• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
  • About Us
  • Videos
    • Featured Video
    • Foodie Friday
    • Monthly ReCap
  • Online E-Editions
    • This Week’s E-Editions
    • 2022
    • 2021
    • 2020
    • 2019
    • 2018
    • 2017
    • 2016
    • 2015
    • 2014
  • Social Media
    • Facebook
    • Twitter
    • Instagram
  • Advertising
  • Local Jobs
  • Puzzles & Games
  • Circulation Request

The Laker/Lutz News

  • Home
  • News
    • Land O’ Lakes
    • Lutz
    • Wesley Chapel/New Tampa
    • Zephyrhills/East Pasco
    • Business Digest
    • Senior Parks
    • Nature Notes
    • Featured Stories
    • Photos of the Week
    • Reasons To Smile
  • Sports
    • Land O’ Lakes
    • Lutz
    • Wesley Chapel/New Tampa
    • Zephyrhills and East Pasco
    • Check This Out
  • Education
  • Pets/Wildlife
  • Health
    • Health Events
    • Health News
  • What’s Happening
  • Sponsored Content
    • Closer Look
  • Homes
  • Obits
  • Public Notices

Watergate

A conversation with Brian Calle, publisher of The Laker/Lutz News

November 23, 2021 By B.C. Manion

Brian Calle, the new publisher of The Laker/Lutz News, sat down with B.C. Manion, editor of the newspaper, to talk about the path that led him into newspaper ownership — and why he thinks print publications play an important role in today’s media landscape.

Editor’s note: The questions and the answers, presented here, have been edited for clarity and brevity.

Where did you grow up? Can you tell us a little bit about your childhood?
I was born in L.A. County, in Whittier, and shortly thereafter moved to the Inland Empire of California, to a city called Chino.

I was raised by a single mom — me and my sister, Breanna.

My sister and I are super close, 14-, 15-months apart — as  opposite as they come, but super close.

My sister, my mom and I also had a really tight relationship with my grandmother and my grandfather.

My grandmother was a very strong, fiery, full-blooded Italian, matriarch of the family.

My mom was struggling to raise two kids. She was on welfare and food stamps at one point, and then later, working three jobs. She studied while she worked and became a gemologist, building a small jewelry business.

My grandmother’s parents emigrated from Italy and she was born in Rome, New York, and then made her way to California. She only flew once in her life and that was back to Rome for her father’s funeral.

My grandfather was a bakery superintendent.

In my family, no one went to college. You graduated high school and then went to work with your hands.

I remember telling my grandmother and grandfather that I was going to work with my brains.

My grandmother loved it. My grandfather was not too fond of that conversation.

How did you discover your interest in journalism?
You know, that started when I was really young. I remember watching the presidential debates. I was more fascinated with the moderators and the journalists asking the questions than I was with the candidates themselves.

When he was studying the presidency of Richard Nixon, he recalls being particularly interested in Bob Woodward and Carl Bernstein, the Washington Post investigative reporters who did much of the original reporting on the Watergate scandal that led to Nixon’s resignation.

I don’t think it clicked for me at the time, that I would ever be a journalist. I actually always thought that I would be an actor.

I did theater growing up, and it didn’t come until later that I realized that I really loved journalism and that I could get the same kind of feeling, or energy, that I got from performing. That was especially true when I had my radio show and television show.

You’re still performing, but you’re performing in a different way.

The thing I learned that I loved most is that I could take really complex, difficult topics and make them entertaining and interesting to people.

I read that you worked for Sally Ride, the first American female sent into space. Tell us about that.
My first job out of college was working for Sally Ride Science. My best friend in high school — Whit — is Sally Ride’s nephew.

Brian Calle, left, is at Fox 11 Studio, in Los Angeles, where he was co-hosting ‘You Decide SoCal,’ along with Tony Ewing, who is not pictured.(Courtesy of Brian Calle)

Sally was doing one of her first science festivals for girls at UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles). Her sister, “Bear” — Karen is her real name, but everybody calls her Bear — called me and said, ‘Hey, we’re doing the science festival for girls at UCLA. We need help. Can you come volunteer?’

He was happy to help, enjoyed the experience and volunteered to pitch in at other festivals. His efforts attracted Sally Ride’s attention.

