PW article listing all writers over the years, including Justin

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Thank you publishers, editors, reporters, writers, artists, photographers, illustrators, ad reps, accountants, company execs and all who helped in creating the Pasadena Weekly

By Kevin Uhrich, Pasadena Weekly, July 11, 2019

A

Linda Abdanan

Gigi Abrantes

Philip Accas

Susan Acker

Steven Acosta

Edrea Adams

Alejandro Aguilar

Janet Aird

Jonathan Alcorn

Steve Alcorn

Gina Alexander

Jennifer Alfred

Joey Alkes

John Allen

Juan Alvarado

Michael Alvarez

Sarah Amador

Ani Amirkhanian

Rene Amy

Paul Andersen

Dianne Anderson

January Anderson

Talin Anderson

Tom Anderson

Katherine Andrews

Ross Anthony 

Vibiana Aparicio-Chamberlin

Teena Apeles

Steve Appleford

Danny Arnold

Jake Armstrong

Rick Arthur

Jefferson Asbury

Deborah Ashe

Chuck Atkins

Rob Atkinson 

Brad Auerbach

Kathleen August

Kevin Ausmus

B

Ann Babcock

Lee Baca

Jenine Baines

Andrea Baker

Merrill Balassone

Kristina Balian

Kent Bancroft

Fred Bankston

Anne Louise Bannon

Ross Barker

Lesley Bargar

Michelle Barnes

Jodi Barr

Ric Barrick

Lynda J. Barry

Rochelle Bassarear

Catherine Bauknight

Mary Cogswell Baum

Bob Baxter

Nikki Bazar

Joe Beauvais

Max Beck

Roy Begley

Jake Belcher

Laura Bell

Joanna Dehn Beresford

Karolann Bergman

Molly Berman

Lenise Bernardino

Michael Bertino

Robert Bertoldi

Debbie Beyer

Ellen Biasin

Sophia Bicos

Mercedes Blackehart

Sally Blake

Phil Bonney

Bliss Bowen

Dave Blumenkrantz

Bill Bogaard

Claire Bogaard

Bruce Bolkin

Samantha Bonar

Martin Booe

Jenna Bordelon

Martin Bose

Kathy Braidhill

Chris Bray

Brandon Bridges

Jody Brookens

Gale Brown

Ivy Brown

Mike Brown

Meredith Brucker

Patti Brugman

Terry Burke

Martin Burns

Douglas R. Burrows

Colin Burton

Kathy Busse

Rey Bustos

Karen Butts

C

April Caires

Callahan

Chris Calvert

William Campbell

David Caplan

Sallyann Capuano

James Carbone

Sara Cardine

Patti Carmalt-Vener

Cynthia Carr

Agnes Carrera

Philip Carrera

Lisa Carroll

Derek Carter

Ryan Carter

Victor Cass

Gus Castaneda

Perla Castillo

Hadley Catalano

Cris Cerdeña

Dean Chamberlain

Nyrie Chaparian

Galvin Chapman

Justin Chapman

Lisa Chase

Alysia Chavez

Bettina Monique Chavez

Jenn Chavez

Hilary Chen

Scarlet Cheng

Joan Chickillo

Art Chippendale

Glenda Chiu

Dae Kyung Choi

Merlin Chowkwanyun

Liz Churchville

Brenda Clarke

Rachel Clement

Michele Clemens-Silence

Paul Clinton

Kacie Cobian

Rick Cole

André Coleman

Sheila Mendes Coleman

Steve Coll

Michael Collins

David Comden

Susan Compo

Mario Conner

Chris Conrad

Leslie Cooper

Cynthia Copeland

Rev. Dr. Jerry Cornelius

Jose Luis Corrrea

Jill Covell

Jim Cox

Jay Cribas

Greg Critser

David Crowe

Candice Cruickshank

Scott Cruickshank

Stephanie Cuadra

Patricia Cunliffe

Jaymee Cuti

Erik Cyree

David Czamaske

D

Wendy Da

Ivy Dai

Laura Daltry

Susan Darley

Alton Davis

Jo Davis

Nancy Davis

Brian Deagon

Aria Dean

Sherry Simpson Dean

Jerry De Castro

Jacqui Deelstra

Manuel Del Rio

Des Delgadillo

Alicia Dhanifu

Edwin Diaz

Heather Downie

Peter Dreier

Michael Driscoll

Jennifer Duclett

Michael Duggan

Alan Duignan

Lisa Dulyea

Dakota Dunbar

Natalie Dunbar

Spencer Dunbar

Kevin Dunn

Lisa Dupuy

Simone Dupuy

Tina Dupuy

Anthony Durham

Sam Durkey

Will Durst

Caroline Dyer

E

David Ebershoff

Robert Echeverria

Andrea Edmonds

Charles Edwards

Megan Edwards

Donald Emero

Mary W. Emerson

John W. Emmons

Erica English

Larry Enright

Ann Erdman

Randy Ertll

Lee Esbenshade

Rachel Esquibel

John Esther

Maricela Estrada

Bill Evans

Dan Evans

Linda Evans

Vic Everett

Tommy Ewasko

F

Curtis Fallgren

James Farr

Mick Farren

Rick Federman

Mario Felix

Dave Felt

Devon Fenimore

Elsie Figueroa

Pamela Fisher

Jim Findlay

Tracy Fink

Teri Lyn Fisher

Michael Flannery

Lizanne Fleming

Evan Fletcher

Christopher Floch

George Flores

Kerry Flynn 

Micah Flores

Erik Forrester

Jacqueline Fox

Molly Freedenberg

Diana Friedland

Dan Frosch 

Jon Frosch 

Greg Fry

Karl Frye

D.G. Fulford

Tim Furey

G

Carolyn Gan

Sean Gallagher

Tom Gapen

Evelyn Garcia

Marina Garcia

Richard Garcia

Ken Garduno

Erin Garrovillas

Brian T. Gaughan

Steven Gaydos

David Geary

Jean Gerard

Max Gerber

Charles Gerencser

Ben Gerhardt

Michael Germana

Rebecca Gertmenian

Page Getz

Maryam Ghovanlou

Jackie Gibson

Caryn Gilbert

Tony Gleeson

