The Journalism Salute

On this episode of The Journalism Salute, Mark Simon is joined by Amber Payne . Amber is the publisher and general manager of The Emancipator . This struck us as an important episode to release on Juneteenth. The Emancipator is the Reimagining of the first abolitionist newspaper for a new day. Explaining and exploring solutions to racial inequality. It began as a partnership between Boston Univers...

On this episode of The Journalism Salute , Mark Simon is joined by C.J. Janovy . C.J. is the director of content for KCUR , the NPR affiliate in Kansas City, Missouri. She has previously worked as editor of The Pitch , Kansas City’s alt-weekly, and as an editor at Kansas Reflector, a non-profit covering state government in Kansas. She’s also the author of the book No Place Like Home, Lessons in Ac...

On this episode of The Journalism Salute , Mark Simon is joined by Melissa Sanchez . Melissa is a bilingual reporter for Pro Publica , which does investigative journalism in the public interest. Melissa is based in Chicago and covers labor and immigration. She just won a Studs Terkel award for her work (that’s a very important award to Chicago journalists). Her stories are deep investigative piece...

On this episode of The Journalism Salute , Mark Simon is joined by Justine Harman. Justine is a journalist and podcaster and current host of the podcast Killed . Killed is a podcast about journalism that gets … killed … for a variety of reasons. Season 2 from Audiochuck is currently ongoing. It’s ranked among the most downloaded podcasts in Seasons 1 and 2. We talked about Justine’s former career...

On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by Richard Ruelas . Richard has been a reporter and metro columnist at the Arizona Republic for 30 years. He has moderated debates, written a book, and also reported and anchored a podcast series about a murdered Arizona journalist, Don Bolles . And he’s an adjunct professor at Arizona State. Richard talked about all aspects of his career, including his report...

On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by Peter Rice. Peter is the editor of Downtown Albuquerque News in Albuquerque, New Mexico. He’s been a reporter for both print outlets and local NPR stations and has written multiple books. Downtown Albuquerque News is what it says it is – a digital news outlet serving downtown Albuquerque and surrounding neighborhoods. Hyperlocal news. Peter talked about his...

On this episode of The Journalism Salute, Mark Simon is joined by Rebecca Johnson . Rebecca is a graduating senior from the University of Pittsburgh who plans a career in journalism. She’s just finishing her tenure as editor in chief of The Pitt News , overseeing a staff of 18 editors and 150 contributors. She’s also done multiple internships, including one covering education for the Austin Americ...

On this episode of The Journalism Salute, Mark Simon is joined by Sydney Ross . Sydney is a graduating student at North Carolina A&T majoring in multimedia journalism. She’s the managing editor of The A&T Register , the school’s newspaper and the founder of the non-profit, Change the Type. Sydney is headed to North Carolina’s journalism school graduate program but took time to reminisce ab...

With some of our student listeners looking for work, Mark Simon thought this would be a good episode of The Journalism Salute to provide guidance should any of them wish to do freelance work. Pete talked about his freelancing career and provided instructive examples from work he’s done, including a recent Q&A with former Super Bowl-winning coach Tom Coughlin , as well as feature profiles , mov...

On this episode of The Journalism Salute, Mark Simon is joined by Monica Samayoa . Monica is a climate reporter for Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB) and is co-chair of the steering committee for The Uproot Project , a network of environmental journalists of color. Monica did not expect to become a climate reporter and filled us in on the path that took her to this job. She walked us through the di...

On this episode of The Journalism Salute, we’re joined by Idaho Capital Sun reporter Mia Maldonado . Mia never took a journalism class in college but was able to start her career as part of the Voces Internship of Idaho program, which coordinates internships for aspiring Latino/Latina journalists with local newsrooms. Mia talked about her time as an intern at the Capital Sun and as a breaking news...

On this episode of The Journalism Salute we’re joined by Tim Whitaker . Tim has been a teacher and a journalist and is the executive director of Mighty Writers . Mighty Writers is a Philadelphia-based non-profit that teaches 3,500 kids per year to think clearly and write with clarity. It works out of Pennsylvania, New York, and New Jersey. Tim talked about the highlights from his lengthy career as...

On this episode of The Journalism Salute, we’re joined by Laurie Ezzell Brown. She was the publisher and editor of The Canadian Record , a community weekly covering Hemphill County in the northeastern Texas Panhandle from 1893 to 2023, and a legacy business owned and published by the Ezzell family since the late 1940s. Laurie spoke about being born into her journalism origin story and provided an...

