Sometimes it can feel like we’re putting out our newspaper in a vacuum. I’ve been editor of the Business Journal for 3 & #733; years and I don’t get a lot of regular feedback about our publication. Yes, there are the occasions when we make mistakes and really upset readers. We’ll get a call demanding a correction and if we’re wrong, we’ll correct it. There are also the occasions when we publish an article that reflects negatively on a person or a company. They will call and say we have been unfair to them. Some just want to vent and others want us to print a “retraction.” We let them vent, but if we have been accurate in our reporting, we don’t print a retraction. But most of the time, we hear nothing. People don’t usually contact their local newspaper unless they have a complaint. But is no news necessarily good news? Is everybody happy with the publication we produce every two weeks? Of course not. But it’s hard to guess exactly what our readers are thinking. That’s one of the reasons the Business Journal has decided to establish a Business Advisory Group that will help us put together a better newspaper that can better serve our readers and better record the activities of our local business community. The group, which met for the first time on Oct. 18, is made up of more than 20 representatives of various businesses and industries that we cover (or should be covering) in our newspaper. They will meet three times a year to tell us what they feel we are doing right and what could be improved. Publisher Pegi Matsuda and I felt that putting together an organized group of regular readers of the Business Journal who could give us constructive input on how to improve the newspaper would be extremely beneficial to our staff and to the newspaper “product” that we distribute every two weeks. What industries could we do a better job of covering? Are there certain special reports that our readers want us to add to our coverage or maybe get rid of? Are we accurately portraying our local business community and our economy? Who are these people in our Business Advisory Group? They are leaders in various industries throughout our region. They are also people who are interested in the health of our greater business community and economy as a whole and are interested in a publication that accurately chronicles that community. I know that there are other readers who could add value to our group. Just remember that to be effective, the group can only be so big. There are no limits, however, on the access that any of our readers have to me, the reporters and the researchers here at the Business Journal. You can call us anytime with compliments, complaints, suggestions and a desire to just talk about things. There are no layers of bureaucracy around here to keep you from reaching the person you really want to talk to. Please call. My number is below. Members of the Business Advisory Group are: Bita Ardalan, Vice President, Union Bank Roberto Barragan, President, VEDC Selena Birk, General Manager, Van Nuys Airport Janet Brooks, Vice President/Chief Nursing Officer, West Hills Hospital Kerry Carmody, Chief Administrator, Providence Holy Cross Amy Commans, General Manager, Westlake Village Inn Marty Cooper, Chairman, Cooper Beavers Maribel de la Torre, Councilwoman, City of San Fernando Greg Feinberg, Owner, Marfred Industries Brendan Huffman, President, VICA Drew Kaplan, President, ISWest Marlee Lauffer, Vice President, Newhall Land Greg Lippe, CPA, Lippe Hellie Hoffer & Allison Gordon Luster, General Manager, Warner Center Marriott Sheryl Mazirow, President, Mazirow Commercial Lief Morin, CEO, Key Information Systems Lisa Porsche-Burke, President, Phillips Graduate School Don St. Clair, Vice President of University Marketing and Enrollment Services, Woodbury University Mel Wilson, Agent, ReMax Keith Zimmet, Managing Shareholder, Lewitt Hackman Shapiro Marshall & Harlan Michael Zugsmith, Chairman, NAI Capital Business Journal Editor Jason Schaff can be reached at (818) 316-3125 or at [email protected] .