Linda Glover

Vanessa Gomez

Martín González

Margie Goodhart

Sarah Goodrum

Barry Gordon

Scott Gordon

Larry Goren

Brenda Govine-Ituarte

Janet Gray

Steve Greenberg

Lynda Lin Grigsby

Kim Grinolds

Matt Groening

John Grula

Yvonne Guerrero

Katherine Guillen

Angela Gunn

Javier Gutierrez 

Jon Guynn

Elizabeth Guzman

H

Jennifer Hadley

Marc Haeffele

Sara Hahn

Lisa Hallett

Jessica Hamlin

Grady Harp

Lois Harrell 

Aaron Harris

Michael Hart

Paul Hartsock

Katja Hauser

Rebecca Haussling

Yvonne Hawker

Shirley Hawkins

Tom Hayden

Molly Hayes

Lori Haycox

Liz Hedrick

Daniel Heimpel

David Helfrey

Peter Henne

Kevin Henry

Amblin Her

M. Eileen Hickey

Toby Hicks

George Hierro

Carolyn Hiler

Mary Hill

Darius Hines

Isaiah Hinnerichs

Steve Hochman

B.T. Hodges

Stephanie Hoenig

Jackie Hogue

Larry Hogue

Lauren Holland

Heather Holmes

Kim Holmes

Shiva Homaeirad

Dale Hoppert

Matt Hormann

Alice Horrigan

Sue Horton

Maryam Hosseinzadeh

Tim Hughes

Travis Hunter

Andi Hulser

Evan Hurd

Linda Hutchinson

Earl Ofari Hutchinson

Dan Hutson

David Hwang

Kay Hwangbo

I

Sunny Ing

J

Jennifer Jackman

Colin Jacob

Chip Jacobs

Jamie Jacobs

Julie Jaskol

Joe Jennison

Chuck Jensvold

Cristol Johnson

Betty Johnson

Hillary Johnson

Paula Johnson

Bob Jones

Hillary Jones

Dennis Jopling

Tom Joyce

K

Yumi Kanegawa

Michael Kardos

Rebecca Karpeles

Jan Kasl

Ken Kawamoto

Jeff Keating

Loretta Keller

Bob Kelly

Leigh Kennicott

Judith B. Kendall

Steven Kent

Rashi Kesarwani

Joe Kevany

Thomas Kidd

Frank S. Kilpatrick

Anne Kim

Myung Kim

Caroline Kimbel

Marla King

Stephanie Kinnear

Tulsa Kinney

Zina Klapper

Andy Klein

Julie Klima

Lucinda Michele Knapp

Bruce Koeppel

Rachel Kousser

Aleisha Kropf

Carl Kozlowski

Kim Kozakowski

Nicole Knight

G.D.K. Kualsa

Kurt Kuester

Dean Kuipers

Titania Kumeh

Kay Kusumoto

Rebecca Kueins

L

Lynn Laguna

Melanie Lakie

Linda Lam

Steve Lamb

Leslie Lamm

Jim Laris

Mike Laris

Sue Laris

Ruth Larkin

Linda LaRoche

John Larsen

Zachary Latty

Floyd Lawrence

Stephen C. Laxineta

Teresa Lazazzera

Anthony Le

Eunho Lee

Fred Lee

Nigey Lennon

Jenny Lens

Jess Leon

Leslie Nia Lewis

Jon Lewis-Katz

Jake Lifson

Seymour Linden

Erica Lindquist

Ashley Lindstrom

Sieg Lindstrom

Lauren Lipton

Philip Littell

Dick Lloyd

Erin Loomis

Bill Lobdell

Frank Lopez 

Jaime Lopez

Marianne Love

Tracy Lowe

Alaine Lowell

Kristy Lucero

Patrick Lund

Laura Lugar-Beiler

Suzanne Lummis

Patrick Lund

Joe Lusnia

Julie Anne Luton

Rebecca Lynch

M

Dave MacCormack

Jack Mackey 

Kelly Madison 

George Mahlberg

John C. Mahoney

Sheryl Manalang

Melody Malmberg

Frank Manis

Shirley Manning

Steve Marble 

Don S. Margolin

David Mark

Henry Mark

Carla Marroquin

Marva Marrow

Linda Martin

Tracie D. Martin

Mark Martinez

Nicole Martinez

Ron Matson

Jon Matsumoto

J.C. Matsuura

Edward J. Matys

Joe Mavilia

Duette Maxon

Neil McAnally

Bill McBee

Gary McCarthy

Meta McCullough

Monica McGregor

Sally McKissick

Ralph McKnight

June Mears

Amy Mednick

Joseph Mehler

Bernard Melekian

Phil Mendez

Joseph Mendoza

Rick Mendoza

Tom Mertz 

Gary Miereanu

Calvin Milan

Melissa Miles

Monty Miles

Lisa Miller

Dennis Miser

Rick Mitchell

Michael Molinski

Russell Mondy

Jana J. Monji

Luis Montoya

Inman Moore

Theresa Moreau

Terry Morgan

Aisha Mori

Patricia Morice 

Joe Mullich

Ron Mulligan

Megan Munro

Bobbi Murray

N

Jack Nadelle

Michael Nagami

Hannah Naiditch

Deborah Nakamoto

Yvonne Napier

Phil Neery 

Bryce Nelson

Robert M. Nelson

Carolyn Neuhausen

Robin Neuwirth

Kara Nichols

Natalie Nichols

Vivian Nguyen

Christopher Nyerges

O

Johnny O’Donnell

Pierce O’Donnell

Dan O’Heron

Aliene O’Malley

Kris Okershauser

Phillip Oliver

Tim Oliver

Julie Olson

Rochelle Ordaz

Nathan Ota

Ann Otto

Sona Ovasapian

George Ozuna

P

Stefano Paltera

Joe Pan

Marlene Panoyan

Aldo Panzieri

Bill Paparian

Sue Paterno

Cristina Pena

Grace Perisco

Dan Perkins

Scott Phelps

Gary Phillips

Joe Piasecki

Stephanie Piechowski

Aaron Piña

Ethan Pines

Marry Pivazian

Sarah Pizzaruso

Bobby Pollier

Danny Pollock

Sherrice Porter

Heather Posey

Midge Poynter

Archana Prakash

Patrick Prather

Amanda Price

Ron Prichard

Aaron Proctor

Kyle Prough

R

Ifsha Rahman

Christopher Rainone

Ted Rall

Roopa Raman

Ed Rampell

Quint Randle

Charles Rappleye

Duke Raul

Sharon Redman

Brenda Rees

George Regas

Mary Reinholz

William Relling Jr.