Note: As of February 2025, our interview subject is Charlie Spicer (he/him). This interview was conducted in March 2023. On this episode of The Journalism Salute, we’re joined by Sarah Spicer . Sarah is a news editor for the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). She was just named to Editor & Publisher’s “ 25 Under 35.” Sarah is a graduate of Emporia State University in Kansas, where she was...

On this episode of The Journalism Salute, we’re joined by Tiffany Tan , a reporter for the non-profit VTDigger who covers southwest Vermont. Tiffany’s career has taken her around the globe, in the Philippines as a TV producer, in Singapore and China as a writer and editor. She’s worked in the United States in both South Dakota and Vermont. Tiffany talked about her reporting experiences both abroad...

On this episode of The Journalism Salute, Mark Simon is joined by Luella Brien . Luella is the editor-in-chief at Four Points Press , an independent media company which covers the Crow Indian Reservation in southern Montana. Luella also teaches high school journalism and has taught college in the past too. She was the primary narrator in the new Showtime docu-series, Murder in Big Horn . Luella ta...

On this episode of The Journalism Salute, we’re joined by Jared Council . Jared is a senior editor at Forbes . He covers stories that touch on Black business, Black culture, and Black power. He’s a graduate of Hampton University who previously worked in Indiana and Virginia and also at the Wall Street Journal . He’s based in Philadelphia. Jared talked about his unlikely journalism origin story, on...

On this episode, we’re joined by Roxanne Scott . Roxanne is a senior producer for Futuro Media Group , an independent non-profit media organization producing multimedia journalism that gives a voice to the diversity of American experience. You may know it best for Latino USA and the person who runs the group, Maria Hinojosa Roxanne has previously worked as a reporter in Louisville and Atlanta. Pri...

On this episode we’re joined by Karen Hawkins . Karen is a longtime journalist and is currently a story editor for The 19 th *, a newsroom that operates at the intersection of gender, politics, and policy. She is also a board member for the NLGJA , the association of LGBTQ journalists, of which Karen is one. Additionally, she is the founder and rebelle in chief of Rebellious Magazine , which deliv...

On today’s show we’re joined by Bobbi-Jeanne Misick . She is the justice, race, and equity reporter for the Gulf States Newsroom , a collaboration between NPR and radio stations in WWNO and WRKF in Louisiana, WBHM in Alabama, and Mississippi Public Radio working with NPR. She has previously been an editor and writer for Essence and a reporter and producer in the Caribbean. Bobbi-Jeanne talked how...

On this episode, we’re joined by Erin O’Hare , the neighborhoods reporter for Charlottesville Tomorrow , a hyperlocal non-profit news website serving Charlottesville, Virginia (cvilletomorrow.org). Erin explained what a neighborhood reporter does in a city of about 45,000 people, everything from reporting on the changing demographics of neighborhoods to making zoning ordinances understandable, to...

On this episode we’re joined by Margo Snipe . Margo is a reporter for Capital B (CapitalBNews.org) covering critical issues affecting the mental and physical health of Black Americans. Capital B is a non-profit newsroom serving both local and national Black audiences. Margo talked about Capital B’s mission and how she comes up with story ideas. She went through examples of stories she had done, in...

On today’s show we’re joined by Amir Khafagy . Amir is a labor reporter for Documented – journalism created with and for immigrants and how policy affects their lives. He’s of Egyptian and Puerto Rican descent and grew up in a Muslim household. He’s with Documented as part of the Report for America Program. Amir talked about his working-class upbringing, his work as a student and labor organizer t...

On this episode, we’re joined by Raegan Miller . Raegan is a reporter for KRBD , a radio station in Ketchikan, Alaska. She covers Alaska Native and rural issues as part of the Report for America program. Raegan talked about making the transition from print to radio and covering stories in very small towns where she often gets recognized. She discussed about the kinds of stories she covered and how...

  Alain Stephens is the western correspondent for The Trace , an online newsroom that investigates gun violence in America. He’s been with them for nearly 4 years. He is based in San Diego. Alain has a background in law enforcement, military, and sociology – not your typical journalism path. He’s a graduate of the University of North Texas who served in both the Coast Guard and Air Force. And he i...