Each week, the Center for Cooperative Media introduces you to one of its partners in the New Jersey news ecosystem. The Center facilitates a network of local New Jersey media partners, called the NJ News Commons, who collaborate together on projects, share content and ideas, and support one another.
Tell us about yourself:
My background in the world of writing is diverse. I was a segment producer on Pacifica’s Feminist Magazine. I was the Tracks columnist at LA City Beat. Tracks discussed race, transportation, and urban planning. My journalism has been published in Bustle, Montclair Local, Next City, Village Voice, Ebony, Daily News, Counterpunch, Time, Streetsblog, USA Today, NJ.com, Bloomfield Life, and Zocalo. I was founder of The Bus Bench in 2006. The Bus Bench was the first blog covering transportation from an editorial perspective in Los Angeles. I was the publisher of the weekly print Morningside Park Chronicle from 2011-2015. At the Morningside Park Chronicle I was art production, ad sales, editor, and a columnist. The other love of my life is poetry. My first collection of poetry, “Queen of Inglewood” was published by the Santa Barbara based Word Palace Press in July of 2017 under my nom de plume, Teka Lark. I am also an alumna of Mount St. Mary’s University.
Tell us about your publication:
VELO Bloomfield is about informing the public about information as it relates to urban planning and transportation. If you can’t get to work and you can’t afford rent, what can you do? Nothing. My business is about informing people about … their basic rights as tax payers in New Jersey.
What makes you get up and go to work every day?
The knowledge that I helped someone make an informed decision on policies that impact them every day.
What are you most passionate about when it comes to journalism?
I’m passionate about the SPJ Code of Ethics. I am not a publicist. I am a journalist. I’m passionate about seeking truth and reporting it, minimizing harm, acting independently, and being accountable and transparent.
What is something you wish everyone knew about Bloomfield?
Halcyon Park is a hidden gem, come visit. I serve cocktails every Sunday.
Click here to learn more about the NJ News Commons and how to become a member. If you know of a publication that you think we should profile, please send an email to [email protected].