The Journalism Salute

On this episode we’re joined by Tim Furlong . Tim is a reporter for the Delaware bureau of NBC’s news affiliate in Philadelphia ( NBC10 ). He’s also an adjunct professor at Widener University. Tim describes himself as high energy, conversational and versatile. He’s been part of an Emmy-winning team and has been in TV news since 1997. Tim talked about the turning point in his journalism career, wal...

On this episode, we’re joined by Colleen Cronin . Colleen is a reporter for ecoRI News , a non-profit dedicated to reporting on environmental and social justice issues in southern New England. Colleen covers rural Rhode Island. She’s been with ecoRI for a year-and-a- half as part of Report for America . Colleen is a graduate of Brown University where she was editor in chief of The Brown Daily Hera...

On this episode, we’re joined by Adrianna Adame . Adrianna is an indigenous democracy and education reporter for Buffalo’s Fire via Report for America . Buffalo’s Fire is a non-profit website that produces independent journalism to enhance the quality of life for Native communities through news coverage that informs and engages American Indians and lifts up our stories to the broader culture. Adri...

On this episode we’re joined by Joseph Bustos . Joseph is a state government and politics reporter at The State , a McClatchy-owned newspaper in Columbia, South Carolina. He’s a 2005 graduate of Northwestern University who has previously been a reporter for 3 other papers. He’s been with The State for 4 years and can be found on Twitter at @JoeBReporter . Joseph talked about a photojournalism clas...

On this episode, we’re joined by Rochelle Estrada . Rochelle is a senior journalism major at William Paterson University in Wayne, New Jersey. She is the president of the William Paterson chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists. The chapter just won the award for student chapter of the year, the 2nd time in 4 years that William Paterson has earned that distinction under professor Nick H...

On this episode, we’re joined by Frances Solá-Santiago . Frances is a fashion writer at Refinery29 and also does freelance work for other prominent outlets. She’s a graduate of the University of Puerto Rico and Craig Newmark Graduate School of Journalism at CUNY . Frances talked about how the MTV show ‘The Hills’ and an early interest in fashion magazines set her career path. She explained the wid...

On this episode, we’re joined by Marjorie Cortez. Marjorie is an education reporter for the Deseret News in Utah. Prior to her current role on the Utah InDepth team, she was an editorial writer, columnist and Sunday opinion section editor. She’s been a journalist for three decades.   For those unfamiliar, The Deseret News covers news locally and nationally and is the oldest continuously operating...

On this episode, we’re joined by Michael Clair . This episode is airing right around the time of the World Series. Michael Clair covers what I’d call “The Wide World of Baseball” for MLB.com . He writes features about interesting people and stories around the world, connected to playing baseball. And other things too. Michael talked about the value of reading to a journalism origin story that also...

On this episode, we’re joined by Cindy Kuzma . Cindy is a freelance writer based in Chicago and her primary beat is running. She’s written for several magazines about the subject. She’s also co-authored books and co-hosts the podcast, The Injured Athletes Club . And she does write about other subjects too. Cindy graduated from Baylor University with a masters degree from the Medill School at North...

I'm finishing the editing work on a book project this week and a planned interview didn't happen, so I'm sharing an episode from November 2021 that some of you may not have heard. We’re joined by April Alonso . April is the co-founder of the award-winning Cicero Independiente , a bilingual news website and publication based in Cicero, Illinois, along with Irene Romulo and Ankur Singh....

On this episode, we’re joined by Stefania Lugli . Stefania is a Civic Engagement reporter for an educational non-profit, the Kansas Leadership Center , as well as the Spanish-language site, Planeta Venus . Her work supports increased news coverage on items of interest to English and Spanish speaking Latinos in Kansas. Previously, she was a reporter in Wichita as part of Report for America, and als...

On this episode, we’re joined by Karli Paulson . Karli is publisher and editor of the weekly Clark County Courier in Clark, South Dakota. Karli recently purchased the paper – she had been working for it as the office manager and typesetter. She’s a graduate of Minnesota-State Moorhead. Karli talked about her path from animation major in college to 23-year-old newspaper owner. She explained her vis...

