ME, "THE NEW LUCIA OF SS"

Fort Lauderdale:

"He is this year's Lucia!"

Well...as I said in one of my previous entries, introductions could get interesting and funny. I never realized I could be the one at receiving end ever!

I loved it though. One of my four mentors here in Sun Sentinel, Doreen Hemlock, the 50-something ever-jovial kid-at-heart widely-traveled journalist, introduced me as the "Lucia of 2009" to some of her colleagues, to cut short the long introduction.

And almost invariably, everyone would great me: "Aha! How are ya! Nice to meet you!"

Lucia Baldomir was an Alfred Friend fellow from Uruguay hosted by the Sun Sentinel last year (2008), and Doreen, who played mentor to her, found it the easiest way to introduce me in this vast newsroom as I nervously trudged past the cubicles. She would almost instantly burst into giggles repeating it.

To that extent, I owe my gratitude to Lucia!

Then, an email notice circulated in the intra-net spread the word: I'm the new fella from the land of Slum-dog millionaire and cricket-frenzy world.

I'll write it some other time, but by the way, South Florida has cricket-playing people: The Caribbeans, Jamaicans, Indians et al. They have a cricket stadium too!

But Doreen's trick helped a great deal. I felt more connected! It was more important than any other thing, and she got it spot on.

Journalists in the US newsroom may not always be all that forthcoming or willing to meet you, we were told. And that did prove right. But with Doreen around, I found a connection and starting point. She brings up the common points, common interests in a way that helps me connect. Bob, her colleague on business desk, for instance loves music and covers health. Doreen got me hooked on to him on common ground. Music and my special interest in learning about persons with sickle cell anemia in the US.

Last evening, I handed him two CDs - Ustad Sultan Khan (Sarangi) and Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia (Flute), and he'll do me a favor by making a few copies of the albums so that I can gift them to all my mentors and new friends.

Bob's a good base guitarist himself and performs with a band at private concerts in this part. What's more, he's going to connect me to the right people for a subject I desire to explore as a personal interest other than the professional goals!

In the first couple of weeks that I have been in Sun Sentinel this has been the most critical triumphs for me: Personal connections.

Two weeks on, and I've begun to navigate my way through the newsroom on my own. The security personnel smile at and greet me. Which means I am now a familiar face. Two or three journalists stop by, smile and talk on their own. The cafe guys now know my brand of coffee so they don't wait to ask me what, but hand me the cup and bill.

One more thing that's a value to me: Learning to explore and research the vast pool or information on Sun Sentinel archives. It's a world unto itself, so deep that you can spend days digging into its depths, researching stories that you want to. That was thanks to Barbara Hijek, a News Researcher here, who gave me a lesson on it.

"Here we go!" as my mentor Antonio Fins says. Things are moving on.

Tony, as he is fondly known in the office, is astoundingly cool headed, especially when things are coming to a boil. He's there always to explain things to me.

In the newsroom, I can sense an uncharacteristic silence and dip in the morale. And understandably so. At least 30 journalists would no longer be in the newsroom coming week. It's a season of layoffs! The fear and uncertainty is all pervasive.

I spent my first week with the Editorial/Opinion team that Tony heads before getting on with Doreen to work some story ideas.

From daily buzz meetings to editorial discussion, I became part of the team that decides editorial position of the newspaper on the issues.

"The Buzz" is a popular section with online readers. The editorial writers throw a question connected with the people's lives here and one can see the feedback online. People write back, pro or against the question that makes a buzz in the town. It could be a national issue or a typically local issue of Broward county.

What may or may not buzz is discussed threadbare, before the team members freeze an issue for their serious editorials in op-ed pages. I was free to air, if I chose to, my opinion about an issue on the table, notwithstanding that I am a chance outsider. These are the only pages where you can freely air your opinion, pro or anti.

Last morning though, one of the team members gently informed during the daily morning meeting that she would no longer be with them from the coming week.

She's in the latest list of journalists being laid off.

I've never witnessed this before in my little-over-decade-long career, but the dignity with which this new friend communicated her feelings and gratitude to her colleagues and the sensitivity with which the team members responded was something that will remain deeply embedded in my memory for ever.

People here work as a team and if one gets laid off, it sucks every one else. I'll witness several hard moments in the days to come while I'm in this newsroom.

For me nothing could be more painful than to see people I am just beginning to know being fired, as the newspaper struggles to stay financially afloat and keep up its circulation figures in the new age media. US media is in for really hard times. But it is not the creation of those losing their jobs, and that's the irony of it!

Staying focused on my goals through the storm would therefore be tough.

I did come to this newsroom with a couple of goals: to learn first hand about the US agriculture and media. Given the economic times, there would be some obvious bonuses for me on the way. Among others, how are people coping with economic downturn, and how is a society transitioning through one of the worst economic meltdowns of modern times! Media, alas, is not living in isolation and so financial impacts on it could be felt from day one. I am realizing I would take home a lot more than I'd planned.

In the first weeks it was therefore important to figure out where and how to begin my pursuit.

Frankly, one can easily get lost in the new city, the new culture, the new newsroom. But with mentors around to take care, I can rest assured.

Important was also to get going with writing. I did a small piece on Indian election for an online blog; have written a small piece for op-ed page and finished writing a story that would go into a special Sunday section two weeks from now.

Few stories are "under progress."

That apart, I've met people from different sectors, some that are of my immediate interests and some that are totally new to me.

Then there have been some off-the-newsroom stuff: kayaking, boat-ride, shopping at grocery stuff, taking driving lessons and ensuring I don't piss off the Americans on the road, and much more than I can't divulge for obvious reasons!

What I could, for the sake of transparency though, is that I learnt how to operate the laundry at my condominium, operate the micro-wave without a blast and go shopping for groceries at the neighborhood super-chains.

Who else but one of my mentors could I resort to for guidance! So it was Chan - Chaning Lowe, senior journalist and one of acclaimed cartoonist of the newspaper - who had to do the honors. He did it uncomplainingly.

For most people here, it's hard to fathom an Indian journalist ignorant about using a coin-operated laundry and micro-wave. I had had tryst with none so far.

Chan was astounded to know that Nagpur goes without power for five to seven hours, and going by the way things are heading we are better off with hands and stove!

This afternoon, I met Mr. Kigsley Guy, former Editorial Page editor of Sun Sentinel and Tony's predecessor, over lunch. He's the new addition to my list of mentors!

With tasks cut out, I only hope my cup doesn't overflow with things I can't do!