If anyone had foretold I’d be the next editor at the Norwood News a year ago, I probably would’ve told them they got the wrong guy. But that make believe scenario has turned into reality, and I’m still pinching myself these days even as I keep revisiting this cute phrase our previous editor repeated—“May God have mercy on your soul.”

But jokes aside, no amount of hyperbole will tell you how thrilled and humbled I am in embracing this new role, one that my predecessor Alex Kratz declared to be his most challenging and rewarding. Indeed, taking the helm is 10 years in the making for this journalist, one who’s dabbled in television and radio news before jumping to print, the purest form of newscraft. Being an editor for a Bronx periodical is also a testament to my love for this borough, one that’s remained in my peripheral vision even as my focus drifted elsewhere.

Indeed, the Boogie Down has been in my heart since I was 10 years old, living with my family on Aqueduct Avenue, in the shadow of the Kingsbridge Armory. A piece of the borough stayed in me even after I moved to nearby Larchmont, the Westchester County hamlet that became home for 17 years.

My career began at News 12 The Bronx in May of 2004 working the news trenches as an assignment desk editor. To say I was the best assignment editor the Emmy-nominated cable news channel ever saw would be a distortion. I definitely got my feet wet there, though some would say I nearly drowned. By the time I left, multi-tasking was a breeze, I knew what a borough president does and I understood the nagging issues plaguing the Bronx.

I refined my journalism skills even more at WCBS 880AM, spending five years at the flagship station for the CBS Radio Network. I moved to the big leagues working as an entry-level news desk assistant, before sharpening my news judgment as a tape operator, conducting off-air interviews. My big break came after I was promoted to fill-in writer and midday producer, guiding coverage on what’s considered the busiest part of the day.

The breaking news station was pure adrenaline. The “first to air it” mentality became an addiction that helped me crack some great local, national and international stories. All of the coverage came with a steady hand, a lesson that’s served me well to this day.

But the print journalism bug began to burrow inside me. I finally understood that without newspapers, some media outlets would be reciting poetry.

So I took a chance on this calling. I applied and was hired at The Bronx Times Reporter, the hyperlocal weekly covering the entire borough. Whether it was the installation of a traffic light or the colossal saga that’s the Kingsbridge Armory, the stories I’ve covered helped me completely immerse myself in this borough. I worked under Bob Kappstatter, a grizzled, yet cheery editor with 45 years of experience and a knack for snappy leads. The job was fantastic, though some days it felt like boot camp. Still, journeying about the borough gave me exposure, enough for the Norwood News to notice.

What sold me about jumping onboard was the recent Norwood News article entitled “Giving Voice to the Voiceless.” It’s such a profound title, and one of the hallmarks to the fourth estate, better known as journalism. To be the one advocating for the public is something I take very seriously, a creed supported in “The Elements of Journalism,” my journalism bible that states “journalists must serve as an independent monitor of power.”

Being a watchdog doesn’t happen in a vacuum. So feel free to call the office or approach me during the many public meetings I’ll attend. After all, the Bronx has a great story to tell.

–DAVID CRUZ

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Welcome to the Norwood News, a bi-weekly community newspaper that primarily serves the northwest Bronx communities of Norwood, Bedford Park, Fordham and University Heights. Through our Breaking Bronx blog, we focus on news and information for those neighborhoods, but aim to cover as much Bronx-related news as possible. Founded in 1988 by Mosholu Preservation Corporation, a not-for-profit affiliate of Montefiore Medical Center, the Norwood News began as a monthly and grew to a bi-weekly in 1994. In September 2003 the paper expanded to cover University Heights and now covers all the neighborhoods of Community District 7. The Norwood News exists to foster communication among citizens and organizations and to be a tool for neighborhood development efforts. The Norwood News runs the Bronx Youth Journalism Heard, a journalism training program for Bronx high school students. As you navigate this website, please let us know if you discover any glitches or if you have any suggestions. We’d love to hear from you. You can send e-mails to norwoodnews@norwoodnews.org or call us anytime (718) 324-4998.