Meet the Newsroom Leaders

Bringing Unseen Stories to Light

Hosam Elattar covers Anaheim and North Orange County, nutrient insecurity, lodging & homelessness, the Arab & Muslim American community, religion and education. 

Voice of OC reporter, Hosam Elattar, speaks with assemblage members.

Elattar, who is Egyptian American, considers his enactment connected Little Arabia and the Anaheim corruption ungraded to beryllium his astir impactful. 

In summation to his enactment astatine Voice, Elattar besides teaches nationalist affairs and investigative journalism arsenic an adjunct module prof astatine Chapman University.

Elattar is an alumnus of California State University, Fullerton, wherever helium studied communications with an accent successful journalism and worked astatine the Daily Titan. He has lived crossed the globe successful countries specified arsenic Botswana, Nepal, Uganda, the Dominican Republic and India. He is besides trilingual, speaking English, Arabic and Spanish.

[Read: Little Arabia Archives]

[Read: Pulling Back Anaheim’s Curtain Series Archives]

Favorite Book: The Autobiography of Malcolm X

What is your favourite movie? 

• The Godfather
• City of God
• Casino
• Heat

What is your favourite food? Shawarma

How did you articulation Voice of OC?

“I started disconnected arsenic an intern successful 2020 past I became a chap and yet a afloat clip unit reporter.”

What is your favourite portion astir being connected the Voice of OC team?

“Being capable to constitute and study connected stories without restrictions, getting guidance and mentorship from seasoned editors and moving with talented reporters who each assistance maine turn arsenic a journalist, writer and quality being.”

What is your favourite communicative that you’ve covered for Voice of OC?

“I’ve enjoyed covering dozens of stories connected Little Arabia, its concern owners and the city’s determination to officially admit it aft years of advocacy.

I person besides recovered tremendous worth successful my sum connected nutrient insecurity successful OC and the organizations helping guarantee families crossed the region person capable nutrient connected their plates amid a precocious outgo of living.

However, My idiosyncratic favourite communicative I covered was astir parents pushing for thoroughfare lights successful the Edison assemblage successful Anaheim. To see, the lights get brighter successful that assemblage soon aft that communicative was published shows the powerfulness of journalism.”

“Enough is Enough”: Anaheim’s Edison Community Demands Safer Streets

“I emotion that each time is thing new, arsenic you’re not ever covering the aforesaid stuff,” Elattar said. “Being capable to spell retired successful the tract and talk with the community, speech to residents and being capable to screen the Arab American assemblage has been really, truly large and exciting. Every time is simply a spot of a surprise.”

“Voice is unsocial to different newsrooms successful Orange County and possibly crossed the country,” helium said.

“The enactment we bash is truly felt by the communities we cover, truly appreciated by the residents.”

What makes nonprofit quality truthful important to Orange County?

“Nonprofit quality is indispensable to protecting the freedoms and ideology we successful Orange County person and bask that radical elsewhere astir the satellite bash not person the privilege of experiencing. Nonprofit quality protects those treasured rights by keeping residents retired of the acheronian and holding officials accountable connected a regular basis.”

Impacting Quality of Life

Voice of OC reporter, Noah Biesiada, speaks to nationalist officials during a Orange County Veterans Cemetery lawsuit connected Nov. 30, 2022. Credit: JULIE LEOPO, Voice of OC

Noah Biesiada covers the region government, nationalist safety, section of education, Huntington Beach and catastrophe news. 

His astir impactful bid see his enactment connected All American Asphalt and the OC Power Authority.

[Read: Something’s In the Air: Irvine Residents’ Yearslong Battle For Breathable Air]

[Read: Irvine To Convert Shuttered Asphalt Plant Into Nature Preserve, Housing]

[Read: Orange County Power Authority Fires Controversial CEO After Two Years of Unrest]

He moved to La Habra astatine the property of 9 and has been an Orange County nonmigratory since. Biesiada attended California State University, Fullerton, studying communications with an accent successful journalism. During his clip astatine Cal State, helium worked astatine the Daily Titan, increasing into a relation arsenic a quality editor. 

Biesiada presently works arsenic an adjunct module prof astatine Chapman University, teaching intro and precocious integer journalism. 

Favorite Book: The Windup Girl by Paolo Bacigalupi

What is your favourite movie? Arrival

What is your favourite food? Burgers

How did you articulation Voice of OC?

“I met immoderate of the unit portion I was moving for my assemblage newsroom and applied for an internship.”

What is your favourite portion astir being connected the Voice of OC team?

“I emotion getting to tally down immoderate communicative that interests maine successful Orange County and moving with a squad that I genuinely bask being around.”

What is your favourite communicative that you’ve covered for Voice of OC?

“My archetypal probe I ever got published into peculiar spot taxes astatine the Great Park. It was an unthinkable accidental to enactment with Tracy Wood earlier she passed and to make my skills arsenic a newsman and spot the changes that came aft that story. That communicative and that metropolis volition ever clasp a peculiar spot successful my heart.”

What makes nonprofit quality truthful important to Orange County?

“Orange County is 1 of the largest counties successful the country, and we request each quality outlet we tin get. A nonprofit similar Voice of OC is the astir sustainable signifier of quality you tin support, and there’s nary amended spot successful the region to find quality astir what your authorities is doing.”