Roseann Renzullo

Georgina Reyes

Thelma T. Reyna

Drew Reynolds

Matt Reynolds

Mary Richards

Janice Ridenour

Julie Riggott

F. Daniel Rigney

Rayne Roberts

Doug Robertson

Rod Rodriguez

Joe Rohde

Lionel Rolfe

Andres Romero

Nancy Rommelmann

Mary Dee Romney

Chad Rooney

Stephanie Rosencrantz 

David Rosenstein

Joe Rossi

Philip Ruddy

Hillarie Rudolph

Kenneth Todd Ruiz

Scott Rupp

Rebecca Rumbo

John Russell

S

Michelle Said

Robin Salzer

Michael Saltzman

Carla Sameth

Javier Sanchez

Julieta Santana

Dan Santat

Joey Santos 

Erik Sapin

Ambrosia Sarabia

Pam Savic

Alexander Sawyer

Paul Sawyer

Marvin Schachter

Peter Scheer

Dana Scheslinger

Terri Schlichenmeyer

Hank Schlinger

Judy Scholtz

Megan Sebestyen

Judy Seckler 

M. John Seeley

Melanie Seidner

Cathy Seipp

Kate Selders

Jolie Selten 

Martha Shaak

Tina Sheely

Sally Sheklow

Ivonne Shepard

Jevonne Sheperd

Andryanna Sheppard

Jessica Shu

Matt Shumate

Steve Sibilsky

David Siegle

Kirk Silsbee

Linda Silvestri

Mark Simmons

Michael Simmons

Steve Simmons

G. Richard Simon

Samantha Sincock

Jenny Singer

Samantha Sincock

Jenny Singer

Mike Slack

Mark Slade

Ron Slack

Shirlee Smith

Cole Smithey

Ellen Snortland

Nathan Solis

John Sollenberger

Norman Solomon

Ted Soqui

Jen Sorensen

Kathy Sostok

Shirley Spencer

Tracy Spicer

Charlie Spradling

Michael Sprague

Christine Stapp

Ashley Stegon

Dina Stegon

J.T. Steiny

Sally Sterling

David Sternlight

Jill Stewart

Scott Streble

Micheal Swank

Mary Ann Swissler

Randy Sydnor

T

Cindy Tang

Jacqueline Tatlyan

Allison Taylor

Carrie Taylor

Marti Taylor

Diane Tegarden

Emily Tellez

Jervey Tervalon

Terencia Tervalon

Nick Terzich

Tim Thein

Phil Therou

Marc Thibert

Cameron Tiede

Dale Tiffany

Maricel Tiong

Tom Tomorrow

Larry Tomoyasu

Maria Tornek

Terry Tornek

Bernadette Torres

Stephanie Torres

Sabrina Toston

Marina Tse

Douglas Tuber

Cameron Turner

Ann Turrietta

U

Jack Uhrich

Kevin Uhrich

Ted Uhrich

Zachary Urbina

V

Melissa Valadares

Alexandra Valdes

Jessica Vallette

Celene Vargas

Joel Vendette

Marilyn Ventress

James Vowell

W

Holly J. Wagner

Paul Wagner

Angela Wang

Jenny Wang

Sarah Wang

Evans Vestal Ward

Lyn Ward

Erica Wayne

Chanell Weathersbee

Jimmy Weathersbee

Jennie Webb

Elizabeth A. Weston

Cindy Whitlock

Tracy Wilcoxen

Lawrence Wilson

Rodger Wilson

Steven Wolf

Marge Wood

Lynn Woods

Quinton Wright

Angela Wu

Lance Wyndon

Y

Eric Yahnker

Zena Yamamoto

Faye Ybanez

Cheryl Young

Mathieu Young

Marcos Yrigoyen

Z

Michele Zack

Gregory Zajac

Mard Porter Zasada

Erica Zeitlin

Marilyn Zeitlin

Kathryn Zirbel

Gregg Zukowski

Elizabeth Zwerling

If you have a connection to the paper and your name does not appear here, please write to kevinu@pasadenaweekly.com so it can be included in our online edition.

PW article about PW's voice over 35 years, mentions Justin

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Readers have welcomed PW’s alternative voice over the past 35 years

By Kevin Uhrich, Pasadena Weekly, July 11, 2019

It was a whole different world in 1984, as America faced the waning days of the Cold War with Russia and Los Angeles played host to the entire planet as the home of the Summer Olympics. Pop culture had one of its greatest years ever with Bruce Springsteen and Prince delivering landmark albums and “Ghostbusters” and “The Karate Kid” leading a summer of enduring film favorites.   

Amid this cultural maelstrom the Pasadena Weekly was born, launching in January that year as a scrappy upstart seeking to provide a fresh, progressive perspective on the city’s news and arts scene. In the intervening 35 years, we’ve proudly earned a slew of awards, helped shine a spotlight on scandals that needed to be exposed and touted the good and even great among our citizenry and leadership.

And through it all, we’ve had the pleasure of covering and working with an esteemed and colorful cast of civic-minded characters who make the Crown City a royal pleasure to live and work in. So we’ve asked a few of our favorite folks for their thoughts on the long, strange trip it’s been in making it to 2019 and beyond.

“I was cofounder of the Weekly, and it was a time when weeklies were emerging all over the country as an alternative to the daily newspaper, usually with more in-depth coverage of issues and more on culture, entertainment and dining than the typical newspaper,” says Santa Monica City Manager Rick Cole, who also served 12 years on the Pasadena City Council in the late ’80s and early ’90s, including a term as mayor from 1992 to 1994.

“I thought there was room for another voice in Pasadena and I think we found it,” Cole says. “I have a degree in journalism but hadn’t been a working journalist, since I was a young kid when we started.

“I found that I love Pasadena and one role that I felt I could play was creating a richer and more varied journalistic voice for the city,” he adds. “I was happy to see it go forward when I focused instead on serving the community in the role of an elected office. Given the titanic changes in journalism over the past 35 years, I think that the survival of an alternative community voice is something we can all take pride in.”

That opinion was echoed by another longtime beloved Pasadenan, former Mayor Bill Bogaard, the city’s first elected mayor in the modern era. Having served the city on its Board of City Directors, which is what the council was called up to 1993, from 1978-86, and again after being elected mayor in 1999, he has seen the city undergo plenty of changes that the Weekly has helped residents keep abreast of.

“The Pasadena Weekly and its predecessors created a whole new level of news coverage in the Pasadena area, and I am grateful for its current and complete reporting of local events,” says the four-term mayor.

“The city has changed significantly during 35 years and we are better informed about those changes because of the Pasadena Weekly,” Bogaard says

One famously feisty voice for justice in the Crown City is Bill Paparian, who served on the council from 1987-99 and continues to serve the city’s residents as a top defense attorney. He credits the Pasadena Weekly with keeping a sharp focus on some of the less positive aspects of the city scene.

“The Weekly has been a consistent voice of the community since the Star-News has become more of a regional paper and the Pasadena Now is so unreliable,” says Paparian. “The Weekly is the only source of good coverage in the community. It’s been fearless in its coverage of the demise of the Pasadena Police Department, consistently covers hard issues and literally on Thursday morning I’m online reading its news. I don’t wait for it on the street.”

One key player for most of the Weekly’s run has been Ellen Snortland, who has provided a valuable feminist perspective on life and a never-ending array of issues since launching her “Consider This” column near the dawn of the 1990s under former Weekly owner Jim Laris.

