On this episode, we're joined by Logan Jaffe. Logan is based in Chicago and is a reporter for ProPublica focusing on newsletters. She's been there for 8 years and her work often centers on using historical research to tell stories about the present. She is a 2011 grad of the University of Florida and is pursuing a masters in public/applied history from Loyola, Chicago. Logan recently wrote about the floods in Kerr County, Texas, and how oral histories existed that refuted the idea that you couldn't have predicted such an event would happen there. Other examples of things she's written in other jobs include researching the murder of a Black baseball manager in the 1920s to provide answers to his descendants, and telling the story of her experience with racist household objects. Logan talked about how she does her work and why history is so important to her. Logan's salute: Laura Kebede-Twumasi, public historian Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com) Tweet us at @journalismpod and Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.social Subscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.substack.com

On this episode, we're joined by Bryan Vance. Bryan is the founder of Stumptown Savings, a newsletter and website that helps the people of Portland Oregon shop for food smarter. This is a chance for us to talk about creator-model journalism and service journalism. Bryan talked about the motivation for starting Stumptown Savings (a combination of a Nieman Lab article and getting laid off), what he aims to offer his readers, the creator-model as a way of producing journalism, and much more. Story examples https://stumptownsavings.com/p/grocery-price-stress-portland-oregon-community-solutions https://stumptownsavings.com/p/portland-oregon-grocery-deals-july-31-aug-5-hatch-chile-verde Bryan's salute: Copper and Heat Podcast Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com) Tweet us at @journalismpod and Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.social Subscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.substack.comOn this episode, we're joined by Bryan Vance. Bryan is the founder of Stumptown Savings, a newsletter and website that helps the people of Portland Oregon shop for food smarter. This is a chance for us to talk about creator-model journalism and service journalism. Bryan talked about the motivation for starting Stumptown Savings (a combination of a Nieman Lab article and getting laid off), what he aims to offer his readers, the creator-model as a way of producing journalism, and much more. Story examples https://stumptownsavings.com/p/grocery-price-stress-portland-oregon-community-solutions https://stumptownsavings.com/p/portland-oregon-grocery-deals-july-31-aug-5-hatch-chile-verde Bryan's salute: Copper and Heat Podcast Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com) Tweet us at @journalismpod and Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.social Subscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.substack.com

On this episode we're joined by Jai Smith. Jai is the founder and editor-in-chief of Lehigh Daily. Lehigh Daily is a hyperlocal newsroom covering my community- the Lehigh Valley part of Pennsylvania. It has a presence not just as a website but as an Instagram account with 24,000 followers and a TikTok with 28,000 followers. And it's just over a year old. Jai explained why he started the newsroom, how he and a small staff pursue stories and videos, and what he hopes this project will eventually become. Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com) Tweet us at @journalismpod and Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.social Subscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.substack.com

On this episode we're joined by Veda Thangudu. Veda will be a sophomore biology major at Purdue this fall. Veda is a part of the Youth Environmental Press Team (YEPT), an organization whose goal is to elevate the voices of middle school, high school, and college journalists writing about the environment and the climate crisis. The program exists in 7 states. Students are paid to participate. Veda has been a writer and is a director, so she helps run the program. She's been with them for 4 years under the mentorship of former journalist Jim Poyser. Veda explained how YEPT works, shared examples of the stories she writes and described how she mentors other student writers. Examples of Veda's stories can be found here https://www.yept.org/latest-stories/youth-involvement-in-environmental-protection?rq=veda https://www.yept.org/latest-stories/willow-project-approved-striking-controversies?rq=veda For more on YEPT, visit http://www.yept.org/ Veda's salute: Covering Climate Now Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com) Tweet us at @journalismpod and Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.social Subscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.substack.com

On this episode we're joined by Angilee Shah. Angilee is the CEO and editor-in-chief of Charlottesville Tomorrow, a non-profit newsroom in Charlottesville, Virginia. A couple of years ago we interviewed someone from that newsroom, Erin O'Hare, in an interview that I've cited in every presentation I've done to students since. So I thought it would be good to talk to someone else from this organization. Angilee is a thought leader in the industry (definitely worth a follow on LinkedIn) who has 20 years of journalism experience. She's a grad of Cal-Berkeley, class of 2004. In our discussion, she talked about her introduction to journalism,, what it was like to work for The World, covering international news, and why she transitioned to local news. She explained how her organization covers the area and connects with the local community. And she offered advice for aspiring journalists ("embrace the struggle"). Work examples Charlottesville's Housing Resource Guide https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/charlottesville-and-albemarle-county-housing-resources-guide/ Yogaville's Toxic Work Environment https://www.cvilletomorrow.org/she-left-yogaville-because-of-its-toxic-environment-but-wants-to-keep-telling-the-stories-of-survivors/ What Reporters Get Wrong About Immigration https://www.angileeshah.com/2018/10/14/covering-immigration-what-reporters-get-wrong-and-how-to-get-it-right/ Angilee's Salute: Documented (immigration news website) Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com) Tweet us at @journalismpod and Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.social Subscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.substack.com