After one of the festivals, Sally took me for a walk and said, ‘Hey, I’ve heard what you’ve been doing, I’d like you to come and work for me, full-time.’

I was in college. No one in my family had graduated college.

I was like, ‘I would love to do that, but I have to graduate college.’

She was like, ‘OK, can you consult?’

I didn’t know what the word consult was. Zero idea.

‘I was like, I don’t know what that means. But if you explain it to me, maybe.’

She was like: ‘It means I pay you a stipend to do a certain amount of work every month.’

Then she’s like: ‘Do you have classes on Friday?’

I was like: ‘No.’

Then, she’s like: ‘Do you have classes on the weekends?’

I said: ‘No.’

Sally Ride then asked him to come into the office on Fridays and to help at science festivals on the weekends. By the time he graduated from college, she offered him a full-time job as director of sales and marketing for Sally Ride Science.

Sally was a mentor to me. I learned so much from her. She was one of the most gracious and smartest people.

Sally would say, ‘Hey, can you do this? Can you do that? Can you write a press release. Can you write an editorial?’

And, I didn’t know what those things were — or I did know what they were, tangentially — but I’d never done it. So, I would Google: ‘How to write a press release.’

Have you had any turning points that presented an unexpected opportunity, or sent you in a surprising direction?
The decision that changed my life was taking the job at The Orange County Register. As an elder millennial, I never thought I would go work at a newspaper. I just never thought it.

It was around 2008-2009 and I was being recruited by the Orange County Register, and I said ‘No.’

I didn’t think that was my path.

Plus, everything I was reading at the time was about this newspaper going under, or that newspaper going under.

When approached by a friend from The Orange County Register about six months after the initial overture, he joined the staff. That led to a series of promotions. He became vice president at Freedom Communications, which owned The Orange County Register and Riverside Press-Enterprise. Freedom was acquired by Southern California News Group and he was appointed to oversee opinion editorial content for its 11 newspapers and websites. He also was the co-host of Fox 11’s “You Decide SoCal” television news broadcast and the host of the Catch-Up daily radio show on KABC.
During his career, his employers have gone through ownership changes, bankruptcy and other difficulties — which, he said, helped him develop a thicker skin to prepare for future challenges.

Flash forward to now. His company, Street Media LLC, owns the LA Weekly, the Irvine Weekly, and the Marina Times, all in California; The Village Voice, in New York; and, The Laker/Lutz News, in Florida.


Obviously, you’re optimistic about print’s role in today’s media landscape. When print is declining in so many places, what gives you faith in print’s future?
From a journalism perspective, a lot of people like the disconnecting — of putting their phone down — and being able to open a print product and not have any kind of distraction in the presentation. There’s something special about that experience.

Brian Calle is at KABC Studios, in Culver City, hosting the ‘Catch-Up Daily’ radio show. (Courtesy of Brian Calle)

From an advertiser perspective, advertisers are starting to look at newspapers more like billboards, and they’re putting that into their action plan for their budgets.

Historically, we would use the newspaper and we put in a coupon and we would track the coupon. A lot of that has moved to digital.

But we need awareness because if we don’t have a billboard and tell people here’s the logo and here’s where we are, then they’re never going to convert to a final sale.

So, I think marketers are starting to realize that ‘Oh, print is our own billboard.’ And, in many cases, it gets read more than the billboard, because it gets passed around.

I think print is part of the broader toolkit. It would be foolhardy not to do digital. All forms of digital — from obviously the typical website, but engagement on social media, too.

That’s something that’s cool about The Laker. There’s a young crew who is obviously passionate about social media, taking the stories and sharing them on the different platforms.

You have to tell the stories, where the eyeballs are. Some eyeballs are on print, some are on social, some are on the Web, and who knows what’s next.

The Laker/Lutz News is your most recent acquisition. Why invest here?
In addition to having a solid position in a dynamic market, The Laker/Lutz News has some specific strengths.

The print is so well-done, so well-supported by the community, and the team here is so dedicated and committed to it. I think that’s why it’s in the position that it’s in.

It’s in a rare position, compared to a lot of community papers, sadly, throughout the country.

One of the things that I love about The Laker — which was kind of the sealing of the deal for me — is the neutrality of the content.