“’Consider This’ has been a huge blessing since it’s given me a public platform; it’s also been maddening to have a consistent voice and platform to ‘bite’ the hands that have squeezed us in the San Gabriel Valley,” says Snortland. “Thank goodness for Kevin Uhrich, Andre Coleman and [frequent contributor] Justin Chapman; male allies if ever there were any. I’m considered heretical in many circles.

“My editors and publishers have been anomalies and give a glimpse at the way it could be if the media world was more diverse and egalitarian,” she adds. “Generally, mainstream gatekeepers, editors and publishers, are mostly cis white men and they had to have some pretty secure sense of themselves to publish me, which apparently most of them didn’t.”

But perhaps the final word on this is best left to Ann Erdman, who served as the city’s beloved public information officer and director of public affairs over the course of a 21-year run from 1991 to 2012. While she wasn’t in Pasadena for the Weekly’s founding, she quickly realized that it was an indispensable source of news for all.

“I know from talking to various people at the time, it was a rebel newspaper when it was founded and when I did arrive in 1991, I familiarized myself with all the Pasadena-area media,” Erdman recalls. “I saw the Weekly evolve under different editors and one of my very favorite things about the Weekly was the long-running ‘Garfield Grapevine’ column, which had the best gossip on the government. It really was a must read for everybody.

“Later the Pasadena Star-News had some pretty drastic downsizing, but the Weekly is still covering City Hall better than anyone else,” she concludes. “Now the Weekly is the best-reported coverage of City Hall and midtown and in my opinion the only source in print media that is able to do that. For the future, I see the Pasadena Weekly proudly here and not going anywhere, certainly changing from time to time. The Pasadena Weekly is a critical source of Pasadena news.”

PW article about PW's work over the years, mentions Justin

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 You might say PW got better with age

By Kevin Uhrich, Pasadena Weekly, 7/11/2019

Looking back during my time here, I tend to think of all the people I came to know and love and the stories that we shared. So it seems natural that there were no better times for me and many others over the past 20-plus years than when we were producing simply terrific journalism — stories that could have appeared in any magazine in the country, with many going on to win top industry honors. So many awards from competing in national, state and regional contests that memories of the few hard times there have been here truly are fleeting by comparison. 

Maybe that’s being too generous, because there have been more than a few dark days, like when we had to report on the death of friends and colleagues, and take salary cuts at the height of the Great Recession, reminding us this really is a business.

But all that gloom seemed to fade away as we entered awards season at the start of each year, confident in knowing that we were bound to win something for all of our hard work the previous year. 

General Excellence

It was more than likely that the initial intent of the founders of what we know today as the Pasadena Weekly back in 1984 was not to go out and win awards for their efforts.

But good things tend to happen when talented people get together for a righteous common purpose, and in the case of PW, the plan was always to produce the best community newspaper possible on a weekly basis.

To that end, this unanticipated byproduct of dedication to the basic directive — winning awards — was achieved under no less than four separate sets of owners.

For those outstanding efforts on the part of reporters, feature writers, illustrators, photographers, graphic artists, as well as editors, publishers and advertising folks, PW staffers have won dozens of first, second and third place plaques and trophies, as well as numerous certificates of achievement, honorable mentions, and other accolades from outside the profession.

From investigative reporting, news reporting, breaking news reporting, news feature writing, entertainment writing, personality profiles, photography, graphic arts and illustrations to classified and display advertising, it seems there was no part of the paper that missed winning some type of award over the years from the LA Press Club, the California Newspaper Publishers Association (CNPA) and the Association of Alternative Newsmedia (AAN).

I know it is poor form to boast, but I can’t help but look back with pride over the past two decades as editor, a period during which the PW won more awards from more respected journalistic organizations than at any other time in the modern-day paper’s 35 years in business.

With CNPA, we won a total of 20 top awards from 1984 to 2009, and another five from 2010 to 2014, the year the paper dropped out of the Sacramento-based organization due to financial constraints.

When it came to AAN, which we joined the year after Southland Publishing bought the paper from the LA Times, beginning in 2004 we started winning awards. Three years later, we won first and second place awards the same year, 2007, respectively, one for a somewhat critical story I had penned about Project Censored,  and the latter for a series of stories former Deputy Editor Joe Piasecki had written about the plight of LA County foster kids aging out of the system. In the end, we would win a total of seven AAN awards before dropping out of that organization.

There were two years that stand out in my mind, 2010 and 2011, not so much for the awards that our writers and artists richly deserved, but for the simply outstanding journalism that we produced from our South DeLacey Avenue office in Old Pasadena.

In 2010, they received top CNPA honors for coverage of the previous summer’s Station Fire. In addition, the paper was named as a blue-ribbon finalist in the general excellence category, as were an investigative report and a breaking news story.

As we reported at the time, the paper received a first-place award among weekly papers with circulations higher than 25,001 for the Sept. 3, 2009 story “Fire on the Mountain,” detailing the devastation caused by the worst brushfire in Los Angeles County history, written by then-City Hall Reporter André Coleman, former Deputy Editor Jake Armstrong, as well as Joe, who by then had returned to his alma mater USC to get his master’s degree and was a contributing editor on the project.

In the general excellence category, judges recognized the paper’s Jan. 8, 15 and 22, 2009 editions for their “breadth of story selection and general news coverage.”

As our story points out, Armstrong’s investigative piece, “Just Too High,” examined grossly disproportionate marijuana arrest rates in California and Pasadena, where African Americans are three times more likely than whites to be arrested for pot-related offenses. Piasecki wrote the story “Hater Nation,” another Press Club favorite in 2010, after PW received a letter threatening President Barack Obama.

“I’ve been blessed with some wonderful and talented people, not all of whom were recognized, but are nonetheless great writers and reporters and editors who certainly deserve recognition,” I was quoted saying.

Those journalists at the time also included Carl Kozlowski (who won an award for feature writing from CNPA in 2005 and an honorable mention from the Press Club in 2011), Chip Jacobs and Justin Chapman, as well as veteran Music Editor Bliss Bowen and Calendar Editor John Sollenberger, “who routinely break entertainment-related stories. Also contributing to the paper’s overall success in 2009 was former Art Director Joel Vendette and former PW Copy Editor John Seeley.”

Also in 2010, the Press Club awarded Jacobs a first-place award for a personality profile he had written the previous year about a mysterious smog credit-broker who exploited the state’s air pollution market. Joe also won first-place honors for his report on a local woman’s struggles in keeping her home from predatory lenders. Current Deputy Editor Andre Coleman took home a second-place prize for his story on the officer-involved shooting death of a local man, while Tina Dupuy won second place for investigative reporting with her story on a place posing as a pregnancy clinic that was really a religious oriented operation aimed at dissuading women from having abortions.

Piasecki, who is now managing editor of another of our sister papers, The Argonaut, and former PW Deputy Editor Jake Armstrong were also named as Blue Ribbon finalists with CNPA for stories they had written the previous year.

