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When Soumya Karlamangla, who lives in San Francisco, tells somebody she works for The New York Occasions, the response is commonly the identical: a glance of confusion.
“Folks that I’m interviewing within the area will say, ‘Oh, they flew you out right here for this?’” she stated in a latest dialog. “I often inform them that there’s an excellent variety of Occasions reporters in California. We’ve got two bureaus.”
Ms. Karlamangla, who writes the California At this time publication, joined The Occasions in July 2021 from The Los Angeles Occasions, the place she lined well being care information.
“I used to be uninterested in writing about Covid-19,” she stated. When The Occasions approached her with a possibility to cowl information within the Golden State, she didn’t hesitate.
Ms. Karlamangla grew up in a suburb of Los Angeles, the place she moved from the Midwest when she was 4. Now residing within the Richmond neighborhood of San Francisco, she finds a lot of her inspiration for the publication, which publishes each weekday, in her environment. Final 12 months, for instance, she noticed plenty of Burmese eating places in her neighborhood and wrote in regards to the rise of the delicacies. She just lately reported on how California bought its identify, answering a query she’d lengthy had.
In a cellphone interview, Ms. Karlamangla shared her favourite half about reporting from California and her pursuit to report from all 58 of its counties. The dialog beneath has been edited and condensed.
How do you determine what to cowl for the publication?
It’s a mixture of what I discover attention-grabbing, what I feel readers may gain advantage from and what my editors are taking note of. One factor that’s totally different about writing a publication versus being a beat reporter is that I take into consideration the publication on a weekly foundation. We’ve got 5 newsletters every week, so are all of them including one thing of worth to readers? Are we leaning too exhausting on gentle information or too exhausting on heavier information? As a result of it is a publication that lands in folks’s inbox very first thing within the morning, you need to be a bit bit extra mild. Individuals don’t need to click on on a publication at 6:30 a.m. and discover out the world goes to catch on fireplace in a 12 months.
I need to assist clarify issues to individuals who have seen headlines about sure information however possibly don’t have the complete context, like why U.C.L.A.’s chancellor is testifying on Capitol Hill, or what the Santa Cruz Metropolis Council is doing with the collapse of the beachside promenade.
How a lot of your reporting is on the bottom?
Once I took over the publication, I had a aim that I needed to go to and report from all 58 counties in California. I’ve made it to 50. On most days, I’m in my condo writing. However that is the sort of job the place I would fly out to San Diego, for instance, to spend 4 days there and report a number of tales for the publication.
I typically get tapped to report breaking information within the state, too. I used to be in Half Moon Bay final 12 months due to the mass taking pictures there. A couple of weeks in the past, I awoke at 6 a.m. to a cellphone name from my editor who needed me to go to U.C.L.A in order that I might report on the protests there over the conflict in Gaza.
You’ve written loads in regards to the latest rebranding of California — the altering of its slogan, the redesign of Hollywood Boulevard and Disneyland. Is there a purpose all of that is taking place now?
California is large and a spot of reinvention, so there’s all the time stuff like that occuring. I feel the state tourism board is attempting to get forward of a scenario the place folks exterior of California solely see the state by way of a political lens and subsequently don’t see it as a enjoyable place to trip. I really feel like California is all the time attempting to stroll a superb line and determine the suitable option to current itself.
What’s the most important problem of writing California At this time?
Looking for tales and views that really feel consultant of 39 million folks. California has so many alternative identities, locations, geographies. Making an attempt to slim down what we’d write about, the place The Occasions can add worth and the place my reporting expertise and experience can add worth is basically exhausting.
What’s the commonest suggestions you obtain from readers?
Our reader emails are superb. They’ll say one thing like: “I begin my day with this article and a cup of espresso. Thanks a lot for all of the exhausting work that you just do.” I get a type of as soon as a day. This article is sort of a public service. It’s free. Persons are so invested in it.
What’s an ideal day in California seem like for you?
To me, any good day in San Francisco includes visiting Golden Gate Park and strolling round seeing all of the folks. In L.A., the climate is all the time the identical. In San Francisco, there’s barely extra climate variation, and it has introduced me nice pleasure to reside right here and go to the park when the climate is sweet. Feeling that communal pleasure is one thing I’ve truthfully by no means skilled earlier than.
What’s your favourite a part of residing in California?
The variety of geography. There are such a lot of issues you can see in someday, just like the seaside or snowy mountains. We’ve got so many nationwide parks right here, they usually all look wildly totally different.
And your least favourite?
It’s costly. The price of residing will not be nice.