On this episode, we’re joined by Richard Tsong-Taatarii . Richard is in his 25th year as a staff photographer for the Minneapolis Star Tribune. He notes on his website that he enjoys covering communities within our larger society that escape the attention of the mainstream media. Richard talked about his photography origin story, the practical and philisophical reason why he calls himself a pictur...

On this episode, we’re joined by Isadora Varejão , an engagement producer for Retro Report . Retro Report is a non-profit organization that makes documentaries connecting current events to stories from the past. Isadora is Brazilian and got her journalism degree at Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio de Janeiro and a masters degree from Craig Newmark School of Journalism at City University of...

On this episode, we’re joined by Frank Vaisvilas. Frank covers indigenous affairs for the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel . He just joined the Sentinel after three years at the Green Bay Press-Gazette as part of Report for America . Wisconsin is home to 11 Native American tribes, so there’s a lot to cover. Frank, who is Mexican/Yaqui/Lithuanian/Irish/American/, is a graduate of Columbia College of Chic...

Hi everyone - We're doing a feed swap this week with a podcast that shares similar sensibilities to ours. Local News Matters features extended conversations covering a wide range of topics.  Tim Regan-Porter , CEO of the Colorado Press Association , talks to reporters, editors, publishers, startup founders, sales leaders, philanthropists and more – anyone doing new or exemplary work or proffer...

On this episode, we’re joined by Em Espey . Em is an education reporter for MoCo360 Media, which covers Montgomery County, Maryland, comprehensively online at Moco360.media . Em is transgender non-binary and uses the pronouns they/them. They’ve previously worked as a transcriptionist and court reporter and as an investigator for a group that worked with religious organizations on improving their r...

On this episode, we’re joined by Jen Sorensen . Jen is an award-winning editorial cartoonist whose work can be seen at magazines, newspapers, and websites (including her own). She was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in 2017 for her coverage of the 2016 presidential race. Jen talked about how she comes up with her cartooning ideas, how alt-weekly newspapers have influenced her work, and the mecha...

On this episode we’re joined by Kadjata Bah. Kadjata is an incoming freshman at Yale University. She was the 2023 Wisconsin JEA Student Journalist of the Year from Madison East High School in Madison, Wisconsin. Kadjata spoke about her journalism origin at Simpson Street Free Press ( a journalism program for local students), writing both about stories that were personal and that brought attention...

On this episode, we’re joined by Grace Hamilton . Grace is an incoming freshman at Columbia University. She was the 2022-23 Journalism Education Association Student Journalist of the Year after completing her studies at the American School of London . Grace talked about how her passion for journalism developed, the award-winning piece she wrote exploring sexual harassment at her school , a story s...

On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by Patricia Gallagher Newberry . She’s an enterprise and watchdog reporter for the Cincinnati Enquirer who began her journalism career as a student at the University of Nebraska in 1979. There’s an interesting career path here – Reporting until 1997 and then, after dealing with repetitive strain injuries, a transition to being a professor at Miami of Ohio, whe...

On this episode we’re joined by Isiah Holmes . Isiah has been an award-winning reporter for Wisconsin Examiner since 2019. He’s a multimedia journalist who will be a Type Media fellow for the next year, which allows him to further his investigative reporting pursuits. He’s a lifelong resident of Milwaukee. Isiah talked about his journalism origin story, one that might inspire future reporters who...

Note that this episode was recorded and produced before the June 30 news broke about the Coast Guard's failure to pursue criminal investigations of a large number of sexual assaults of former students at the U.S. Coast Guard Academy. You can read about that here . Sonner Kehrt is an investigative reporter for The War Horse , a non-profit newsroom covering the military and veterans. She’s based...

On this episode we’re joined by Lyndsay C. Green . Lyndsay is a dining and restaurant critic for the Detroit Free Press . This past year she was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for criticism for a body of work described thusly by her employer. Eye-opening, thought-provoking and mouthwatering, Lyndsay’s work brings fresh perspective and uncommon courage to readers hungry for brave dining criticis...

A caution: This episode includes brief discussion of sexual abuse in the Catholic church and of suicidal thoughts. On this episode of The Journalism Salute , we're joined by John Casey . John is a senior editor and columnist at The Advocate , the world’s oldest and largest LGBTQ news outlet. John is in his late 50s. He’s spent much of his career in public relations, first on Capital Hill, then...