In this afternoon’s KPCC item about some very exciting in-house business, reporter and union organizing committee member Adolfo Guzman-Lopez was quoted as follows:

“The vote count is clear. We look forward to sitting down with management to collectively bargain for the content employees at KPCC.”

He’s referring to a January 11 supervised tally of KPCC employees in favor of SAG-AFTRA unionization. But is a 35-to-26 vote count really that “clear?” FishbowlLA is somewhat surprised that nearly 40% of the 69 employees who will be covered by the new contract voted against it. (A union rep tells us that 69 ballots were cast, but eight challenged, hence the final vote total of 61.)

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Why on earth did it take 30 years for the National Association of Hispanic Journalists (NAHJ) to open an LA chapter, as they finally have this summer? In his weekly sideline KCET.org column, KPCC reporter Adolfo Guzman-Lopez wonders aloud about this odd bit of history and then provides the answer.

He learned during the LA chapter’s first networking event August 23 that there had for several decades been a “gentleman’s agreement,” whereby the NAHJ deferred to the older local ties of CCNMA: Latino Journalists of California. However, at a recent national NAHJ gathering, it was agreed that this approach no longer made sense:

During the 2000s CCNMA’s activity in LA tapered off. “I think it would be wrong for us to depend on one organization,” said SAG-AFTRA representative Ray Bradford, whose organization co-sponsored the mixer. “Bring on two, bring on three, as long as we all have a unified mission of equality and respect, and quality journalism, bring it on.”

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In the latest installment of KPCC’s “L.A. To London” series about local connections to the 2012 Summer Olympics, reporter Adolfo Guzman-Lopez checks in with how various residents are planning to watch the action.

His first interview subject is British consul general Barbara Hay (pictured). The reporter is audibly amazed to learn that she will not be connecting to a live British broadcast feed of tomorrow night’s Danny Boyle festivities. Rather, she and her Hancock Park residence guests will watch the tape-delayed NBC version of the opening ceremony at 7:30 p.m. PT, like most everyone else in SoCal:

“All of this is being very carefully choreographed by the broadcasters who have the contracts to film and broadcast the games, so I don’t get any special privileges, I’m afraid,” Hay said, adding that she “doesn’t mind.”

So, no special privileges for Brits in the U.S., even if they’re consuls general, according to NBC vice president Christopher McCloskey. That’s because the network’s serving up a D-Day-like onslaught of coverage.

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KCET’s Adolfo Guzman-Lopez recently spent some time with the Asociacion de Periodistas Latinos de California in Highland Park–a group of veteran Spanish-language newspaper reporters and editors Guzman-Lopez describes as mostly “laid-off or fired La Opinion.” We’ve heard plenty of reports arguing that Spanish-language media is fairing much better than its English counterparts in America, but Guzman-Lopez’s piece shows that old-time reporters in the Spanish-language world are having just as much trouble adjusting to the new media rules.

Spanish-language reporters need a place to gather, said the association’s current president, Cruz Alberto Mendez, as he opened the meeting at a small law office. The group needs a new president, someone who can breathe new life into the organization. Mendez has worked in newspapers for more than 50 years. He began as a 14-year-old at El Sol de Guadalajara carrying used lead slugs to be melted again into new words for the next day’s news. He first came to La Opinión in 1975 and found what he called a “periodico de rancho,” or a small town newspaper, in which sports results appeared two days later. He gave the front page a six-column redesign and had the audacity to tell the publisher what he really thought of the newspaper…

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As part of the L.A. Public Library’s ALOUD Lecture Series, the L.A. chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists will be hosting a panel discussion called Blogging the Narco Wars. Details from the SPJ/LA website:

Join the Greater Los Angeles chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists and the Los Angeles Public Library on June 3 for an in-depth talk with journalists from San Diego and Tijuana, as well as a long-time watchdog of border violence, about how reporters are covering the violent drug trade along the border.

WHAT: Blogging the Narco-Wars

WHO: Victor Clark Alfaro, Founder, Binational Human Rights Center in Tijuana; Vicente Calderon, longtime television reporter in Tijuana and Los Angeles; Amy Isackson, border reporter, KPBS San Diego. Moderated by Adolfo Guzman-Lopez, reporter, KPCC 89.3FM, SPJ/LA board member.

WHEN: 7 p.m. on Wednesday, June 3, 2009

WHERE: The Los Angeles Central Library’s Mark Taper Auditorium, 630 W 5th St., Los Angeles, CA 90071

COST: Free

RSVP: Reserve your spot TODAY through the L.A. Public Library’s ALOUD Lecture Series. http://www.lfla.org/aloud/registration/