The following year, Joe repeated as a first-place winner with the Press Club with his story “The story behind the stories,” about the launch of the new literary magazine, Slake, started by former LA Weekly editors Laurie Ochoa and Joe Donnelly.

Jake took home an award for investigative reporting category for an outstanding follow-up story he had reported about on the disproportionate number of African Americans being arrested for marijuana-related crimes, and Michael Collins also won in that category with his exposé on NASA’s use of monkeys for testing of radiation exposure in space. With CNPA, Jake’s story, “Blunting Inequity,” came in third, and another story of his won an honorable mention.

Along with the seven awards from AAN during our limited membership, and 25 from the Press Club since the late 1990s and early 2000s, we have also won 25 awards from CNPA since 1985, one of those a second-place award for display advertising in 1995, the other also a second place, this time for classified advertising in 1996, according to CNPA’s Simon Birch.

Just Last Month

On June 30, longtime PW columnist Ellen Snortland took home a first-place Press Club award for her work last year, and present PW Deputy Editor André Coleman was recognized as a third place finalist for Journalist of the Year for papers with less than 50,000 circulation. In the spirit of full disclosure, I came in second to Ellen in the column category for a piece that I had written on the subject of, ironically, full disclosure, only on the part of police and government agencies.

As indicated previously, this is by no means an exhaustive or definitive list. With the help of Birch, and the Press Club and AAN’s websites, along with my own memory and limited record keeping, I’ve come up with more than 55 awards from those three organizations over the past three decades — not including other civic awards bestowed upon staffers for their civic engagement and other meritorious works.

For all of the above, and so much more, I am both proud and thankful to be associated with the greatest group of newspaper people that a journalist could ever hope to work with.

A weekly by any other name (PW article)

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A weekly by any other name

The Pasadena Weekly celebrates its 35th — wait, make that 90th — anniversary

By Justin Chapman, Pasadena Weekly, 7/11/2019

The Pasadena Weekly, which you are currently reading, is 35 years old this year in its modern form. But predecessors to the same paper actually date back much further than is commonly known — to 1929, to be exact. 

Back then, according to a timeline provided by UC Riverside’s Center for Bibliographical Studies and Research and original copies from the Altadena Historical Society’s collection, the paper was known as the Altadena Press. The weekly paper was established by C.F. Hoffman, who published it every Thursday morning at his press at 2708 N. El Molino Ave., Altadena (an area that is now technically Pasadena), and later at 2686 N. Lake Ave., Altadena.

Its first issue was published on Nov. 21, 1929, and its final issue was published April 27, 1944. The paper’s masthead read “The community of deodars” and “Let the folks back east know of the most delightful place in all the world. Send them the Altadena Press.” Later it read “This paper will tell the story to inquiring friends in the frozen east.” The paper was known as “the first real Altadena newspaper.”

One of the main stories in the paper’s first year and throughout the decades to follow was Pasadena’s attempt to annex Altadena.

‘The weekly with a mountain behind it’

Starting in 1932 and throughout the depression and war years, the Altadena Press continued under editor-publisher Grayson M. “Mac” McCarty at 750 E. Mariposa St. and later 870 E. Mariposa St., Altadena. McCarty had previously served on the staff of the New York Herald-Tribune, the Chicago Tribune and newspapers in Paul’s Valley, OK, and Houston, Dallas, Fort Worth and Mineral Wells, Texas. In 1917, he enlisted in the National Guard and fought in France, and later served as director of the Altadena Chamber of Commerce. After he passed away on May 14, 1943, his widow Janie B. McCarty took over as publisher and editor.

The paper heavily covered Altadena’s contribution to the war effort at the time, complete with ads for war bonds and comic strips mocking the Nazis and Japanese imperialists. “We of The Altadena Press feel we must forgo the luxury of indulging in affairs that have no bearing on the course of the war,” reads a March 9, 1944, editorial. “By that we mean we will not advocate the expenditure of public funds on projects that can safely await the war’s end. To do otherwise, would be to slow the coming of victory.”

In the March 2, 1944, issue, McCarty announced the sale of the paper to Harry W. Smith, a Canadian who had previously served as a reporter for the San Bernardino Sun, managing editor of a weekly, associate editor of Desert Magazine and special correspondent for the Christian Science Monitor. Smith and his wife Helen served as publishers of the Altadena Press and changed the name to the Altadenan. Smith also served as editor. The credits read, “Continuation of Altadena Press” and “Your right to know is the key to all your liberties.”

The first issue of the paper known as the Altadenan, which was also a weekly published on Thursdays, was published May 4, 1944, at Smith’s press at 2396 N. Lake Ave., Altadena. In 1960, the Pasadena Mail was sold to Smith, who merged it with his paper and renamed it the Altadenan-Pasadenan. Its first issue under that name was published on Oct. 1, 1960.

In May 1976, Smith sold the paper to publisher Richard S.C. Redman, who also owned the Sierra Madrean, according to an article in the Los Angeles Times on May 23, 1976. Redman kept the paper’s offices at 2396 N. Lake Ave., Altadena, and named his wife Sue Redman as editor. Smith stayed on as a consultant. The masthead read “The weekly with a mountain behind it.” Its coverage included Pasadena’s attempt to annex Altadena.

In 1977, Redman began publishing the Altadenan-Pasadenan through a company called Altadenan Publishing Co. at the same offices. That company also began publishing an expanded, subscription-only addition called the Chronicle on Nov. 10, 1977, for 25 cents. The Altadenan-Pasadenan and the Chronicle ran until Dec. 29, 1983.

‘Continuing but broadening a tradition started in 1929’

In late 1983 or early 1984, the paper was purchased by Pasadena Media, Inc., an investment group that included future Pasadena mayor and current Santa Monica City Manager Rick Cole, attorney and chairman Pierce O’Donnell, the late social activist Marvin Schachter, publisher Edward Matys, editor-in-chief Steve Coll, managing editor Dick Lloyd and business manager and assistant editor Larry Wilson, who now serves as public editor of the Pasadena Star-News.

Pasadena Media continued publishing at 2396 N. Lake Ave., Altadena, but changed the name of the paper from the Altadenan-Pasadenan and the Chronicle to Altadena: The Weekly. The first issue of that version was Jan. 5-12, 1984, with the masthead reading “Debut edition” and “Incorporating the Altadenan/Pasadenan & the Chronicle.”

In that first issue, publisher Matys wrote, “We are pleased today to present the Greater Pasadena area a ‘new newspaper,’ continuing but broadening a tradition started in 1929.”

The cover story of its first issue was about those who slept overnight along the Rose Parade route on New Year’s Eve and the cops who tried to wrangle them, and its feature arts and entertainment story was about the resurrection of the Pasadena Playhouse. In its second issue, the cover story was about Pasadena’s attempt to annex Altadena.

