Back in the early 70's at KXTV, it was an all-male newsroom, but it was also no minorities on camera. I was the first minority and first Hispanic to go on air. I was working on the floor crew 4 days a week and then News Director Jim Drennan had me doing news one day a week, then early morning anchoring 5-minute newscasts, and then Bill Clarke had me as his weekend field reporter on weekends, and then I was off to Stockton.
It was equally bad in some other professions, albeit not quite as visible. Doug and I were in the same Class of 1969 at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, but after a two-year stint in the Army I decided to go to law school. I found law school very easy and was first in my class when, as a third year student, the time came to start the on-campus job interview process. Every firm which came on campus to conduct interviews posted a sign-up sheet where any student could request an interview, and the firms would then publish a list of those they had selected to interview. For the top firms, those interviews generally were limited to some or all of the top students in the class. Except, not all of them. Six of the top ten in the class were Jewish; three were women, two of whom also were Jewish. When the lists of interviewees were published, we were conspicuously missing from it. Back in 1974-75 the largest and most prestigious law firms in the country simply did not hire Jews or women. Needless to say, they also didn’t hire African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians or other ethnic minorities. I still remember when O’Melveny & Myers, one of the two largest and most powerful law firms in Los Angeles, named Nora Manella as its first woman partner in the early-1980s. They killed two birds with one stone, as she also became their first Jewish partner. She later was appointed by President Clinton as U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California.
Mike..Thanks for the note. I was always sorry that you became a lawyer, you would have been a terrific journalist. Just as well. The news biz is a declining, mature industry.
Doug, I’m really enjoying your stories. Though we had a relatively short working relationship (1987 NABET strike), I always appreciated your wide smile and hardy “Danny Boy!!!” Whenever we ran into one another.
This week you brought up Laurel Erickson. One of my greatest memories I have with Laurel was the first Monday afternoon after the strike was called. I was trained to edit news stories and was assigned Laurel’s story that was slated for the top of the 4:00 broadcast. It was a little after 3:00 and I knew that I needed about an hour to put the story together. Laurel enters the edit bay ranting and raving (as only she can) about the f-ing NABETs and f-ing terrible management scabs. The ranting continued and I was sweating more than a glass of iced tea on a hot humid day. On one of the shots, I accidentally hit preview and never laid it down and she came unglued. I finally turned around and said, “Laurel, getting this completed means as much to me as it does to you. I need you to calm down and work with me so we can get it done.” She did and we got it done (by the skin of our teeth). From that day forward for the duration of the strike, she would request me for her stories.
Thanks for the stories! This is Doug's tech lady - I've let him know about your comments and hopefully he'll respond. (It's a tech issue - not a socializing issue.) If he doesn't reply here, check your emails!
Back in the early 70's at KXTV, it was an all-male newsroom, but it was also no minorities on camera. I was the first minority and first Hispanic to go on air. I was working on the floor crew 4 days a week and then News Director Jim Drennan had me doing news one day a week, then early morning anchoring 5-minute newscasts, and then Bill Clarke had me as his weekend field reporter on weekends, and then I was off to Stockton.
Rich..Great to hear from you. No doubt you had to battle discrimination but you persevered
and became an excellent reporter. You also did a great job as the Captain of the Channel 10 News softball team.
Terrific story. It’s good to read about a global story about the tv news world. It’s funny too. And bravo to you for celebrating women.
Gail..Thanks fore the note..You and Barry are part of my inspiration.
It was equally bad in some other professions, albeit not quite as visible. Doug and I were in the same Class of 1969 at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism, but after a two-year stint in the Army I decided to go to law school. I found law school very easy and was first in my class when, as a third year student, the time came to start the on-campus job interview process. Every firm which came on campus to conduct interviews posted a sign-up sheet where any student could request an interview, and the firms would then publish a list of those they had selected to interview. For the top firms, those interviews generally were limited to some or all of the top students in the class. Except, not all of them. Six of the top ten in the class were Jewish; three were women, two of whom also were Jewish. When the lists of interviewees were published, we were conspicuously missing from it. Back in 1974-75 the largest and most prestigious law firms in the country simply did not hire Jews or women. Needless to say, they also didn’t hire African-Americans, Hispanics, Asians or other ethnic minorities. I still remember when O’Melveny & Myers, one of the two largest and most powerful law firms in Los Angeles, named Nora Manella as its first woman partner in the early-1980s. They killed two birds with one stone, as she also became their first Jewish partner. She later was appointed by President Clinton as U.S. Attorney for the Central District of California.
Mike..Thanks for the note. I was always sorry that you became a lawyer, you would have been a terrific journalist. Just as well. The news biz is a declining, mature industry.
Doug, I’m really enjoying your stories. Though we had a relatively short working relationship (1987 NABET strike), I always appreciated your wide smile and hardy “Danny Boy!!!” Whenever we ran into one another.
This week you brought up Laurel Erickson. One of my greatest memories I have with Laurel was the first Monday afternoon after the strike was called. I was trained to edit news stories and was assigned Laurel’s story that was slated for the top of the 4:00 broadcast. It was a little after 3:00 and I knew that I needed about an hour to put the story together. Laurel enters the edit bay ranting and raving (as only she can) about the f-ing NABETs and f-ing terrible management scabs. The ranting continued and I was sweating more than a glass of iced tea on a hot humid day. On one of the shots, I accidentally hit preview and never laid it down and she came unglued. I finally turned around and said, “Laurel, getting this completed means as much to me as it does to you. I need you to calm down and work with me so we can get it done.” She did and we got it done (by the skin of our teeth). From that day forward for the duration of the strike, she would request me for her stories.
Danny my man. Great to hear from you. I hope you're enjoying life. It was always a pleasure to hang with you.
Thanks for the stories! This is Doug's tech lady - I've let him know about your comments and hopefully he'll respond. (It's a tech issue - not a socializing issue.) If he doesn't reply here, check your emails!