TONY DODERO -- From the Newsroom

Nearly four months into our renewed coverage of UC Irvine, we are

slowly but surely getting to know (or maybe re-know) all of the treasures

that abound on this campus.

One of the treasures I just recently discovered was the campus radio

station KUCI.

Well actually, I would have never discovered it had it not been for an

invite from local public relations and society maven Gloria Zigner, who

invited me to come chat on her weekly Wednesday morning program “Let’s

Talk Business ... and More.”

The station, located at 88.9 FM on the dial, mainly broadcasts

alternative music, except for a few public interest shows like Zigner’s.

It is run entirely by volunteers save for one paid program manager,

and it now happily has a permanent home, in a trailer on the southeastern

edge of the campus.

Zigner, who I met eons ago when I was a young reporter at this paper

covering business, is a volunteer for the station and has been dutifully

showing up at the crack of dawn for eight years to interview local

business types.

It was the second time I’ve ever been on the radio (which my boss told

me, by the way, that I have a great face for).

My first time was a very forgettable broadcast from this newsroom on

the old defunct K-WAVE (I think that’s what it was called). It was a

complete disaster with lots of dead air and ruffling of papers on the air

and long windedness that my editors never let me live down, passing on

the story through the years to all the new hires here.

Can’t thank them enough for that.

But this time around, in between some stammering and pausing and lost

trains of thought, I think I did a little better.

There was one minor faux pas, though. I forgot just who was listening.

You see, I had told my parents to tune in and catch me on my second

big broadcast. I had gotten the hook after that K-WAVE debacle, so they

never heard me the first time.

Forgetting that mom and dad were out there in radio land, I was

telling Zigner the traits we look for in reporters.

Curious types, I told her. People who are skeptical.

Then I told her about an old yarn we spin in the newsroom that goes

something like this: “If your mother tells you she loves you, you better

check it out and verify it.”

Naturally, the first message on my voicemail that morning was from,

who else, my loving, saint-like mother who wanted to indeed clarify that

statement.

Sorry mom, I love you, too.

Anyway, if you get the chance, tune into KUCI sometime and especially

Zigner’s show at 8:30 a.m. Wednesdays and give a listen. Might be a

pleasant surprise.

***

Lately, the newsroom has been a hot spot for tours. Maybe it’s the

newfound interest in newspapers since Sept. 11, but whatever it is, we’ve

become the place to be for elementary school types, especially Webelos.

Some of our critics may say we’ve always been the place for elementary

school types, but that’s another story.

Thursday, though, it was the second-grade class at the newly opened

Newport Coast Elementary School that invaded our newsroom.

Some 70 young tykes paraded through the building, checking out old

hot-type displays, hanging out with our publisher, our sports editor

Roger Carlson and making our newsroom a lively spot.

“We wanted to see how a newspaper works,” said teacher Lainie McGann,

who, along with fellow teacher Chandra Prough, led their charges into the

Daily Pilot.

The favorite place as usual was the photo department and one young

gent was super impressed to see that Publisher Tom Johnson had a

first-place golf trophy in his office.

So thanks to all who came to see us from Newport Coast and we hope to

see you again, maybe with a note pad or camera in hand.

* TONY DODERO is the editor. His column appears on Mondays. If you

have story ideas or concerns about news coverage, please send messages

either via e-mail to o7 tony.dodero@latimes.comf7 or by phone at

949-574-4258.