After 17 Years, Moving Out of the Host's Chair

On Friday afternoon, after more than 17 years hosting The California Report, I signed off for the last time. I'm moving on to become KQED's senior editor for California politics and government.

It is, in a way, coming full circle. When KQED invited me to host The California Report in 1998, I was a partner in a political consulting firm. It's not your typical entree into journalism and it still amazes me that KQED's Raul Ramirez had the chutzpah to hire me!

I had a steep learning curve. And that's not false modesty. I had worked in radio before, but nothing like this. I knew very little about the craft of journalism or storytelling for radio.

I arrived in the waning days of cassette tapes, reel-to-reel tape machines and editing with grease pencils and razor blades.

I learned the art of radio from some of the best in the business, including Raul, who sadly died of cancer two years ago. He was always the loudest advocate in the room for amplifying voices of those with little power: immigrants, inmates, former inmates, foster children, farmworkers and Central Valley growers.

The past 17 years have introduced me to people and places I never imagined I would know. By traveling across California, I've seen first-hand the effects of drought and wildfires. I've met enlistees, veterans and widows from the Iraq and Afghanistan wars. I've listened to staunch opponents and advocates of same-sex marriage. And I got to interview some San Francisco Giants players just before their 2010 World Series appearance.

This job has given me a license to be curious, as all journalists know. An amazing trip -- and it's not over yet.

As we head into 2016, the excitement of yet another campaign means it won't be a sleepy year. I'm ready for that next challenge and grateful I get to have it at KQED.