Interview with Heather Aveson: New News Director of Somerville Community Access TV
By Doug Holder
Heather Aveson joined me at the Bloc
11 Cafe in Union Square to talk about her new role as the News
Director of Somerville Community Access TV's program, Somerville Neighborhood
News. Aveson is an energetic woman with an infectious smile, and is
as accessible as any of the staff at the station, who I have worked
with over the years. From my chat with her I came away with the
distinct impression that she abhors the obvious story, and always digs
deep into its soft underbelly.
Aveson is no stranger to Somerville.
She has lived on Willow Ave., and bought her first house on Lowell
St. with her husband, before defecting to the 'burbs. I asked Aveson
what she thought about the gentrification of Somerville. As chance
will have it she told me she was working on a story about this very
subject. She has already learned that much of the investment in real
estate in our community is coming from Russian and Chinese
interests.She said, “I am asking, 'Where are we going from here?' I wonder if people who are born and raised in
Somerville will be able to continue to live here. I am afraid
Somerville may be on the road to becoming a sterile environment -- like say
Kendall Square in Cambridge.”
Aveson took over the directorship
of Somerville Neighborhood News when the founding director Jane Regan
moved on to new horizons. Aveson was a former news producer at WGBH
on the 10:00 News with Christopher Lydon. She told me," Chris set
the bar very high. He always encouraged me to dig deep.”
Aveson reflected, “ I want to
continue Jane's mission of giving a voice to people who don't have a
voice.” And some of these people she gave a voice to were the
Nepalese community in our city, as well as the janitors at Tufts
University who were being laid off, etc... Aveson said he wants to
report on stories that are interesting, controversial, and important
to the community.
Although SCAT has a a lot of new
innovations and cutting-edge technology, it of course can't compare to WGBH
where Aveson once worked. Aveson opined, “ Telling a story, is
telling a story. It is what you bring into it. I want to be a hands
on person with a close relationship with the community.”
When I asked Aveson to talk about her
time with Lydon on WGBH her eyes' lit up. She said “ Chris brought
a curiosity and passion to his work. We did a diverse group of stories from a local piano
builder in Woburn, to a piece on Stan Grossfield' (The Boston Globe) war photography
concerning the Beirut conflict, and other fascinating stories.”
Aveson told me she also works as a
programming coordinator for Wilson Farms in Lexington. She created
the famed “ Spooky Hayride” event that has run for the past ten
years. She is a strong advocate of urban farming—creating plots to
grow veggies amidst the hot asphalt of the city.
Aveson tries to instill in her staff
and interns the need to research a story—and to have a sense of
history. For instance, instead of simply writing a story that a new
business opening in Somerville, the reporter should ask questions
like, "Why did they chose a place to do business where things can change drastically
in just a few years, etc... Aveson said, “ You have to be open to the
fact that a story unfolds one way, but it may go in a totally different
direction. You have to be flexible"'
.
I am looking forward to the ongoing
changes Aveson will bring--- here... in the Paris of New England.
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