Never married, George Ramos has enjoyed a love affair that has nearly killed him.
Having worked in journalism since high school, Ramos found the love of his life in a reporter’s notebook.
“Love it and it will love you back,” he said.
It hasn’t been easy for him to strap the trusty sidekick into his hip pocket. Among other barriers, his 11th grade counselor was the first to stand in his way, telling him that a profession in journalism was out of reach for Mexican-Americans.
Three Pulitzer Prizes later, Ramos has shattered the barriers for himself, still striving as a member of several organizations to put equality in the newsroom for those that follow him.
“I will try to be what you say I can’t be,” he said.
With more than 30 years of newspaper experience under his belt, Ramos, 54, has seen everything the job has to offer, from mishaps with the president of the United States to being held at gunpoint.
Through it all, he has never lost his passion for reporting.
“I’m here to get the facts out,” he said. “I will go almost anywhere to spread the word.”
In the midst of the 1992 Los Angeles Riots, Ramos never left his post, when he was suddenly put face to face with a .22-caliber pistol.
“I’m a reporter,” he said to the gunman. “I don’t know what you’re going to do, but I’m going to take notes.”
Long before standing his ground on a looted city street, Ramos took on the leader of the free world with a faulty tape recorder. Ramos was so awed by the interview with Richard Nixon that it nearly cut short his career when the recorder failed and he forgot to take notes.
In complete irony, Ramos was saved by the same White House conversation recording system that gave Nixon so many problems.
Ramos has taken numerous positions with the Los Angeles Times over the years, each one a different way to indulge the obsession that has consumed his life.