Reporter back with the Times-Herald
St. Clair: 'Vallejo at crossroads'
Longtime Vallejoan Katy St. Clair has been added to the Times-Herald reporting staff.
It’s déjà vu for St. Clair, who worked for the TimesHerald and The Reporter in Vacaville from 2016 to 2018.
“There is nothing better than writing stories,” St. Clair said. “Journalism lets me dive into something completely, research, interview, then synthesize into something that hopefully helps the community.”
Times- Herald Editor Jack F.K. Bungart was effusive in praising St. Clair.
“I had a chance to interview a number of great candidates for our opening and were set to move ahead on the hiring process,” said Bungart. “Then came the opportunity to bring Katy back into the fold, and it was simply too perfect to pass up. Aside from knowing the players in town, Katy brings versatility, depth, work ethic and, of course, talent to our staff. It’s great to have her back, and I know our readers will feel the same.”
Times obviously changed since St. Clair last wrote for the Times-Herald in 2018.
“Being a reporter is often 80 percent being on the phone, so my terror of catching COVID on the job is reduced by being here,” she said. “Vallejo is really at a crossroads — but yes, we could say that at any point in our history I suppose. It is in the same place that West Oakland was in when I first moved there 20 years ago. There’s a struggle between gentr if ic ation and the need to tackle our economic inequalit ie s . A nd then, of course, we do have our scandals. So yeah, same Vallejo, different day. I wouldn’t leave it for anything though. This is the first place I’ve found real community.”
St. Clair, who will work as a general assignment reporter in her return, had left the Times-Herald and The Reporter in Vacaville after two year to take a job with the San Francisco public defender’s office under the late Jeff Adachi.
“One of the best things about that job was that I still got to interact with reporters all the time,” St. Clair continued. “So I felt like I had one foot in each world. At heart I am always a journalist.”
Local journalism is vital, St. Clair said.
“All school kids need to be taught about how journalism works, that we are just like doctors or accountants. We are professionals who go by a standard of ethics,” St. Clair said. “There seems to be an idea out there that writers just set their cat loose on the keyboard and turn that in, and that that flies as news. Students need to learn all of the things that go into a story. As for local news, it breaks my heart when I go online and see it disparaged here. People don’t realize that local news is disappearing, especially by people who live here, in the community like you and I. If we didn’t have reporters on the ground here, so many things would be overlooked that are going on. They would be passed up for bigger stories that the TV channels would cover. We have some good grassroots blogging here and some other investigative sites, but that is not a replacement for daily journalism from trained journalists.”
St. Clair’s numerous journalism awards include: National Association of Newspaper Columnists, First Place, Humor; Peninsula Press Club Award, First Place, Column; Association of Alternative Newsweeklies Award; and California Newspaper Publishers Award, Best Column.
To reach Katy St. Clair, email kstlcair@timesherhaldonline.com.