Pasadena Media also published Nine to Nine, a newspaper covering the business community in downtown Pasadena.

The Weekly cost 50 cents and was published under variations of its name for several years in the mid to late ’80s, such as the Altadena Weekly, Pasadena: The Weekly and the Pasadena/Altadena Weekly. Under the credits, it read, “The Pasadena/Altadena Weekly honors the past and does not fear the future.”

Later in 1984, Coll and Matys left the paper and Frank Kilpatrick became president and publisher. In 1986, Pasadena Media moved the paper’s offices to 300 S. Raymond Ave. #12, Pasadena, the first time in its history that the paper was produced in Pasadena. In 1987, the Pasadena/Altadena Weekly became part of O’Donnell’s 12-paper group, National Media, Inc.

James Vowell became editor-in-chief and Pamela Fisher became managing editor and later editor. Cartoonist Matt Groening’s comic strip “Life in Hell” made its first appearance in the paper in these early years, before “The Simpsons” cemented his legendary status. In 1987, Vowell left the paper to return to the LA Reader.

‘The Pasadena paper people actually read’

In January 1988, National Media sold the Weekly to Riordan-Laris Publications, a company owned by LA lawyer Richard Riordan, who went on to be LA’s mayor, and longtime Pasadenan and Downtown News Group founder and president Susan Laris. Laris served as publisher and editor, and Marc Porter Zasada served as executive editor.

Six months later, in July 1988, the paper was sold again for an undisclosed amount to Pasadena Publications, a company owned by Marge Wood and Jim Laris, Susan’s ex-husband. Jim became editor and co-publisher along with Wood, his new wife. Shirley Manning later became editor and Dan Hutson later became managing editor. The paper’s offices were moved to 155 S. El Molino Ave. #101, Pasadena.

Starting in April 1989, Pasadena Publications published both the Altadena Weekly and the Pasadena Weekly as two separate issues for the Altadena and Pasadena communities. However, in its July 27-Aug. 2, 1989 issue, Laris and Wood announced they were ceasing publication of the Altadena Weekly after just 16 issues. They continued to publish the Pasadena Weekly (PW).

Bill Evans took over as managing editor of PW in 1991. In 1992, PW became “The Alternative Voice of Pasadena, Glendale and the San Gabriel Valley” and launched several new columns. In January 1996, PW proclaimed itself “The Pasadena Paper People Actually Read,” a dig at the Star-News. In 1997, William Campbell served as editor and former editor Paula Johnson became associate publisher.

At the end of 1997, Laris put the paper up for sale. The last issue of PW to be published by Laris was on June 26, 1998. That month, Laris sold the paper to the Tribune Company’s LA Times, which added it to its Times Community News Division chain of newspapers.

The Times initially kept Campbell as editor, but soon made several staff changes. Judith Kendall, former publisher of the Glendale News-Press, was appointed publisher of PW, and Bill Lobdell, editor of the Costa Mesa/Newport Beach Daily Pilot, was appointed editor. Those two were soon replaced by Joe Pan as publisher and Mary Emerson as editor, who simultaneously edited the Times’ now-defunct San Gabriel Valley Edition. Both publications were based in PW’s current office at 50 S. DeLacey Ave. #200, Pasadena.

Kevin Uhrich was brought on as editor in 1999, a position he serves in to this day. He had previously worked as a reporter at the Simi Valley Enterprise and LA Daily News in the 1980s and the Pasadena Star-News, LA Times, LA Reader and LA Weekly in the 1990s. In 1994, Uhrich was banished from the Star-News after leading a union movement in the newsroom that rubbed management the wrong way.

Uhrich actually wrote his first story for PW on July 26, 1996, under the headline “Scathing Ruling Raises Questions in Kings Villages Case.” Under Uhrich’s stewardship, PW has become a truly progressive alternative newsweekly that actually breaks news and covers important stories that other local news outlets ignore. He has also mentored countless young reporters such as this author, who has written for PW since January 2005.

Free every Thursday

The Tribune Company sold PW to Southland Publishing in January 2001. Southland was founded in 1998 after converting from its former name Ventura Newspaper, Inc., which published the Ventura County Reporter, having purchased it from Nancy Cloutier in 1997. That company grew out of the Sylmar-based Valley Business Printers, owned by Michael Flannery, a conservative businessman who stayed out of editorial decisions of the decidedly left-leaning papers.

David Comden, who started out selling display ads for the San Diego Reader in 1983 and later served as general manager of the Sacramento News & Review, took over as publisher of VC Reporter in 1998 and eventually would become Southland’s vice president. Bruce Bolkin serves as Southland’s president.

Over the years, in addition to VC Reporter and PW, Southland would acquire San Diego Citybeat (previously SLAMM magazine), LA Citybeat/Valleybeat (defunct since 2009), the Argonaut, LA Downtown News (also owned by early PW owner Susan Laris) and others, as well as start monthly magazines Arroyo, Ventana, Verdugo and others.

Southland was able to survive while other alternative papers in Southern California died off in part because it has its own presses, a critical asset.

“The two greatest expenses for a newspaper are personnel and printing costs,” Comden told LA Weekly in 2003. Southland’s press printed LA Weekly for a while until it started its own LA paper in 2003: LA CityBeat/ValleyBeat.

Southland’s papers, including PW, are also unafraid to take a stand on controversial issues. In 2005, for example, PW became the first news outlet to call for the impeachment of President George W. Bush. Uhrich told LA Weekly in 2003 that Comden “pushed [PW] to be edgier” after Southland took over the paper. What was once a “quasi-alternative” paper quickly became a true-blue alternative newsweekly that “frequently scoop[ed] the local dailies.”

“When [Comden] came in, in his first week,” Uhrich told LA Weekly, “he pulls me aside as he’s addressing the group, and says, ‘How come you guys don’t have editorials?’ I say, ‘Newspaper people don’t have opinions about things.’ And he says, ‘You better start getting opinions.’”

Publishers have come and gone during Uhrich’s 20-year reign of terror at PW, including Dale Tiffany, Jon Guynn and now Dina Stegon. Reporters Joe Piasecki and André Coleman were brought into the PW newsroom in 2001 and 2004, respectively, and both would eventually become deputy editors under Uhrich. Piasecki now serves as editor of Southland’s Argonaut. Rounding out the current staff is longtime arts editor Carl Kozlowski.

For the past two years, the Altadena Historical Society has been working on digitizing its extensive bound newspaper collection, including the many variations of this paper over the past 90 years.

Here’s to another 90 years for the weekly that’s free every Thursday.




