In honor of The Land’s third anniversary, we’re catching up with a few of our 50 community journalists. Learn more about our community journalism program here. The Land’s Lee Chilcote talked with Nate Flauto, an Ohio City resident who has published multiple stories for The Land since completing our program.
Tell me a bit about your background and what you do for a living.
I grew up in Twinsburg, went to Kent State, and graduated there in 2019. Then I went down to Washington, D.C., learned that the city wasn’t a good fit for me, and came back in late 2019. In 2021, I moved up to Ohio City, which is something I kind of wanted to do after exploring the area in high school and college. I found a really nice apartment that was the right price. I thought it was the right location because there was a good bit of stuff to do and I can walk and ride my bike in the immediate area.
I’m still getting to know some of my neighbors. When I went to my first block club meeting, I was the only renter and definitely the only person under 30. But people thought I had a pretty valid opinion and wanted to hear what I had to say, which was pretty neat. I am starting to meet people and with everything that’s changing over here, hopefully there’s going to be more young folks. In terms of what I do for a living, I’m a project coordinator for a skilled labor staffing company based out of Macedonia. And I’m also a community journalist!
What are some of your favorite spots in the neighborhood?
I’m a fairly frequent visitor at Duck Rabbit Coffee. I really like coffee. I do most of it at home, but when I’m looking for something extra special, that’s where I go. Other than that, I love having drinks at Jukebox, playing trivia at Happy Dog, and having dinner with friends at Noble Beast downtown. We have access to pretty much whatever you want. If it’s not in the neighborhood, it’s a 10-15 minute drive to find something different.
What are some of the changes you see happening in the neighborhood, positive or negative?
The most apparent is Franklin Boulevard (where traffic calming has been installed). I live right on Franklin Boulevard and it’s changing right before my eyes. It’s only halfway done, but whenever I ride my bike to get my haircut or go to Gordon Square, you can tell the street already feels safer. Other than that street, it’s watching more buildings pop up as you go west down Lorain and vertically in Ohio City. Those are the most apparent changes to me.
What made you want to get involved in The Land’s community journalism program?
It sounded interesting to me. I never was much of a writer, but I had to do a ton of writing in college, and my program (International Relations and Political Science) brought in a ton of journalists. I was like, ‘Hey, I totally could have done that.’ Not that I didn’t know about journalism, but I didn’t give it much thought. Then when I saw the first batch of applications open up for the community journalism program, I was like, ‘Let’s see if it sticks.’ I like it because it was a good outlet for me, creatively and socially, but it’s also something that connects me to the area, which is something that I really wanted.
Tell me about the first story you wrote for The Land. What did you learn?
It was about a concert organized by Greyt Culture that was held at the Masonic Temple. It was not easy, I’ll tell you that. At first, I just felt really overwhelmed. I just kind of learned to keep myself composed, ask questions, and keep a dialogue going. Thankfully, my source (Thomas Fox of Greyt Culture) was super cooperative, and The Land’s help really brought that together. I don’t think I could’ve done it if Thomas wasn’t so relaxed and The Land wasn’t so helpful. He’s passionate about what he does, so you get him to start talking, he’ll go and go.
You’ve done a number of stories for The Land. Any favorites from that bunch?
The second story was this time last year. It was about the traffic calming in the Warszawa area in Slavic Village. My best friend who worked for University Settlement called me and said, ‘I have a story for you.’ I was like, you’re really giving me a story? This is amazing. Because I feel like that was my first in-depth article, you know. It was so cool to see that they were able to utilize what was around them. They were so passionate about what they were doing on their block, but also wanted everyone around town to know what they were doing so they could replicate it. That one was the most special for me because it came organically.
I also loved the rock climbing story and the Ohio City mobility story. With the City Goods story, Sam told me how they came to be and the idea behind it and I was so enthralled. I was like, ‘Whoa, I can’t believe I’m doing this story.’ It felt above me in a way, but I was like, ‘But I’m here and I have to do it.’ Meeting with the other creators there and hearing what they were so passionate about was great.
Any tips or advice for other community journalists who are getting started?
My main tip is, ‘Just do it.’ If it’s something that doesn’t get a lot of attention and you bring attention to it, then that’s a victory for you. My learning has been a lot of trial and error. I think each time it does get easier and easier.
You mentioned being a young person in your 20s, being among the younger people at the block club meeting, and wanting to feel more connected. Do you feel like that’s happened?
Yeah, definitely. I know all my neighbors in my building. On my street and in my area, when I see people outside, I’m able to say hi to my neighbors. I remember with the Ohio City mobility study story, my block club shared the results of the mobility study in an email and linked to my article. They said, ‘Oh, here’s this neat article in The Land about it.’ I told them the only reason I wrote it was because I attended the block club meeting. Then they wrote back and said, ‘Also, our neighbor wrote this!’ So, that felt super cool. I was like, I’m actually a part of this. I’m here.
Learn more about The Land’s community journalism program here.
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