Interview with Ruben Vives, L.A. Times reporter who covered multiple homicide cases.
Me: How does your job fit into the ever-changing trends of journalism in the 21st century?
Vives: Blogging is the big thing. I mean, part of my life as a reporter is dedicated to this blog that we have at the Times, the L.A. NOW blog. ... Another thing that's been introduced to journalism is the idea of Facebook, Myspace ... this floodgate of information that is out there for you ...
Me: Do you feel called or prompted to the field of journalism?
Vives: At work, I've had this discussion with a few reporters where we stand around and it's surreal to be where we are, thinking, 'I don't know what I'd do without this job.' Sometimes, it's stress and it's long hours. The pay isn't that great. ... Sometimes, when you write stories that actually make a difference in someone's life, I think that is what kind of makes you think, 'Wow, I love this job. This is really what I want to do.'
Me: How does what you do make a difference in the world?
Vives: I've always had an issue with homeless people. ... bodies that were being found that were never identified. There were no families to claim the bodies. ... They [thousands of bodies] were [cremated and] put in this little slot in the ground at the county cemetery with a little plaque that had the year that they all had died. ... And the only family they have are investigators. ... Last year, we had a fire up in the San Fernando Valley area. ... A homeless man died here. No one really did followup. ... I've been following the investigation. ... Hopefully, it will get people to realize, 'You know, I should really get to at least know the name of that homeless guy I always see in the corner all the time.' ... I've been able to manage to find a name and now we're trying to track the family. ... I really do wish that he is not part of that group that gets buried at the county cemetery unknown.
Me: How did you cope when you were dealing with tragedy after tragedy, day in and day out?
Vives: I have an understanding with these families in when I was around 11, I think, 1992, my uncle was killed by gang members. ... My family was destroyed by that. I saw the effects of what a homicide, a murder, does to a family because I lived through it. ... I always had that in mind. ... But the coping part, it's not very easy.
Me: Do you ever see God show up in your profession, or do you work with people who do?
Vives: I've never really actually heard about that from reporters. Reporters are people. We all have our own beliefs. We all have our own religions. But I think when it comes to journalism, we've come to understand that you're putting all that aside and you're there to do a job.
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