Writers Tricks of the Trade ISSUE 1, VOLUME 9 | Page 24

S POTLIGHT I NTERVIEW H AL M ORRIS Veteran newsman Hal Morris has experience in just about any department you can name. He brings a wealth of knowledge to many fields. WTT: Hal, how many years did you spend with the Times Mirror Company? HM: A long time. Two decades in total split between the Los Angeles Times and The Los Angeles Mirror. I actually started with the Times when I was still a teenager going to Los Angeles City College, and I got my first bylines as a full time editorial staffer as the campus correspondent. WTT: You really are what is called a “vet- eran newsman.” What other kinds of things did you write about. HM: You could say anything and every- thing. I was even a frequent contributor to S PRING 2019 The Times’ glossy Sunday Home Magazine, writing mostly about plants and flowers. WTT: And after working at The Times, you moved to The Los Angeles Mirror? HM: I did. In fact I was one of the first nine editorial people hired when that newspa- per began. WTT: Competition for the “eyeballs” is highly competitive, particularly since we have evolved to multiple types of media just about 24/7. How was it then? HM: I’d say Los Angeles was a highly com- petitive city for a newsman and a newspa- per back then. There were five daily news- papers. The Mirror utilized a “cruiser car” P AGE 19 W RITERS ’ T RICKS OF THE T RADE