Reporter's Notebook (PW article)

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Reporter's Notebook

Early and Often

Bernie Sanders, among five presidential candidates to stump for votes in Pasadena, is out to win California

On May 31, Sen. Kamala Harris, Sen. Bernie Sanders, former Secretary Julián Castro and Gov. Jay Inslee participated in the first presidential forum focused on immigration at the Pasadena Hilton. Sanders also held a political rally Friday at the Pasadena Convention Center, drawing a crowd of about 2,000 people including Pasadena City Councilmembers Tyron Hampton and Steve Madison. And New York Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand’s event May 30 at the Women’s City Club of Pasadena was sponsored by Women in Leadership Vital Voices and Lena Kennedy, sister of Pasadena City Councilman John Kennedy.

Candidates are making sure to traverse California on their campaign trails because the state has moved its primary election date up from June to March 3, 2020. Conversely, during the 2016 campaign, when California’s June primary was one of the last, Sanders was the only presidential candidate to visit Pasadena.

“We are treating [California] like an early primary state,” Sanders’ campaign manager Faiz Shakir recently told NPR, “campaigning there early and often, and making a strong play to try and win that state.”

The primary election for the city of Pasadena will also be held March 3. The state essentially forced the city to hold its general election the same day as the presidential election on Nov. 3, 2020, in an effort to increase voter participation, which had fallen below 25 percent in Pasadena. The mayor and City Council districts 1, 2, 4 and 6 will be up for election. Several candidates have already declared their intention to run.

Feelin’ the Bern in Pasadena

Sanders’ visit to California followed his first trip to his home state of Vermont since he announced his candidacy, a series of ice cream socials in New Hampshire and a two-day swing through Nevada.

Sanders’ recently hired a fundraiser — a position that didn’t exist in his 2016 campaign — to oversee his new strategy of holding smaller, grassroots, in-person fundraising events for donors of all levels and the media.

Sanders was the first candidate to sign the grassroots, nonprofit Indivisible Project’s pledge calling on Democratic candidates to make the primary constructive, rally behind and immediately endorse the ultimate Democratic nominee no matter who it is and do everything in their power to make that nominee the next president.

Sanders’ wide-ranging speech at the Pasadena Convention Center touched on domestic policies such as income inequality, poverty, affordable housing, homelessness, jobs, voting rights, unions, legalized cannabis, women’s rights, abortion, education, child care, tuition-free college, criminal justice reform, immigration, health care, climate change and the Green New Deal. He also touched on foreign policy, including his opposition to war.

Sanders went after President Trump’s economic message, saying American workers have been ignored. And he pointed out that in 2016, the media and political establishment called his ideas too radical, but that a majority of Americans now support them.

“Four years ago, we began the political revolution; this campaign we finalize the political revolution,” he said.

Sanders said he is often asked by his critics how he plans to pay for all his proposals.

“Ten years ago, the American people bailed out the crooks on Wall Street to the tune of $1 trillion. Well, Wall Street can now help the working families of this country. We will impose a transaction tax on Wall Street speculation.”

Sanders condemned states like Georgia and Alabama for passing “draconian” anti-abortion legislation.

“A woman’s right to control her own body is a constitutional right and we will defend that right,” he said. “I will never nominate anyone to the Supreme Court who is not prepared to vigorously support Roe v. Wade. This is an issue for everyone. Men must stand with women.”

He called out National Security Advisor John Bolton for helping lead the United States into war in Iraq in 2003 and warned that Bolton is now leading the charge to drag the country into war with Iran.

“Iraq was a disaster,” he said. “War with Iran will be worse. It will lead to perpetual warfare. Our kids, our grandchildren: never ending war. We must do everything we can to stop international conflicts through diplomatic means, not war.”

He pledged to rally world leaders to cut military spending and use that money to combat climate change.

“Think about a world where instead of building more nuclear weapons, poison gas, tanks and guns,” he said, “China, Russia, India, Latin America, Africa and the United States are coming together to say, ‘We are going to save this planet for our children and our grandchildren.’”

Sanders attacked Trump and vowed to defeat the “most dangerous president in American history.”

A Focus on Immigration

After his Pasadena rally, Sanders and three other presidential candidates — Harris, Castro and Inslee — discussed their plans for immigration reform at the Unity + Freedom Forum at the Pasadena Hilton.

LA Mayor Eric Garcetti also spoke at the event, which was not open to the public, but more than 500 grassroots leaders and immigrant-rights advocates from across the nation were in attendance. About 7.1 million people watched Telemundo’s livestream of the event. Two moderators and several immigrants told their stories and asked questions of the candidates.

Harris claimed that there is bipartisan support for immigration reform on Capitol Hill and pledged to work on a bipartisan solution.

“Most Americans are acutely aware of the economic benefit to this country of having immigrants,” she said. “Farmers across the country, some of whom may have even voted for this president, understand that the strength of their farms and their continued success is in large part because of an immigrant workforce.”

Using executive orders, Harris said she would immediately reinstate Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals (DACA), restore Temporary Protected Status protections and enact a moratorium on migrant detention facilities, as well as undo the Trump administration’s other “backward, hate-drive policies.” She said the administration’s child separation policy is not border security but rather a human rights abuse committed by the US government.

“Every day that we don’t resolve this issue there are real consequences to real human beings,” she said. “We need a president who understands the complexity of this issue.”

Castro described specific policy proposals he would enact if elected and said immigration has to be a top priority for the next president.

“On April 2, I released my very comprehensive and progressive ‘People First’ immigration plan, which includes decriminalizing border crossings and treating them as a civil offense, ending family detention, reuniting families, improving the legal immigration system, reinstating DACA and implementing a pathway to citizenship for DACA parents, increasing refugee admissions, eliminating for-profit migrant detention facilities, stopping the border wall, adding the number of visas to harness talent from around the world and getting rid of 287(g).”

Section 287(g) of the Immigration and Nationality Act authorizes the Department of Homeland Security to deputize state and local law enforcement officers to enforce federal immigration law.

Sanders called Trump a racist and pledged to establish a pathway to citizenship for the millions of undocumented immigrants currently in the United States.

U.S. Policy On Iran: Public Hostility, Not Public Diplomacy (Public Diplomacy Magazine article)

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Justin co-authored an article on Iran in the new issue of Public Diplomacy Magazine along with Pacific Council President and CEO Dr. Jerrold D. Green and Communications Project Fellow Gemma Stewart. Read it here.

U.S. Policy On Iran: Public Hostility, Not Public Diplomacy

JUNE 12, 2019
By: Jerrold D. Green, Gemma Stewart, Justin Chapman, Public Diplomacy Magazine and Pacific Council

What is the opposite of public diplomacy? 

The answer may be termed “public hostility,” and that essentially is how current U.S. policy toward Iran can be described. Instead of seeking influence over the Islamic Republic of Iran by promoting cross-cultural relations, encouraging dialogue, and deftly deploying smart power, the United States has opted for a form of public demonization. 