On this episode we're joined by Hanaa' Tameez. Hanaa' is a staff writer for Nieman Journalism Lab at Harvard University. Hanaa' and Nieman report on the future of journalism. She previously worked for the Fort Worth Star Telegram as its diversity reporter (one example here). Hanaa is a 2016 graduate of Stony Brook Univesity, where she was editor in chief of the school paper. She has a masters in Spanish language journalism from CUNY Newmark Graduate School. She is Pakistani-American and speaks 3 languages. Hanaa' talked about the types of stories she covers, everything from author Q&A's to clever ways newsrooms use language to teach climate policy, to the development of a news aggregator/dating app. She shared the challenges of working in the industry and how taking a class on the business of news changed her perspective for the better. Her biggest piece of advice to future journos: read about developments in the industry! Hanaa's salute: Journalists everywhere who are putting the public's right to know above their own safety. Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com) Tweet us at @journalismpod and Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.social Subscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.substack.com

On this episode we're joined by José Ignacio Castañeda Perez. He's a reporter for Spotlight Delaware, a local independent journalism non-profit. He's been there for the last year and a half. Previously he covered border issues for the The Arizona Republic and Underserved Communities for The Wilmington Delaware News Journal. He's specializing in reporting on immigration in Delaware. He's a graduate of Arizona State and is a recent recipient of The Chauncey Bailey Fellowship, for which he'll be doing an investigative project. José talked about all that covering immigration entails, the kind of stories that Spotlight Delaware pursues and how those stories are presented to their audience. He also shared advice for aspiring reporters and provided insights into some of the tough realities of the job. José's salute: Migrant Insider Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com) Tweet us at @journalismpod and Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.social Subscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.substack.com

On this episode, Mark Simon speaks to Marcela García, associate editor and columnist for the op-ed page at The Boston Globe. Marcela often writes about Latinx communities in Boston including in a newsletter she launched, ¡Mira!, that is written in English and Spanish. She also writes some of the Globe's unsigned editorials. For that, she and two of her colleagues were finalists for this year's Pulitzer Prize in editorial writing. As the Pulitzer board noted "For their politically courageous and deeply reported editorials on how Boston can humanely and effectively close underutilized schools in ways that improve student learning." We talked to Marcela about the series, the work that goes into reporting and writing, and her advice for students with aspirations of writing op-eds and editorials. If you like the former podcast, Longform, I think you'll enjoy this episode. Link to the Pulitzer series: https://www.pulitzer.org/finalists/22653 Marcela's salutes: New Bedford Light and Texas Tribune Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com) Tweet us at @journalismpod and Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.social Subscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.substack.com

On The Journalism Salute we interview journalists about who they are and what they do with the intent of showing that journalists are not the enemy. Today we're joined by Alan Tai. Alan just won the Journalism Education Association's Student Journalist of the Year award as a senior at Monta Vista High School in California. Alan talked about his experiences on the student newspaper, El Estoque as an editor-in-chief and also as a writer of features and op-eds. He explained what the school's journalism program is like and how it successfully deals with school administration. He also shared lessons he learned and offered tips to guide future editors-in-chief. This is the 4th straight year we've interviewed the national winner of that award, the first of them was Anushka De, also from Monta Vista High School. Alan's salutes: The Journalism Education Association, Student Press Law Center, Columbia Scholastic Press Association, and The News Literacy Project. Story examples: Feature on local residents who were military veterans https://elestoque.org/2022/11/11/features/american-heroes/ Cheat GPT: Is It Time To Kill The Essay? https://elestoque.org/2023/03/21/opinion/cheatgpt-is-it-time-to-kill-the-essay/ Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com) Tweet us at @journalismpod and Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.social Subscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.substack.com

On this episode we're joined by Alexandra Lange. She is a journalist, design critic, author and teacher. She was recently named the 2025 Pulitzer Prize winner in criticism for a series of pieces at Bloomberg CityLab about designing cities for families. The judges wrote: For graceful and genre-expanding writing about public spaces for families, deftly using interviews, observations and analysis to consider the architectural components that allow children and communities to thrive. Her portfolio encompassed 7 pieces in all, spaced out from March to December of 2024. You can find the stories here: https://www.bloomberg.com/features/designing-cities-for-families/ Alexandra shared her approach to writing these stories, providing multiple examples of the choices she made at different points along the way. She also spoke about the evolution of architectural criticism and how her writing is similar to that which you would see in op-ed pieces written at the high school, college, or professional level. Alexandra's salutes: Critical Minded and also journalism unions Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com) Tweet us at @journalismpod and Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.social Subscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.substack.com

