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Maria Polletta
  • Female
  • Phoenix, AZ
  • United States
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Maria Polletta added a blog post
I’ve always thought “trickle-down economics” was a nice idea, albeit an unlikely one. Apparently Glen and Mildred Robbins Leet agreed with me. The Leets were “frustrated that huge sums of money allocated to top levels of society never reached the…
April 21, 2009

Profile Information

Job Title
Reporter
News Organization
The Arizona Republic
Bio
I have wanted to be a journalist for years – to tell stories, and to tell them accurately and powerfully.

In order to be able to do so, I try to absorb everything I read, hear, see. I talk to people, and really hear them when they talk to me. I ask questions, lots of them, and listen to the answers.

I have racked my brain for days to think of a story idea, and I’ve pushed myself out of my comfort zone to bring it to life. I have studied public records law, and stood my ground with public officials who wouldn’t hand those records over. I’ve done extensive interviews and spent the time to break down esoteric concepts for readers. I’ve had difficult conversations with people who have lost.

I worked at the university television station for a semester to learn to package footage so that I can produce video to accompany a story. I’m taking a class in online media and considering one in photo journalism so that, again, I can create supplementary material that could provide context, insight, or detail for readers.

If you look at the salary numbers, it’s pretty clear that I’m not going this route for the pay. I want to report because making a difference by myself is not enough for me – my hope is to inspire others to make their own mark on the world after reading something I’ve written. I want to interest, to enlighten, and to create work that I am proud of.
Web site
http://[coming soon]
Blog
http://www.timetogetinvolved.wordpress.com
Twitter URL
http://twitter.com/mpolletta
LinkedIn URL
http://www.linkedin.com/in/mariapolletta

Work

Below are a few of my published articles:


THE ZONIE REPORT

Panel event: "Verbal jabs fly at ‘immigration solutions’ forum"
http://tr.im/immigrationforum

Court reporting: "Fake divorce lawyer gets 15 years"
http://tr.im/sentencing

Business feature: "Organic ethnic grocery store is all the multi-culti rage"
http://tr.im/leeleesmarket


THE ARIZONA REPUBLIC

Breaking news: "Sheriff's deputies suspect 60 employees of identity theft"
http://tr.im/sheriffraid (also featured in print)

Business brief: "Valley airports lose money during president's visit"
http://tr.im/airports

Crime brief: "Police release names of suspects tied to bank robbery"
http://tr.im/creditunion

Breaking news: "Manager killed outside Phoenix homeless shelter"
http://tr.im/employeekilled (also featured in print)

Maria Polletta's Blog

Maria Polletta

Activism: In Watercolor

Ashley Cecil calls herself a “painting activist.”

She is one of the most creative social advocates I have stumbled upon.

Her approach is simple.

1. Love art. Study art formally and work with it professionally.
2. Travel to different locations in pursuit of “events of cultural interest.”
3. Capture them, not with a camera, but with watercolors, oil paints, pastels..
4.… Continue

Posted on April 21, 2009 at 8:02pm —

Maria Polletta

Charity Report 5: Bike Saviours

When I think of the familiar “reduce, reuse, recycle” mantra, I think tin cans and water bottles…not bicycles.

Luckily, Allison Karow’s thinking isn’t as old-fashioned as mine.

Two and a half years ago, Karow started Bike Saviours out of a Tempe, AZ backyard. The non-profit serves as a(n):

* bicycle shop that provides low-priced used bicycles and bike parts, as well as affordable repairs
* “community recycling project” that turns donated bicycle part… Continue

Posted on April 21, 2009 at 2:00am —

Maria Polletta

Charity Report 4: Trickle Up

I’ve always thought “trickle-down economics” was a nice idea, albeit an unlikely one.

Apparently Glen and Mildred Robbins Leet agreed with me.

The Leets were “frustrated that huge sums of money allocated to top levels of society never reached the world’s poorest,” according to the website for Trickle Up, the organization they founded in 1979. They decided to turn the tables on the… Continue

Posted on April 20, 2009 at 1:30am —

Maria Polletta

Charity Report 3: Schools for Schools

No one understands students like students.

That’s why I’m a big fan of Schools for Schools, a program run through Invisible Children, an organization that seeks to raise money and awareness to help end the longest-running war in Africa (in northern Uganda). The program partners schools in other parts of Uganda with a school in the war-torn North that badly needs… Continue

Posted on February 18, 2009 at 9:30pm —

Maria Polletta

Charity Report 2: COAR

A nonprofit whose efforts I’ve followed for some time now is COAR (Community Outreach & Advocacy for Refugees), an organization that seeks to assist refugees resettling in the U.S. in becoming self-reliant and comfortable in their new lives and relies largely on volunteers to do so. COAR started out as a student organization and has ballooned to a dedicated nonprofit. They work for “awareness and advocacy” of the refugee situation, sponsoring tutoring fo… Continue

Posted on February 12, 2009 at 6:00pm —

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