Beyond the Farm - The Coastal Beat: PWR's Peter Tokofsky and Sophomore Greta Reich on Local Journalism
Dr. Ruth Starkman of the PWR Newsletter sat down with Dr. Peter Tokofsky and his student intern, sophomore Greta Reich. In addition to being a PWR instructor, Dr. Tokofsky is a journalist for the The Coastside News Group.
Newsletter: Tell us about your work at the newspaper.
Peter Tokofsky: The Coastside News Group is a locally-owned, public benefit organization that runs two weekly newspapers: The Half Moon Bay Review, founded in 1898, and also the Pacifica Tribune, which we acquired from a right-wing conglomerate about 5 years ago. We also publish the monthly Coastside Magazine. I write for all three, covering politics, art and human-interest stories on the San Mateo County coast. Newspaper writing checks a lot of boxes for me. It has been a great way to get to know the people and geography of my new home, and to help me write better for general audiences (and meet hard deadlines). Most importantly, writing for these papers is my contribution to building community and holding local government accountable. I recently documented that our U.S. representative continued to accept campaign contributions even though she declared she’s not running for re-election, and I’m tracking $1 million of COVID relief funds allocated by the county that has disappeared. I've also been documenting the life of a young Ukrainian boy who is a refugee with his mother here on the coast. His father stayed in Ukraine to lend his tech expertise to the military. The boy has now lived in the U.S. longer than he did in his native country.
Newsletter: Tell us about the potential you see for PWR students at the Coastside News Group. What do they bring to the internship and what do they receive?
PT: Contributions from interns are limited only by their own imagination. Our editor, an accomplished journalist who has been in the newspaper business for almost four decades, helps interns hone their ideas and turn them into successful news stories.
Greta Reich: I worked at the Half Moon Bay Review from June to September, acting as a reporting intern to write stories about the coastal community. I was in the office about 3 days of the week, doing on the ground reporting and speaking with local community members to cover a variety of topics. My favorite story was about Elkus Ranch, a nearby location known for hosting summer camps and events. I was sent there to cover how the Ranch had been recovering from substantial flooding it experienced in January, and it was super interesting to speak with the staff and see the grounds after the repairs had been made.
Newsletter: How was working at the Half Moon Bay Review different than the work you do at The Stanford Daily?
GR: It was different from The Daily in a few ways. There were slightly different copy styles, and a different editing process, but the main thing was that I had far more autonomy at the Review. That's mostly because it was my only job over the summer, so instead of working on the articles in between classes and homework and only picking up stories when I had time, I could pick and choose and pitch stories that I found interesting.
PT: That’s right. We loved Greta’s initiative and immediately recognized the writing and research abilities she gained in PWR1. She brought us great projects! Her articles were consistently clear, informative, and written with a strong sense of purpose beyond conveying the facts. At our weekly editorial meetings all the writers, including interns, pitch their ideas and the editorial group decides which stories move forward.
Our interns begin contributing articles almost immediately on topics ranging from breaking news and sports to local culture, tech, and environmental issues. The best stories are ones that tackle national and global problems through a local lens. As an agricultural area and a place impacted by sea level rise, the coast offers the possibility of local stories that can address big topics from climate change to immigration and social equity. There is a lot of artistic creativity (including surfboard design) and technological innovation quietly happening and waiting to be discovered on this side of the Peninsula.
**Read some of Greta's contributions to the Half Moon Bay Review here. You can also read Greta's columns for the Stanford Daily here.**
