Reflecting on stories shared
CS: What have you liked the most about being a reporter for Our Town Reno?
RB: I think just getting out there and being in the community and following the stories that happened, especially in the past year and a half. There's been so much shift in the affordable housing crisis and homelessness. Some of that was spurred on by the pandemic, but some of it's burdened by the city, the city council and developers. Just seeing all of those balls kind of roll down the hill and being right there, covering it and telling the stories of the people most impacted has been the part that's brought me the most satisfaction because I get to help bring those voices to the unheard.
CS: Do you have a favorite story or something that you wrote about that?
RB: I was thinking, because I figured this would be a question of what my favorite story was and I thought about it. I've done a handful of stories interviewing people on the streets and learning their experience. I think all of the stories of me just going down to the Wells underpass and speaking with people who live in tents there before it was swept or see people get swept from the Gateway park a couple of weeks later. Just the idea of going down and meeting with these people and having a conversation with them on a human level was awesome.
But I did speak to a fellow who was going blind. His name was Troy. And this was about this time last year. He was a contractor for a long time, had a back injury and one thing led to another and he was homeless. And that resonated with me because I have a bad back and I have an injury there and it's something I have to contend with. It just kind of made the point hit home that one thing can make anybody homeless, especially today. The economy where it is and what the whole country, the whole world has seen in the past year and a half with the pandemic. His story really stuck out.
Further reporting, he's now at the Cares Campus. As of probably September, I saw him there doing another story. He was waiting in line to get some food and some provisions from a community member who came down there on a weekly basis to help provide services that they're not getting, or that are not being met at the Cares Campus. So it seems like he's in good hands. At least at the Cares Campus, he's got a roof over his head, but I haven't talked to him since last year.
Another part of the reporting I've done that has stuck with me is the advocates. There's so many advocates for the unhoused here in Reno. It's crazy. It seems like they're doing so much more than other people or other entities that have the resources that aren't just putting forth the effort. Whereas these community members, just like you or me or any of our listeners, are stepping forth and using their own resources, their own time and money to help these people who have fallen on hard times. And that spurred a photo project for me kind of focusing on them as a way of promoting the efforts of what they're doing to help the unhoused.
One of the people Bednarski wanted to mention specifically was Troy, who Bednarski connected with on a deeper level. (http://www.ourtownreno.com/our-stories-1/2020/11/26/troy-living-in-a-tent-in-reno-with-a-bad-back-and-going-blind)
Changing views on the streets of the Biggest Little City
CS: Since you started reporting, how do you think this work has changed your views on the unhoused or housing insecure people and like those issues surrounding them?
RB: I think it's made me more empathetic towards their struggles and their problems. One thing that I kind of knew going in before I started reporting on them is there was kind of a mental health issue, but it's far more prevailing than I would've ever imagined beforehand. And it's something that's not getting addressed. A lot of people that think of the homeless, they just look at them as having some sort of issue; they're on drugs, they're drunk, whatever. But, often they're in that state because of some sort of underlying mental health issue. That is something that I don't think is being as addressed as readily as it needs to be.
And then also seeing so many hotels get just destroyed and leveled by the Jacobs Entertainment company has been extremely frustrating to me. Because yeah, these hotels weren't the best living conditions, but with a little bit of investment, they could have become great transitional housing. Not only do we have more people moving onto the streets, we have empty buildings. Now if we want to create some sort of transitional housing, we have to use all those environmental resources to build something new. It's more impactful on the environment. It's more impactful on the economy because that money now has to come from somewhere and it's a lot cheaper to refabricate and renovate a building than it is to build one brand new.
I'm still upset at the hotel's getting destroyed. And there's two more on the docket and I'll probably kind of try to document them again. I documented one earlier this year, the Townhouse Motor Lodge. I'll probably continue that project as well to showcase the story because Reno is changing and it's at this point where city officials and residents can put forth effort to make Reno become a great town or a great city. But I don't know if those steps are going to be taken, and if we get too big, then the homeless issue is going to get worse and worse and it's going to be harder and harder to fix.
It's going to be interesting to see what comes out with this, this investigative piece and what happens next year, being an election year. There's a lot of important city seats that are up for reelection, including mayor. So we'll see what happens.
A photo Richie Bedmarski took of Carl at the Wells Ave. tent city before it was swept as people were encouraged to go to the newly opened Nevada Cares Campus in 2021.
Evolving as a Multimedia Journalist
CS: How would you say that Our Town Reno shaped your work specifically as a journalist?
RB: I came into this program hoping to come out as a stronger photographer and get a job in photography. But those jobs are unicorns and they're few and far between unless you want to lug TV equipment around and work for a TV studio, which I am not about to do.
So I fell in love with audio and it was because of the reporting and the interview style that I do with Our Town Reno and some audio classes that I've had that have really shown that audio, to me, is really fun. It's a really interactive and engaging way to produce the story. I get to think differently than I do if I'm writing or photographing the story. I never thought I'd get into audio, but now I have a podcast that I'm hoping to continue after school, and I hope to use my audio skills in the future for a job and to supplement and augment my photography.
Bednarski closely followed Jacobs Entertainment as they bought out and then destroyed locally owned motels in the Reno area. Photo by Richard Bednarski.
Plans for the Future
CS: What's that podcast about?
RB: It's called Changing the Climate. It's a podcast that's geared towards changing the conversation around climate change with the idea that I can take the science of a lot of things and distill it down into kind of a conversational level. That will allow people to think differently about climate change so that it's not always doom and gloom. And there's some sort of positive or solutions oriented ending to my stories. The first season is all about wildfire and it's kind of what my master's project is. It’s about how climate change is shifting the fire regime across the West. I utilized a lot of the interviews I did for my masters and the research I did and built a more specific story based podcast out of it.
CS: Where did you start getting into climate change reporting?
RB: It's something I've always been interested in. I'm a huge environmentalist and conservationist and that philosophy kind of drives everything I do. Moving into journalism, it was kind of natural for me to focus on the environment. And a lot of that comes from just love of being outside, being in nature and away from buildings and cities. I figured if I could get into storytelling about the environment, then I could have more opportunities to be outside.
CS: What are your plans for after you graduate? Would you like to continue with climate change reporting? Stay here in Reno?
RB: I’ve gone back and forth about where I want to end up, but I know I need a job where that job's going to be, I'm not sure. Ideally, I've landed on staying in Reno initially. I thought maybe I'd move to cover something else, but as I thought about it more and more, I've been in Reno for so long. I'm really invested in this community. I know a lot of people, I have a lot of sources and I know a lot of the issues. I think having that insider perspective is going to bring something to local journalism that it is in dire need of right now to kind of help rebuild. So I'm hoping to stay in Reno and find a job. I don't know where it will be, but I do want to eventually focus on the environment, climate change and natural disasters. I think in the long-term, it'll probably be a freelance base where I can pick and choose what stories I tell. I just need to get there. Hopefully there'll be a break there. But if a job comes, the job comes, but I'm hoping to take a week or two off work.
CS: Where can people find you and find your work?
So let's see I'm most active… in person. So that's kind of hard to find me. I have Instagram @photo_bednarski and that's not as active right now because of school, but that's where I kind of do a lot of my photography and promote my podcast. And then I have a Twitter, which @bednarskiace, and then @converseclimate is the Twitter account for my podcast. My website is just richardbednarski.com and I'm always open to talk about anything really.
CS: Is there anything else you'd want to tell people reading?
RB: No. Just keep being you and keep making humans awesome.