A Local Journalist’s Guide to Surviving the Attention Economy: Questions for Bella Ross
Truth is said to be stranger than fiction, but who can really tell these days?
Bella Ross works at the forefront of helping the public discern one from the other. She’s a social media producer and journalist for the local nonprofit news organization Voice of San Diego, where she has led the revival of San Diego 101 — a digital series aimed at strengthening civic awareness among residents of the region.
As trust in public institutions erodes and misinformation runs amok on social media, Bella has adopted a sarcastic retro-infotainment style, incorporating Hi8 VHS camcorders into the production of San Diego 101. She taps into a nostalgic aesthetic that evokes a time when public support for the fourth estate felt more stable.
With access to local news continuing to hemorrhage nationwide, Bella’s mash-up of snarky wit with rigorous reportage might be the tourniquet necessary to survive the attention economy.
Safelight: Tell me a bit about yourself, and your role at the Voice of San Diego.
Bella: I mostly grew up in Glendale, Arizona, and moved around a bit before my family landed in San Diego in 2015 when I was a senior in high school. The next year I started at SDSU where I majored in journalism and political science and became highly involved with the campus newspaper, The Daily Aztec, for which I was the editor in chief my senior year. Since then I’ve worked for various local news organizations, including The San Diego Union-Tribune where I worked on the opinion team for 2 ½ years. I started at Voice of San Diego in March 2024 as a social media producer. One part of that role is producing original video content for social media, usually local news explainers which have taken many forms over the months. The other part is working with my colleagues to promote their written stories across social platforms, sometimes assisting them in making their own videos. I’m also on the podcast sometimes.
Safelight: As a social media producer and journalist for Voice of San Diego, have you experienced any unique challenges garnering attention in an increasingly noisy information landscape?
Bella: I’ve faced many challenges in my roles over the years, some of which affect all of us in the media industry and others that are unique to social media reporting (separate but often connected). I struggled for a while to have my work taken seriously by traditional media outlets because many of them see social media as a fad, and are generally reluctant to invest in it because they fear “giving our work out for free,” which undermines the subscription-based business model. This has not only led to these institutions becoming increasingly irrelevant to younger generations but has also allowed misinformation to fester in digital spaces. Because of this, trying to combat bad information on social media can kinda feel like a game of whack-a-mole. People say they want to see more positive and well-reported news on their feeds, but it is consistently the most sensationalized, emotion-provoking and often false/misleading content that gets the most attention. This is just how humans and their algorithms work, but nuance and the truth often can’t compete because it isn’t always exciting (or affirming of people’s existing beliefs). I try to combat this by making my content accessible and entertaining. I’m not sure the fact that all information has to be entertaining now to maybe get people to care is great for journalism or society at large, but as long as there is brainrot, somebody will have to do this.
Safelight: What was the impetus for using Hi8 camcorders and cable access visual aesthetics in rebooting the San Diego 101 series? Was it a stylistic or substantive choice?
Bella: The choice to employ vintage technology for the San Diego 101 series felt like a very natural progression of my work, both professionally and personally. I’ve practiced film photography since around 2018, and have always relished in how intimate and intentional it feels.
Samples of Bella’s film photography
In 2020, I invested in my own flatbed scanner and quickly fell in love with the process of handling the negatives and having more creative freedom with my photos. I also collect all forms of physical media including books, magazines, tapes, CDs, LPs, VHS tapes, DVDs, etc. Having art that is tangible and finite feels refreshing in a world where digital media is ephemeral and plentiful to a fault.
When we have the whole world of media at our fingertips, nothing feels truly sacred anymore. All of this to say – This was the first major opportunity for me to combine my creative interest in vintage technology and aesthetics with my journalistic practice. Given that most of the topics we explain can be pretty dry, I really wanted to make something that stands out in the noise but still feels authentic to me. Not only does this stand out from the typical high-quality, vertical videos in your feed, but I felt it would have cross-generational appeal (older folks finding it nostalgic, and younger ones finding intrigue in the vintage vibes that so often inspire modern trends).
Safelight: Your iteration of the San Diego 101 Series appears to bridge the gap between legacy media and new media with its retro infotainment bent. Do you see nostalgia as a powerful tool in reactivating civic engagement on the local level?
Bella: Politics and government can be really heavy topics, and are not generally things people are excited to learn about while scrolling through their social feeds. The nostalgia of the videos kinda pads the dread many of us experience when thinking about the news because it transports the viewer back to a simpler time. The videos are also somewhat theatrical and corny in nature which helps to keep people engaged and is true to the nostalgic tone!
Safelight: How do you strategize delivering objective truths in reporting, while also maintaining a satirical edge at a time when it's difficult for audiences to distinguish fact from fiction?
Bella: I started making videos when I worked in the opinion section, so they were very satirical and far from the “objective” standard we are taught as news reporters. Most of my videos still have a clear perspective, but that perspective is always backed by facts. Audiences are more distrustful of journalists than ever and will project a “bias” onto you regardless of how hard you’ve tried to be “objective” in your work. That said, there’s a lot of value in being more forthcoming in your perspective as long as you can back it up with facts. And in such a noisy information space, I think people appreciate being told how to feel about something rather than just having a bunch of information thrown at them. Whether they agree with you or not, they will learn something. On the satire point – Younger generations have a strong sense for satire because they’ve grown up in the world of memes, and they are ironic to a fault. It almost makes me want to employ satire less (we face a real dearth of sincerity these days!) but I think it can be really thought provoking when used appropriately.
Safelight: What inspires you to speak truth to power, and what impact do you hope your in-depth reporting has on the region?
Bella: I love San Diego but this city gives me a lot of angst, because I see how wonderful it could be but that ideal feels so far away. It’s also not a particularly politically active city (we’re all too busy soaking up the sun or working to pay our exorbitant rents or something). The result of this culture of complacence is, at best, stagnation or, at worst, mediocrity and injustice. Journalism helps me to feel a little bit less helpless about it all, because I can channel that angst into work that has the potential to inform people, help them feel closer to their community and maybe even make a change. Without access to reliable information and a general understanding of how our systems work, there is no pathway to a better world.
For more information on the San Diego 101 Series and Bella’s life on the beat, check out the links below.
