ERIKETA COST
Assistant Life & Arts Editor
My Skype interview with Scott Martelle from the control room on the third floor of McEwen felt like a flashback for him.
The L.A. Times journalist and I made small talk about the radio news and podcasting class I was headed to shortly.
I mentioned it was with professor Ted Schwalbe, and he smiled and recalled a story of helping him move into his first house in Fredonia, years ago.
For him, it was the very same control room that made him choose to study at Fredonia.
“Not many journalism programs offer as much of a hands-on experience that Fredonia does. I came knowing diddly, and was still able to become a news director at the TV station within months,” he said.
Martelle will be visiting Fredonia on March 24-26, for a three-day residency “Skipping through Chaos: Journalism in the Trump Era.”
During this residency, Martelle will be touching on his thoughts regarding the journalism industry amidst the Trump era.
“Washington in general, and the Trump administration, is a revolving door of characters. A lot of people are leaving the administration . . . Trump says the opposite of things he’s said before — there’s no viable truth,” he said.
He will also be discussing his process for writing history books for general audiences, with a journalistic lens.
A Q&A will be offered to give advice and answer any questions students have about the industry.
Martelle mentioned how the journalism field requires patience and hard work.
Almost always, one starts small and works their way up after college.
“My first job out of college wasn’t the L.A. Times,” he said. “I’m from Wellsville — a little village of about 4,000 people — and I worked for their local papers part-time while I was in high school.”
The Fredonia alumnus also spent time working at The Leader.
“I built up connections and experience, and I got a job with Detroit News. We all went on strike, and then at that point wound up at L.A. Times. So it’s a lot of years in the trenches.”
To Martelle, journalism is never just a job. It is a hobby and a lifestyle.
“Being a journalist isn’t working for a living, it’s a way of engaging the world,” he said.
Scott Martelle currently is on the editorial board for the L.A. Times.
He covers topics like immigration, gun policies, climate change, the death penalty and labor issues.
A history buff, Martelle is also looking forward to talking to history students. He has written several history textbooks.
“There’s a lot of overlap with history and journalism,” said Martelle. “A lot of what we do in journalism is what historians do. I’ll be discussing that with history students when I’m there.”
Fredonia professor Elmer Ploetz and Fredonia alumnus Sean Kirst will be introducing Martelle during his visit.
“He’s done some of the best work of any journalist that has been a graduate of here . . . he’s a major writer,” said Ploetz. “He’s also a very good guy. I’m looking forward to what he has to say about current events now, because he’s writing editorials in a very interesting era, politically. It’ll be fun to hear his perspective, and also hear how the news industry has changed in the years.”
Kirst had worked on the college newspaper with Martelle when they were students.
“We thought it’d be nice to bring Sean down. Sean’s a great alum, friend of the university and another great writer,” said Ploetz.
Ploetz said that Kirst and Martelle have very different styles and approaches to writing.
For more information about the event, visit Writers@Work, email Natalie Gerber at gerber@fredonia.edu or call the Department of English at (716) 673-3125.