David Adams – Editor, PODER Enterprise
1/14/2010
By Sarah Hetland
Given David Adams’ background, he wouldn’t necessarily be pegged as a journalist whose career would focus on Central America. He is Lebanon-born to British parents. His journalist father spent his career as a Middle East correspondent - it seemed natural for Adams to follow in his father’s footsteps.
His recent appointment as the editor of the U.S. and Miami editions of PODER Enterprise reflects his unexpected passion for a region he grew to know well.
“When I decided I wanted to become a journalist, I decided I didn’t want to become an advocacy journalist,” he said. “I realized that I had been so exposed to the Palestinian side of the story in the Middle East that it was going to be difficult to get that out of my system. So I decided I needed to go somewhere completely different. I could really walk into Latin America with a completely open mind, so that was really the motivation.”
Adams left for Central America in 1987, for what was originally a one-year experiment. But the dominating news in the region kept him thoroughly hooked, and he hasn’t looked back since. During his five years there, he contributed to several British and U.S. news outlets such as The New York Times, BBC, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Los Angeles Times, NPR, The Economist, The Independent and Newsweek. He traveled from Honduras to Nicaragua and eventually Panama, where he covered the country’s invasion in 1989.
PODER Enterprise profiles Hispanic entrepreneurs, professionals and business owners in the U.S. and since joining the staff in December, Adams has been challenged with finding ways to expand such coverage. With the magazine’s Miami edition flourishing among the city’s large Hispanic community, Adams now has his eye on broadening the U.S. edition.
“The U.S. edition is more difficult because we don’t have as big a reach in other cities as we’d like; places like Los Angeles, Chicago and New York. So we are trying to develop more stories about what’s going on in the Hispanic communities in the rest of the country.”
He continued, “And [the challenge is] finding the right mix of stories about Hispanic America and stories about Latin America. Because not all stories in Latin America are necessarily of great interest to Hispanic America.”
Adams explained that the magazine previously had a more Latin American focus than Hispanic, something he hopes to change by finding the right balance.
“That’s our market, that’s our story, that’s what we are all about. To tell the story about not just Hispanic immigrants, but also how Hispanic immigrants with small and some big businesses are making their presence felt in America,” he said.
He’s had experience telling Hispanic stories in his journalism career. In 1992, Adams came to America to explore opportunities in Miami and spent 15 years as the Latin American correspondent for the St. Petersburg Times.
The changing landscape of the media industry brought about change for Adams as well.
"I thought I had one of the best jobs going,” he explained. “I worked for a great newspaper writing about a part of the world that fascinated me, and I was given a great deal of freedom to pick and choose my stories. But most of those days are over for a mid-sized newspaper [like] the St. Petersburg Times.”
He continued, “I’m 48 years old and change is good at this stage of my career. I can’t say with all honesty that I welcomed it, but I can say that I embrace it, and I look forward to having a new challenge. After 25 years or so I’m absolutely ready to try something new.”
And PODER Enterprise seems the perfect place for trying something new. Being in charge of two magazine editions, Adams wants to keep up with the times and wants to expand the magazine’s digital reach as well. He plans to introduce a range of blogs and dedicate much more time to building up the Web site.
He explained, “I’m still old fashioned; I still like to read the newspaper in the morning with my coffee, I don’t imagine I’ll ever drop that habit. But I do totally understand that digital journalism is the way forward.”
Pitching Tips
Adams is very specific about what he looks for when it comes to pitches.
“We want to hear from people with good stories to tell about Hispanic America from all over the U.S.,” he said. “Any Hispanic success stories in general but [also] specifically of businesses.”
They are looking for anything that reflects the growing presence and contributions that Hispanics are making to American society.
“We’re talking about anybody with a Hispanic background with a good story to tell. Who is reshaping their industry, reshaping their community or making a big contribution, and basically anyone establishing the Hispanic footprint in America,” he said.
Overall they typically cover politics, the arts and even sports. They are interested in both regional and local stories.
Adams added, “We’d like to become a recognized source of news for original content or of breaking news for this industry.”
Adams doesn’t mind phone calls, although e-mail is his preferred method of contact.
Please avoid any cold advertising calls or pitches about products publicists think Hispanics would buy. Unless there’s an interesting Hispanic background about the person or company producing the product you are pitching, do not call.