Reporting and editing at The Daily Forty-Niner back in the early 1980s wasn’t just school — it was hard work, preparing many of us for life as journalists, which mostly are lives of hard work. Work involved tracking down sources, finding stories and art, finding one of the two floppy discs the size of salad plates to use in the one working word processor and hoping that what you wrote was short enough to avoid filling the thing up before you could finish.
Stories of scope and import followed the news needs and reporters’ passions: lectures on “the Marxist-Feminist approach to life’s meaning”; Cathay de Grande’s offerings on $1 punk night; a report of NCAA rules violations on the baseball team bus that brought suspensions to most of the team; the steep price of Long Beach rents—$250 to $450 per month.
A reporter with a hidden talent drew an award-winning cartoon on a napkin sometime during one-more-pitcher at The Nugget; necessary revenge on the Union newspaper, when that editor’s metal desk was caved in by a goliath-sized Forty-Niner photographer’s head butt. An argument over some long-forgotten aspect of Reaganomics once was settled between the editorial page editor — an Army veteran — and a reporter — a Russian immigrant and former cop — by a wrestling match on the lawn outside the Humanities building. The conservative point of view won in seconds that flew past as a blur of legs in gray sweatpants. That day’s editorial position reflected the win.
The Forty-Niner brought me most of my best friends, people I’ve loved for nearly 30 years. Most have had to leave newspapers, but will always be journalists, and we share the values learned and practiced in the Forty-Niner newsroom.
Find facts and let them do the talking. Be fair. Be just. Be compassionate. Truth above all. Confirm, confirm, confirm. Listen. Learn. Take chances. Fail. Succeed. Reason. Listen more carefully. See. Grow. Play. And write.
That’s how we help shape the world.
– Robert Frank, Editor in Chief 1983-84
My best friends now I met 20+ years ago at the 49er. Work on that portfolio as much as you can. I learned a lot from my professor and fellow students. Don’t worry too much about grades. Take risks. Have fun. Make good contacts and keep them. Take a variety of classes in related fields.
-Mark Savage, Fall 1987 Photographer
In the late ’80s, Wayne Kelly was instrumental in helping the Coast Guard create a one-year photojournalism program for Coast Guard members. Cal State Long Beach stepped in after another university’s program was discontinued. In my opinion, this was the best thing for Coast Guard photojournalists and the year I spent working at the Daily 49er was one of the best years of my Coast Guard career.
Since I was taking the journalism and photojournalism classes simultaneously, I had to put in more than 20-plus hours a week for the Daily 49er. The opportunities I was given to both shoot and write about — Presidential debates and campaign events; NASA shuttle landings; national, regional, and local sports; human interest features and the day-to-day campus events — and the feedback and assistance I received from the rest of the staff made for a memorable year. The other staff members were some of the best people with whom to work. There was always a willingness to do whatever was needed to get the paper out the next day.
Wayne Kelly and Roger Wetherington pushed me to try things, bluntly told me when I didn’t meet their expectations — it’s not always easy to take class at 8 a.m. on Thursday mornings during the photojournalism meeting — and gave me the motivation to keep expanding my knowledge and skills. When I returned to Coast Guard duty, I was able to take what I learned and teach others along the way. Although I don’t think I was as harsh as Wayne.
Even though I have since retired from the Coast Guard and no longer work in photojournalism, the experiences and knowledge have stayed with me, as have the memories. My time at the Daily 49er will always be a highlight because of the opportunities, the experiences and the people.
– Chuck Kalnbach, 1988-89 Staff Photographer and Writer
From interviewing actor Dennis Hopper to talks with diplomats from around the world, the Daily 49er was a great learning experience.
During my time there, I had the chance to work in the backshop, pasting up waxed copy on production boards (how ancient) and serving as a reporter, news editor and then editor in chief. Long hours but still plenty of fun, and it paved the way for my positions as a community reporter for the Orange County Register, the Los Angeles Daily News, business editor and then director of diversity at the Ventura County Star.
I’m currently designing a community information Web site in California — Amigos805.com — tweeting, shooting video and working on other projects in our new home of Flagstaff, Ariz. Yes, journalism is alive and well, thanks to all the new technology. So stay current and get ready for a great ride.
– Frank Moraga (CSULB Grad Class of ‘88)
