until then, stay tuned for stories focusing on increasing Southern Arizona’s pool of Latino lawyers, a county study about the cost of childcare, an update on forever chemicals in Tucson’s water and so much more.
And get ready to see some collaborations between Susan and our contributors. We’ve started meeting in-person more frequently and our staffers have brainstormed some great ideas.
We love that our team wants to work together and learn from one another – this is what a newsroom is all about! We may not have a building, but we have reporters who are motivated to grow and collaborate, and that’s so much more important.
Enough about the future, since time is already flying by fast enough. Let’s step back into the past and take a look at our coverage from last week.
Monday: “Handing out civic gold stars.” Curt took a deep dive into Arizona’s election results to see where Pima County stacked up compared to the other 14 counties. The election saw nearly 900 candidates running for 500 offices at the county, city and town-level, with 62 candidates in Pima County pursuing 36 offices. The civic report card looked at voter turnout, party showing, transparency and more and weighed in on which counties earned a gold star and which ones needed to work a little harder.
Tuesday: “Election upset on Tucson’s south side.” Susan dug into the lone upset in Pima County’s primary election, exploring what could have led to newcomer Renee Ann Garza overtaking incumbent Judge Kendrick Wilson in the polls. Wilson out earned Garza by more than three times the money, but she still managed to take 66% of the vote. Garza attributed the victory to her decades of owning a business in the precinct and her deep roots to the community. But is there more to it than that?
Wednesday: “Added protection for domestic abuse survivors.” Angelina spoke with Tucson City Court Judge Wendy Million about the domestic violence court she oversees and its ongoing efforts to help survivors. Million was recently honored with a national award for her innovative work, which involves improving the system for survivors, ensuring offenders receive the help they need and reducing domestic violence-related gun deaths.
Thursday: “Balancing history and progress.” Angelina and Caitlin checked in on a handful of projects near the University of Arizona campus, as city officials and developers attempt to balance the critical need for housing with the preservation of Tucson’s historic landscape. Drastic steps are being taken to protect historic homes and neighborhoods, while continuing to accommodate the UA’s ever-growing student population.
Friday: “Extreme makeover: County edition.” The county’s Behavioral Health Department is changing its name to Detainee and Crisis Systems, to better reflect what it actually does. The department is responsible for paying for medical, dental and behavioral health care for everyone in the jail but provides no services to the general public. Caitlin talked to the department’s director Paula Perrera about the new name and some new programs, as county officials attempt to clear up years of confusion.
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Last month, Caitlin escaped Tucson’s record-breaking heat for a quick getaway to Minneapolis for the American Press Institute’s Local News Summit.
The invitation-only summit brought together more than 60 newsroom leaders and non-news experts to examine how belonging and collaboration build off one another and discuss strategies.
During the two-day intensive workshop, Caitlin and others participated in small group discussions about experimenting with coverage, cross-generational leadership strategies, power sharing, creating safe workplaces and so much more.
The good news is, we’re already doing a lot of things right when it comes to championing an environment of belonging and collaboration at the Tucson Agenda, and Caitlin was proud to share some insights with other attendees.
The better news is, there were Legos!
Just kidding (but there were actually Legos.)
The better news is that Caitlin came home with a ton of ideas about ways to increase collaboration in our growing newsroom and maximize the talents of our multigenerational staff.
Caitlin also got some great tips about increasing our presence in Southern Arizona and seeking feedback about the community’s needs when it comes to news delivery and areas of coverage.
During a session about engaging and building relationships with the communities we cover, one attendee talked about his newsroom’s struggles when it tried to grow its online audience.
“When you spend generations not doing something right, you don’t fix it overnight,” he said, adding that “Building an online community is hard if there isn’t a real-life relationship”
The news industry has gotten a lot wrong during its time, especially in recent years. But we’re committed to doing this right and building real relationships with the communities and people we cover.
Get ready Tucson, here we come.
Join the League of Women Voters of Greater Tucson Saturday from 1:30 to 4 p.m. for a public forum with Pima County Treasurer and Recorder candidates. The event will be held at the Valencia Library (202 W. Valencia Rd.) with candidates for treasurer answering questions at 1:30 p.m. and recorder candidates taking the stage at 3 p.m.
Candidates for treasurer include incumbent Chris Ackerley, a Republican who was appointed to the job earlier this year after longtime Treasurer Beth Ford stepped down. He ran unopposed in the primary election and will face Democrat Brian Johnson in November. Johnson beat out Sami Hamed in the primary, earning 60% of the vote.
In the race for Pima County Recorder, Democratic incumbent Gabriella Cázares-Kelly will face Republican challenger Dominic Campbell- Gonzalez. Both ran unopposed in the primary election.
Pre-registration is not required. Learn more and find details about future forums here.