It truly is a journalism operation. It is by the book. You don’t infuse politics. You don’t have an agenda, and, you know, I hate to say it, but that’s becoming rare in our industry.

We can have our perspective and we can have our opinion pages, that’s fine. But we can’t have a society where 50% operates on one set of facts and 50% operates on another set of facts.

Note: Brian Calle, the new publisher of The Laker/Lutz News, wants the community to know that he’s very accessible. If you’d like to touch base with him, email

Revised Nov. 25, 2021

The Dade City Banner chronicled local news

October 6, 2020 By Doug Sanders

By the time Katharine Graham became publisher of the Washington Post in 1963, Margaret Bazzell had already been the publisher for The Dade City Banner for 20 years.

Both women became owners of their family owned newspapers upon the deaths of their husbands.

Succeeding in a male-dominated industry, Graham was the first female publisher of a major American newspaper. Her paper’s coverage of the Watergate scandal eventually led to the resignation of President Richard Nixon in 1974.

The National Guard was brought in to protect dozens of homes and businesses damaged by a tornado, as reported by The Dade City Banner on April 2, 1959. (Courtesy of the University of Florida Digital Collections)

Bazzell became the first female publisher in Pasco County during World War II. Her husband died when he was just 42.

The newspaper reported the death under the headline — “H. S. Bazzell died suddenly Sunday p.m.,” spelled out in all capital letters.

An account, published Jan. 22, 1943, said in part: “When an employee is called upon to chronicle the passing of his employer and intimate friend it borders on the impossible.”

Prior to the Banner’s first publication on July 25, 1913, it chose a name that was briefly considered for Pasco County in 1887.

Volume 1, number 1 of the Banner was a “well-edited and well-appearing paper,” observed its first editor John Tippen.

Published on the Banner’s front page was a picture of “the beautiful Edwinola Hotel.” It was completed the previous year at a cost of about $50,000.

The structure was described this way in the Banner: “It is a fire-proof concrete building of three stories, containing 32 guest rooms, all of which are located on the second and third floors, the first floor being used for office, parlor and a dining room.”

In a notice to its readers and advertisers in 1915, the Banner promised “to conduct a clean, wholesome newspaper, which will give in every instance a fair deal to all.”

For much of the Banner’s history, that public pledge was followed by Margaret Bazzell.

During her time as owner and publisher until 1968, Margaret Bazzell would see her son, Harley S. Bazzell Jr., become editor.

She also hired her daughter-in-law Roszlyn “Ro” Bazzell (who died earlier this year); Harold Taylor, as typesetter; and William R. Branas, as advertising manager.

Calling itself “Pasco County’s Leading Newspaper,” the Banner became a daily and would eventually cover all of East and Central Pasco County, including the towns of Blanton, Dade City, Land O’ Lakes, Richland, Ridge Manor, San Antonio, Trilby, Gator (Wesley Chapel) and Zephyrhills.

“We lived within walking distance of our jobs,” former reporter Nell Moody Woodcock recalls on the Pasco County history website Fivay.org.

This old post card shows the offices of The Dade City Banner sometime in the early 1920s. The newspaper’s staff is pictured on the front steps, while a company car is shown on the right. (Courtesy of David Ward)

Keeping a finger on the pulse on Pasco
“The Banner was the newspaper of record for legal advertisements. Hard news was generated at the Pasco County Courthouse or city hall,” Woodcock recalls.

It was convenient that the Coleman and Ferguson Funeral Home was located on the opposite side of Seventh Street from the Banner.

“Their ambulances were called to emergencies, and a check with the front office would reveal the location and severity of the incident,” explains Woodcock, who grew up in Lacoochee and later retired as a staff reporter with The Tampa Tribune.

Readers especially enjoyed the Society Page by editor Catherine H. McIntosh. This section of the Banner was filled with articles about children’s birthday parties, families entertaining out-of-town guests, and weddings that were not complete without full descriptions of the dresses worn by the brides.

Typical was the following published on June 30, 1952: “Given in marriage by her father, the bride (Miss Vivian Bailey) wore a gown of candlelight satin with the full skirt terminating in a cathedral train. An overskirt of princess lace was a feature of the gown, which was fashioned with a basque bodice, with jewel neckline and long fitted sleeves with points over the hands. Her fingertip veil of illusion fell from a Queen of Scots cap, caught with orange blossoms, and appliqued with princess lace. She carried a shower bouquet of lilies of the valley and stephanotis, centered with a white orchid.”

