Patricia Leigh Brown has been writing for The New York Times since 1986, first in New York and now as a contributor from San Francisco. In addition, she contributes to California Watch, a project of the Center for Investigative Reporting, and teaches writing and journalism. Before moderating a panel on how wars affect families, she explained in the Zócalo green room what she likes best about Los Angeles—and why New Yorkers fetishize San Francisco.
What’s your go-to karaoke song?
I’m too old to have a karaoke song! Sorry. But I can tell you who I listen to. I love Bonnie Raitt, I love Van Morrison, and so as not to completely date myself, I love Jack White and actually made a pilgrimage with my son to Third Man Records [the label White founded and owns] in Nashville.
What do you think is the best advice you give to journalism students?
Don’t go to journalism school. I have a son who is thinking about going into journalism, and I think it’s much better to be out in the world, at least at first. But I think the best advice you can give to somebody is to just write.
What’s your favorite cliché?
Look before you leap.
How do you procrastinate?
Unfortunately I eat. When I don’t want to procrastinate, I go to the library to write, where I cannot access e-mail, cannot access phone—otherwise those are all ways to procrastinate.
What’s your favorite ice cream sundae topping?
I really, really try to have frozen yogurt and not ice cream. I did break my vow last week when I was visiting my son in Minnesota. We went to some homemade ice cream place in St. Paul. I didn’t have a topping, but I did have coffee Oreo homemade ice cream. It was a worthwhile sin.
What’s your favorite thing about Los Angeles?
The sort of lack of formal zoning that results in these amazing buildings: I’ve always wanted to do a story on the car washes of Los Angeles because they’re amazing. The last time I was here I drove past a drugstore that had probably a 20-foot guy with a turban on the top. You just see these amazing signs. So that is one of my very favorite things.
What’s your guilty TV pleasure?
My husband and I sometimes watch Blue Bloods with Tom Selleck, which is a cop show which we really like. And Anderson Cooper and Piers Morgan are basically members of my household.
As a kid, what did you want to be when you grew up?
A ballet dancer. And just this morning, in order to prep for this panel, I went to a hip-hop class. I’m not great at hip-hop, but it was fun.
What recent story are you most proud to have reported?
A story about restorative justice in Oakland schools. It was a profile of an end-of-the-line high school in a really challenged part of Oakland, and a guy who sort of works as a conflict mediator with kids who come from horrendously violent neighborhoods. It’s not the kind of story where you would conclude that this would be an incredibly fun and exhilarating assignment, but it actually was—it was one of the best reporting experiences I’ve had in my entire career. I felt as if I had walked into a television drama.
Why do New Yorkers like San Francisco so much?
Because you can really see the sky, and the light is beautiful. And despite what food critics in New York say, the food is infinitely superior in San Francisco.
