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| News Editor Moves to New Media Will Head Up Business News Website By Randi Joseph, Guest Reporter The Culver City News is about to bid farewell to its Managing Editor Marcia Torrey-Jay. A fixture at City Council meetings and local events, news big and small, the veteran writer, reporter, public relations professional, web designer and native Bostonian is moving on. |
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She recently accepted a position to develop a business news website for Medical World Communications, a publisher of some 17 professional and trade journals for the medical community. Torrey-Jay started her career in advertising and communications working both in New England and in the Philadelphia area where she eventually started her own business, Marketing and Communications Group, Inc. After too many years in suits and high heels, she made the move out west to California for a significant quality of life improvement. Torrey-Jay started working at the news about five years ago right after its re-launch. Initially, she wrote articles to supplement her income while attending UCLA Extension, researching and passionately studying new media and this new thing called the Internet. At the same time she did a great deal of freelance writing and edited a quarterly magazine called "Visions" for the Assisted Housing Management Association. In the beginning, the Culver City News was just a side job. But that didn’t last for long. Shortly after starting with the News, Torrey-Jay became the associate editor for the weekly newspaper group bringing a professional flair and new focus to the community newspapers. For the last three years she has served as the managing editor and helped launch two other local papers, the Santa Monica Bay Week and the Los Angeles Tribune. At the same time, she created and managed CulverCityonline.com. "I’m very grateful for the opportunities and the flexibility I’ve had at the News to explore my creative energy, especially with the website. Steve [Hadland, publisher of the Culver City News] always gave me the support and freedom to grow. We took the paper to the community and really got involved. We wanted the paper make a difference in the community, so besides covering events we became proactive, doing things like sponsoring the League of Women Voters Candidate Forum.and adding the historical column by Julie Lugo-Cerra," Torrey-Jay said during an interview. When asked about her most memorable subjects while here in Culver City, she noted that from a journalism standpoint, Town Plaza was fascinating. "We got to see the power a grass roots organization can have when they get it together and on the other hand, the power that municipal government can have when it is united and determined, she said." She also cited the city's debate over the first amendment as a highlight. "That was a wonderful exercise in democracy at work, as was the recent community congress," she said. Torrey-Jay also noted that during her tenure she really felt that city officials cared deeply about doing their their jobs well and about the city. "Nobody saw it as just a stepping stone," she said. Torrey-Jay also noted how impressed she was with the people who regularly attend city council meetings. "They are really able to make a difference and show how important it is to get involved." She also noted that she thinks it’s great that the meetings are available on cable television and on radio because even more people can stay in touch "while the cement is being poured." As a reporter and editor Torrey-Jay got very involved in the community. There were many nights and weekends that she attended city and community functions both to cover them and participate. "I both loved and ocassionally hated the fact that people feel such a proprietary interest in the paper. It’s great that people feel it’s their paper but at the same time I got to have a lot of folks tell me, in no uncertain terms, what we should and shouldn't cover and how we should cover it," she laughed. "Like government work, you often don’t hear about when you did a good job, but you sure hear about it if the public doesn't like something!" Torrey-Jay said. On a personal note, I would like to say that Marcia is professional and dedicated to good journalism. Her word was everything and she always said what she meant. I will truly miss working with her. I’m losing a business associate and gaining a personal friend. Now she is off to new things. She’s not going far geographically but she’s taking major leaps technologically. We wish her all the best. Randi Joseph is the Asst. to the Chief Administrative Officer and the Public Information Officer for Culver City. She worked closely with Marcia Torrey-Jay throughout her tenure and requested to guest write this article. |
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