I produced this piece for a class at UC Berkeley’s Journalism School. I shot most of it myself, and got help from classmates with the stand-ups and some of the interviews. Soon after I started shooting, the New York Times ran the story on the front page.
A family tragedy, a public forum
Internet provides support for loved ones during illness, sympathy when worst happens
(This story ran on Sunday’s A1.)
By Raquel Maria Dillon | THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
In the early-morning hours, as his son was waging what would be a fatal fight with meningitis, Greg Fogg would leave his son’s San Francisco hospital room and sit down before a computer screen.
“I’d be up in the middle of the night on the computer in the hospital cafeteria,” he said. “You can’t sleep because you’re worried about tomorrow’s surgery, so you go downstairs and read the Web site.”
Now, two weeks after 15-year-old Garrett Fogg’s death, his father still gets up at 2 a.m. to check garrettfogg.com and the more than 1,330 messages of support that continue to grow in number.What began as a practical way to communicate with family members and friends soon became a vital connection and emotional support for the family. It’s a connection becoming more common as individuals, private companies and even hospitals offer the Internet as a way not only to communicate a loved one’s condition, but to cope.
Swaying to soundtrack of life
SONOMA COUNTY FAIR: Trio Zaragoza takes audience down memory lane with greatest hits of 1940s Mexico
This story ran on Sunday’s A1 and with an audio slideshow online.
The editors were desperate for a piece about the growing popularity of the county fair among Latino families. I couldn’t think of anything interesting to say about the fake charreada or the Batalla de las Bandas. Then I found the trio, working musicians playing their hearts out on a small stage in between taco trucks and churro stands. I knew how the music evokes nostalgia across generations, because they reminded me of the boleros my grandfather used to sing. Molina was also a great talker — bonus! I wanted to put him on the radio. Instead, I pitched a slideshow, only the second that the paper had ever done.
By Raquel Maria Dillon | THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Of all the musical acts at the Sonoma County Fair, Trio Zaragoza plays the smallest stage. It’s barely a stage at all, just a corner near the picnic tables in the Mexican Village area.
With sweet romantic lyrics and delicate guitars, traditional trios take audience members on a trip down memory lane with the greatest hits of 1940s Mexico.
“We’re not ranch hands, we’re caballeros – the last gentlemen of the great Golden Age of Mexico,” said Carlos Molina, who manages the group and plays bass.
Bishop defends diocese response
Walsh says molestation allegations reported with ‘reasonable speed’
This was the lead story in Sunday’s paper, one of several I wrote while following a clergy sexual abuse case, which might have been one of the biggest stories in Santa Rosa that summer.
By Raquel Maria Dillon | THE PRESS DEMOCRAT
Bishop Daniel Walsh, breaking his public silence on the latest allegation of clergy sexual abuse, said Saturday he “acted in good faith and … with reasonable speed to notify authorities.”
In a letter being distributed at services this weekend, Walsh said he didn’t believe the Rev. Xavier Ochoa was a flight risk given his “many loyal supporters in Sonoma County.”
Ochoa, an assistant pastor at St. Francis Solano parish in Sonoma, has been charged with molesting three boys and is believed to have fled to Mexico.
Walsh and other church leaders have been criticized for failing to report Ochoa immediately when he confessed inappropriate behavior with one boy.
1st Openly Gay Episcopal Bishop Elected
In New Hampshire, Gay Man Elected Episcopal Bishop
Episcopalians in New Hampshire elect an openly gay priest as their next bishop. If confirmed by the church’s national General Convention next month, Rev. V. Gene Robinson will become the first openly gay Episcopal bishop in the country. Hear Raquel Maria Dillon of New Hampshire Public Radio.
Listen with Windows Media Player: Gay Bishop Elected (transcript after the jump)
SETI Telescope
I produced this science story at UC Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism. A classmate shot and I reported, produced, edited and pretended to be Leslie Stahl from 60 Minutes.
Spin Room
A dizzying evening in the spin room
I covered the debate for NHPR and later filed this freelance story for NPR’s On the Media.
HOST BROOKE GLADSTONE: After Thursday’s debate wrapped up, the weary candidates exited stage right and went, not home to bed, but on to the Spin Room. There, the reporters ask the questions that didn’t get asked in the debate, and the candidates reiterated their messages.
New Hampshire Public Radio’s Raquel Maria Dillon sent us this postcard from backstage after a debate last month in Durham, New Hampshire.
Listen to MP3: Spin Room (full transcript after jump)
AARP NH Primary debate
Democratic Candidates Target GOP Medicare Drug Plan during AARP Debate
The Republican-backed Medicare prescription drug bill is providing a convenient target for some of the Democratic Presidential candidates.
At a forum in New Hampshire Tuesday, some of them slammed the Republican plan, which would provide prescription drugs to senior citizens. The sponsor of the event, the AARP, endorsed the Republican legislation Monday.
Raquel Maria Dillon of New Hampshire Public Radio reports.
Listen with Windows Media Player: AARP Debate (transcript below)
NH Loves Motorcycles
New Hampshire loves Motorcycles
From New Hampshire Public Radio, Raquel Maria Dillon finds New Hampshire residents are awfully fond of motorcycles. Despite the ice and snow, residents of the Granite state own more bikes per capita than residents of any other state.
Listen with Windows Media Player: NH Motorcycles (transcript after the jump)