Veteran Fresno reporter George Hostetter has joined the Fresno State family as the adviser to The Collegian, the university’s student-run newspaper.
Hostetter is one of the most esteemed reporters in Fresno, according to many who spoke of him when he announced his retirement from The Fresno Bee in 2015 after 28 years with the newspaper.
“George is one of the finest journalists in Fresno and we’re fortunate to have the chance to add him to our faculty ranks,” former adviser Dr. Bradley Hart said. “The Collegian’s staffers have a great opportunity to learn from the best and make the paper the best it can possibly be.”
Hostetter is excited for this new venture which gives him the opportunity to work with students, many of whom aspire to continue in journalism after graduating.
“I’m not lending students my expertise,” Hostetter said, “I’m joining their collaboration. Now the pressure is on me to keep up. I’m reminded of the words of Tommy Esqueda, the city of Fresno’s Public Utilities director, immediately after the City Council approved the Mayor’s $429 million upgrade to the municipal water system: ‘Don’t screw it up!'”
Many of Hostetter’s years with The Bee were spent covering local politics, and insiders have said he knows more about local politics than local politicians.
The day before he retired, the Fresno City Council conspired to declare Oct. 22, 2015 as “George Hostetter Day” ”” which was kept off of the official meeting agenda to keep it a surprise despite it technically violates state law to do so.
For The Collegian, on April 28, the City Council proclaimed it “The Collegian Day” in honor of several awards the newspaper team brought back to Fresno State from statewide and nationwide competitions. But Hostetter’s day was different than most.
Unlike other proclamations, it was awarded as a surprise to Hostetter by the entire City Council, along with Fresno Mayor Ashley Swearengin, City Manager Bruce Rudd and city spokesman Mark Standriff ”” who all got up from their seats to give him the recognition.
“I was honored,” Hostetter said. “Fresno City Hall is full of talented and dedicated public servants. I appreciated their kinds words. As I told the Council Chamber audience that day, ‘When I had my mid-life crisis, instead of getting a red sports car, I got a City Hall beat. I got the better end of the deal.'”
According to The Fresno Bee, each person spent several minutes thanking him for his work, which they said involved holding city leaders accountable by reporting their actions and decisions while being fair in the coverage.
The people who worked with Hostetter also hold his work in high esteem.
Pablo Lopez has been at The Fresno Bee for nearly 30 years and has known him a long time.
“George is the most thorough reporter I have ever met. He tackles tough, sticky issues such as city zoning ordinance changes and police deferred payment programs and makes them understandable for the reader. Nothing gets by George,” said Lopez, who is the newspaper’s courthouse reporter. “George also is old-school and relentless. He will dog a city official until he gets an answer. I am sure he has worn out many shoes searching the nooks and crannies of City Hall for news.”
The position of adviser for The Collegian will give Hostetter a chance to give the students guidance through his own experiences, but he already said he’s impressed with how independently The Collegian’s newsroom runs.
“One word ”” aggressive. Today’s news business is careening in a million directions. The old hierarchies of gathering and delivering the news are smashed. To be a news hound and a news organization these days requires what David Riesman called ‘the nerve of failure’ ”” the guts to jump into the fray and accept the consequences. That’s The Collegian I’ve seen so far.”
Before taking over the city politics beat for The Bee, he wrote about sports and business. Furthermore, he’s a proud Fresnan.
“When Charlie Waters joined The Bee in the late 1990s as executive editor, he told all of us in the newsroom, ‘Fresno is a great news town. The full range of life happens here.’ In my mind, that thought settles the debate as to the glory of Fresno. Or, to use Charlie’s favorite phrase, ‘Game, set, match.'”