With no door-to-door delivery, “subscribers got the paper in the mail (and) those who were in the military could learn all about what was happening back home by having the paper mailed to them,” according to the Fivay.org website.

That included local sports coverage by Gerald Newton, who was hired by the Banner in 1965 while still a 23-year-old student at Southeastern Bible College in Lakeland.

“I was once warned about being too wordy with some of my articles,” Newton posted on his Facebook page for Feb. 23, 2020.

This undated photograph shows the new Edwinola Hotel near downtown Dade City. Opening on March 8, 1912, it made front page news published in the first edition of The Dade City Banner on July 25, 1913. (Courtesy of Fivay.org)

The 1979 Dade City Little League state championship and the 1992 Pasco Pirate state title were covered during his 47-year career that spanned three newspapers following the Banner, as well as sports director for radio station WDCF in Dade City, and as a coach and teacher for Pasco County Schools.

Nearly 3,000 issues of The Dade City Banner are part of the digital collections on file at the University of Florida.

Preserving the newspaper began with efforts by the Pasco County Genealogy Society in 2000.

“They thought it would be a good idea to start indexing the births, deaths and marriages in The Dade City Banner,” explains Glen Thompson, a member of the Friends of the Hugh Embry Library in Dade City.

Following seven years of work on issues printed from 1913 to 1923, these copies were sent to the University of Florida. Also shipped out were Banners found in a dumpster, and others stored in archival boxes at city hall.

According to Angelo Liranzo, the library’s manager, copies of The Dade City Banner were digitized from 1914 to 1971 at a cost of approximately $15,000.

While the digital files are all PDF, the original papers still survive.

They chronicle news including construction of the new Evans bulk orange juice concentrate facilities south of Dade City in 1957, and the closing of the Cummer & Sons Cypress Company in 1959.

But, the stories of generations of families are the primary history that is preserved, in part, on the pages of The Dade City Banner.

The records are not clear, but sometime between 1973 and 1974, The Dade City Banner changed its name to The Pasco News under new management.

Doug Sanders has a penchant for unearthing interesting stories about local history. His sleuthing skills have been developed through his experiences in newspaper and government work. If you have an idea for a future history column, contact Doug at .

Published October 07, 2020

Primary Sidebar

A Conversation with Lutz Filmmaker, Alexis Yahre

Search

Sponsored Content

Avalon Park Wesley Chapel Aims to Provide A Sense of Belonging

May 24, 2022 By Special to The Laker/Lutz News

For Mental Health Awareness Month, the National Alliance on Mental Illness (NAMI) is focusing on the message: “Together … [Read More...] about Avalon Park Wesley Chapel Aims to Provide A Sense of Belonging

A Guide for Summer Camps in Pasco County 

May 23, 2022 By Special to The Laker/Lutz News

Summer break is quickly approaching and organizations throughout Pasco County are offering camps for children of all … [Read More...] about A Guide for Summer Camps in Pasco County 

More Posts from this Category

What’s Happening

05/26/2022 – Food distribution

Farm Share, the Pasco Sheriff’s Office, Pasco Sheriff Charities, the Pasco County NAACP, and the Boys & Girls Clubs of Tampa Bay will partner for a free food distribution on May 26 starting at 9 a.m., at the Boys & Girls Club of Lacoochee, 38724 Mudcat Grant Blvd., in Dade City. Food will be given out on a first-come, first-served basis, while supplies last. The event is a drive-thru, rain or shine. … [Read More...] about 05/26/2022 – Food distribution

05/26/2022 – Lawn fertilization

Keep Pasco Beautiful will host a workshop for HOAs, homeowners and anyone who wants to learn how to properly maintain their lawn, on May 26 from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m., at the Patel College of Global Sustainability, 4202 E. Fowler Ave., Room 136, in Tampa. Panelists will include members from the Tampa Bay Estuary Program and the University of Florida Pasco Extension Office, who will explore a range of fertilization topics. For information and to register, visit EventBrite.com. … [Read More...] about 05/26/2022 – Lawn fertilization

