Anna Gorman is a senior correspondent for Kaiser Health News; previously, she was a Los Angeles Times reporter. Before moderating a panel on how Obamacare will affect L.A.’s immigrants, she discussed her love of dancing, her lack of love for condiments, and the kind of healthcare story she’d most love to break in the Zócalo green room.
Did you have any childhood nicknames?
Oh yes. “Anna Banana.” My mother tells me the nurse immediately called me that after I was born, and it stuck forever. I took advantage of it in elementary school when I ran for student council as “Anna the Top Banana.” Yes, I won.
What’s your favorite condiment?
I have to say I actually don’t like condiments that much. I like my salad with no dressing. My turkey burger with no sauce. I never have to wait in line at Dodger Stadium!
What advice do you give to aspiring journalists?
I’ve taught journalism, and I tell students to ignore the noise. If they are good reporters and writers, they will rise to the top and succeed—even in an environment when people are being laid off and newspapers are closing. This shrinking of the news media has actually opened up new opportunities. I left the L.A. Times for a job at a nonprofit news organization. Kaiser Health News didn’t even exist five years ago.
What’s your favorite season?
Summer. I love the heat. That’s why I live in L.A.
What does it take to get you out on a dance floor?
I love to dance. I just don’t have many opportunities anymore. The era of weddings has passed. But any chance I get, I’ll dance. We have dance parties at home to anything and everything.
Where do you go to be alone?
I’m not often alone. I’m really social, and in the evenings after the kids go to school and the work is done, I’ll take walks with my girlfriends.
Hot, medium, or mild?
I would like to be hot, but I would have to say probably medium. Definitely not mild.
What’s your biggest pet peeve?
Inefficiency. And I see it everywhere: at airports, grocery stores, driving in L.A. I hate wasting time and when things are inefficient, I’m wasting time.
Make up a headline for the healthcare story you dream of breaking.
It’s very idealistic, but I would like to see the gaps in health and healthcare closed. Whether it’s infant mortality or access to care or obesity or asthma or a zillion chronic diseases, there are such tremendous health disparities in our nation. I hope my work highlights some of these inequities and helps to reduce them. I’m horrible at headline writing, but that’s the kind of story that I really believe in.
If you were stranded on a desert island, what one book would you want to have?
One of my very favorite books is The Spirit Catches You and You Fall Down by Anne Fadiman. I just love it. It’s such a powerful tale. That said, I don’t re-read books—there’s so many books to read. And it would be hard for me to be stuck with just one book.