Iran and the United States have unquestionably had a tumultuous relationship since the Iranian Revolution, characterized by great tension and fleeting moments of collaboration and cooperation. For the moment, however, the relationship is in a public diplomacy crisis. 

There were signs of a new relationship in 2015 when Iran agreed to sign the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a limited and narrow long-term deal focused exclusively on curbing Iran’s nuclear program signed by the United States, the United Kingdom, France, China, Russia, and Germany. This agreement came after years of tension and a more than two-years-long negotiation process led by then- U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry. 

It is inconceivable that North Korea will give up its nuclear arsenal in light of Iran’s experience with the United States.

Hope of cooperation ended in May 2018 when President Donald Trump decided to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal after months of threatening to do so. To set the stage, Trump initiated a public campaign calling the deal “rotten” and stated his desire to reinstate sanctions on Iran as well as to consider new penalties. However, many observers believe Trump’s decision to withdraw was counterproductive, as the United Nations, significant elements within the U.S. government, Washington’s JCPOA partners, and other members of the international community acknowledged that Iran was and still is complying with the terms of the nuclear deal. Trump did not present evidence that Iran was not honoring the deal when he announced his decision. 

Critics of the JCPOA correctly and accurately pointed out that the deal failed to address destabilizing and destructive Iranian involvement in Iraq, Lebanon, Yemen, and Syria. Iran has unquestionably been involved in all manner of unsavory activities in the region. However, architects of the nuclear deal will be the first to point out that the JCPOA was not expected to have immediate influence or impact on other Iranian issues, be they domestic or foreign policy. Such challenges need to be addressed over time, but torpedoing the nuclear deal was not the way to deal with them. 

By pulling the United States out of the nuclear deal, the threat of Iranian retaliation, increased sectarian conflicts, and Tehran yet again seeking a nuclear weapons capability have become valid concerns. The Trump administration has not launched any diplomatic initiatives towards Iran while abandoning a deal that it brokered is seen as proof to many that Washington cannot be trusted. It is inconceivable that North Korea, for example, will give up its nuclear arsenal in light of Iran’s experience with the United States. 

There have been cases in the past where the United States was able to implement good faith public diplomacy efforts with hostile nations. In the case of Iran, however, what we see now is more like a cold war with no thawing in sight—the complete antithesis of public diplomacy.

Now celebrating the 40th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution, Iran is under crippling economic pressure, mounting discontent at home, and intensifying regional tensions, some of which are due to the reinstatement of sanctions on the country. Such growing political and economic pressure has given a boost to Iranian hard-liners and weakened more moderately-inclined Iranian officials including Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, the U.S.- educated architect of the 2015 pact. 

Additionally, President Trump has exacerbated tensions by making bellicose public statements, such as directly threatening Iranian President Hassan Rouhani via tweet, vowing “CONSEQUENCES THE LIKES OF WHICH FEW THROUGHOUT HISTORY HAVE EVER SUFFERED BEFORE.” Other senior Trump officials such as National Security Adviser John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo have been equally as threatening. Bolton dubbed Iran the “central banker of terrorism” and Pompeo recommended designating Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as a foreign terrorist organization, which would be the first time that the United States designated a unit of another government’s military as a terrorist group.

The United States shows no interest in initiating public diplomacy efforts focused on this key Middle Eastern country with a population in excess of 80 million people. Public diplomacy is an attempt to find common ground and thus to promote leverage over friends and rivals alike. There have been cases in the past where the United States was able to implement good faith public diplomacy efforts with hostile nations so as to ratchet down tensions in search of mutual accommodation and increased U.S. influence. In the case of Iran, however, what we see now is more like a cold war with no thawing in sight—the complete antithesis of public diplomacy. It is a policy of all sticks and no carrots.

The relationship between the United States and Iran is at a dangerous juncture. Yet again, the United States is going it alone rather than adhering to established international norms and agreements. 

Washington’s abrupt policy shift behavior has engendered considerable international condemnation. At the recent Munich Security Forum, German Chancellor Angela Merkel was scathing in her criticisms of the United States for walking away from the JCPOA. In a joint statement after Trump withdrew the United States, Merkel, French President Emmanuel Macron, and UK Prime Minister Theresa May noted pointedly that the UN Security Council resolution endorsing the nuclear deal remained the “binding international legal framework for the resolution of the dispute.” Withdrawing from the deal was problematic not only vis-à-vis a more reasoned policy towards Iran, but also dismissive of our allies and deal partners, especially the UK, France, Germany, and the European Union. This was a P5+1 agreement, not a bilateral U.S.-Iranian one.

A further consequence of withdrawing from the deal was the illogical decision in terms of the findings of the U.S. intelligence community. After President Trump’s decision to withdraw, there was congressional testimony from CIA Director Gina Haspel, FBI Director Christopher Wray, and Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats who all noted that Iran is in compliance with the terms of the JCPOA. Trump responded by calling them “naïve” about Iran irrespective of the intelligence findings.

The relationship between the United States and Iran is at a dangerous juncture. Washington’s unremitting hostility to Iran does not have a genuine policy corollary. Is the United States seeking regime change, civil war, another popular revolution? Other than total Iranian capitulation, is there a realistic way out of this impasse? Clearly, U.S. allies do not support the United States’ approach to Iran. Yet again, the United States is going it alone rather than adhering to established international norms and agreements. 

The United States should lead by example. This is one situation in which public diplomacy would be especially powerful as the current U.S. policy of public hostility instead strengthens the very political and cultural forces in Iran that the United States should be striving to weaken.

It is in the interest of the global community to have a collaborative Iran and not one that is cornered, desperate, and pushed into areas of even greater hostility. It is especially noteworthy that over 60 percent of Iran’s 80 million people are under 30 years old. If public diplomacy were to leverage the attraction young people feel globally towards the United States and its culture would be a far more powerful response to Iran’s sclerotic, corrupt, and fossilized theocratic elite than hectoring and isolating. The Trump administration should focus on building mutual trust and productive relationships with the future generations of Iran, which by definition would cleave it away from the unpopular ruling elite in Tehran.

The United States should lead by example. It should subtly but unmistakably drive a wedge between the Iranian people and its unpopular leadership. This is one situation in which public diplomacy would be especially powerful as the current U.S. policy of public hostility instead strengthens the very political and cultural forces in Iran that the United States should be striving to weaken.

_______________________

Dr. Jerrold D. Green is the president and CEO of the Pacific Council on International Policy.

Gemma Stewart is the Communications Project Fellow at the Pacific Council on International Policy.

Justin Chapman is the Communications Officer at the Pacific Council on International Policy.

This article was originally published in the Summer/Fall 2019 issue of USC’s Public Diplomacy Magazine.