05/28/2022 – Memorial Day Concert

The “Let’s Do Good Memorial Day Concert” is scheduled for May 28 from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., at Land O’ Lakes Heritage Park, 5401 Land O’ Lakes Blvd., to benefit the Tunnel to Towers Foundation. Tunnel to Towers provides mortgage-free homes to Gold Star and fallen first responder families with young children, and builds custom-designed smart homes for catastrophically injured veterans and first responders. The foundation is committed to eradicating veteran homelessness and aiding the victims of major U.S. disasters. The event will include vendors, gifts, a Forget-Me-Not Garden, and more. Entertainment will be provided by Fred Chandler, Charles Goodwin, Cruz Er Mac, Mike Henderson, and Travis White. Special guests include Congressman Gus Bilirakis and State Sen. Danny Burgess. Rain date is Sept. 10. … [Read More...] about 05/28/2022 – Memorial Day Concert

05/28/2022 – Pet supply drive

Munchies Natural Pet Foods, 1722 Bruce B. Downs Blvd., in Wesley Chapel, will host a Pet Supply Drive on May 28, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., to benefit the Pet Peace of Mind Program at Gulfside Hospice. Gulfside team members will be on site to offer information about the program and to collect donated supplies, such as pet food, cat litter, treats, basic supplies and other items. The donations will be distributed to hospice patients, to help provide care for their pets. For information about the Peace of Mind program, visit Gulfside.org, or call 727-845-5707. … [Read More...] about 05/28/2022 – Pet supply drive

05/28/2022 – Seafood Festival-CANCELLED

The North Tampa Bay Chamber’s Summer Seafood Festival is scheduled for May 28 from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., at the Tampa Premium Outlets, 2300 Grand Cypress Drive in Lutz, between the outlets and At Home. There will be seafood, crab races, a kids zone, live bands, craft beer, a local market, a Nautical Art Show, and a crab claw-eating contest. For information, call 727-674-1464. … [Read More...] about 05/28/2022 – Seafood Festival-CANCELLED

05/30/2022 – Memorial Day Ceremony

Lexington Oaks Community Center, 26304 Lexington Oaks Blvd., in Wesley Chapel, will host a Memorial Day Ceremony on May 30 from 3 p.m. to 3:30 p.m., in front of the big flag. There will be patriotic songs and readings, and the playing of "Taps."  The event is weather permitting. … [Read More...] about 05/30/2022 – Memorial Day Ceremony

More of What's Happening

Follow us on Twitter

The Laker/Lutz NewsFollow

Home for all your local news in Land O' Lakes, Lutz, New Tampa, Wesley Chapel, Zephyrhills and Dade City.

The Laker/Lutz News
LakerLutzNewsThe Laker/Lutz News@LakerLutzNews·
10h

🪺 Two Lutz residents who are members of the Tampa Audubon Society, maintain and monitor 25 bird boxes throughout Lake Park. Bluebirds and other species of birds use them to lay and hatch eggs during nesting season 🪺 https://lakerlutznews.com/lln/2022/05/101807/

4
Reply on Twitter 1529554228989112320Retweet on Twitter 15295542289891123201Like on Twitter 15295542289891123203Twitter 1529554228989112320
LakerLutzNewsThe Laker/Lutz News@LakerLutzNews·
12h

FEATURED STORY of the week! 🗞️ Pasco County Administrator Dan Biles is leaving the top job in the county, after five years of serving at the helm. He and his wife, Mandy, are moving overseas to be involved in church development work. https://lakerlutznews.com/lln/2022/05/101809/

Reply on Twitter 1529520173778083841Retweet on Twitter 1529520173778083841Like on Twitter 1529520173778083841Twitter 1529520173778083841
LakerLutzNewsThe Laker/Lutz News@LakerLutzNews·
16h

"It's not Wednesday until you read The Laker!" This week's stories are in! https://lakerlutznews.com/lln/

Reply on Twitter 1529457252339531779Retweet on Twitter 15294572523395317791Like on Twitter 1529457252339531779Twitter 1529457252339531779
Load More...

Archives

 

 

Where to pick up The Laker and Lutz News

Copyright © 2022 Community News Publications Inc.

    Doc