On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by Ayaan Shah. He's the Pennsylvania Student Journalist of the Year and newly graduated from Emmaus High School in Emmaus, Pennsylvania. Ayaan and I live in the same county- Lehigh County. Ayaan talked about his journalism interests. He shared the story of covering Joe Biden's appearance in his town and one interview from that experience that stood out. He also told the story of another highlight, covering governor Josh Shapiro's press conference at his school. Ayaan explained the work he did as editor-in-chief of his school newspaper, The Stinger and what it was like to be a teaching assistant for a journalism class. Ayaan's salutes: Emmaus teachers/advisors Shelby Ramirez, Denise Freeman, and Matthew Shaw, and journalist Mehdi Hasan. Articles Biden protest coverage https://stingerehs.com/17358/news/biden-visits-emmaus-encounters-protestors/ Shapiro press conference https://stingerehs.com/17650/news/pennsylvania-governor-josh-shapiro-visits-emmaus-high-school-to-promote-new-education-budget/ Pro-Palestinian Protests https://stingerehs.com/17254/features/lehigh-valley-pro-palestinian-movement-echoes-national-trends/ Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com) Tweet us at @journalismpod and Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.social Subscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.substack.com

On this episode, we're joined by Justin Baxley. Justin is a journalist based in the south who just completed 3 years working as a digital content manager for 13 WMAZ in Macon, Georgia. He is in the process of transitioning to a new journalism job, but we wanted to talk to him now at the suggestion of Kristen Hare, our recent guest from the Poynter Institute. Justin's father Michael was killed in 2017 in what is believed to be a robbery (multiple arrests were made just this February). Justin went through the experience of grieving his father while having to deal with probes from many different media outlets. To give families of victims more control, Justin created the More Than A Number website, whose purpose is "To honor lives lost to violent crime, support their loved ones and promote more empathetic journalism." The link to it is in the show notes. The project, done as part of a Poynter fellowship, won a national journalism innovation award. We talked to Justin about that project and other notable accomplishments from his journalism career. Justin's salutes: Nick Wooten, Dallas Morning News; Kati Kokal, WUWM-Milwaukee. More Than A Number Website https://www.13wmaz.com/more-than-a-number More Than A Number YouTube link https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLc8Ny6J4NZVlbJaWRYVdNiXwDmk6IC3Zc Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com) Tweet us at @journalismpod and Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.social Subscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.substack.com

On this episode we're joined by Roberto Camacho. Roberto is Chicano (an American of Mexican heritage), a freelance journalist who often writes about issues impacting local immigrants, especially Chicanos but touches on other subjects too, like hip hop culture. He is based in San Diego and is a 2017 graduate of Arizona State University. Roberto talked about life as a freelancer, connecting with communities that haven't had good relationships with American journalists in the past, and how he looks for stories about groups that are closest to the harm that's being done. He also shared examples of his writing about groups protecting undocumented people from ICE, pollution in local neighborhoods, and hip hop. Story examples Protecting Immigrants from Ice https://boltsmag.org/how-volunteer-patrols-are-working-to-protect-san-diego-immigrant-communities-from-ice/ Port Communities Long Fight Against Industrial Pollution Emissions Impact https://nextcity.org/features/san-diego-port-communities-long-fight-industrial-pollution-emissions-impact Neighborhood Kids Bring Revolutionary Message To Hip Hop https://www.calonews.com/featured-topics/culture/the-neighborhood-kids-bring-revolutionary-messages-back-to-hip-hop/article_39a80635-98a3-494b-987b-694e20336338.html Group Documenting Latino People Killed By Police https://www.palabranahj.org/archive/the-heavy-toll Roberto's salutes: Ruben Salazar, Shaun King, Brandon Loran Maxwell, Aysha Khan, Abraham Marquez, Ben Camacho, Jeremiah Cothren and all the journalists in Gaza. Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com) Tweet us at @journalismpod and Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.social Subscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.substack.com

On this episode we're joined by Mollie Simon. Mollie has been a research reporter for ProPublica for the last 5 years, working oftentimes behind the scenes on stories such as ones we've talked to past guests about. She's also been a newspaper reporter in South Carolina and a data researcher for LegiStorm. She is a graduate of the University of Georgia with dual degrees in public affairs journalism and political science. Mollie talked about the skills needed to be a researcher and work behind-the-scenes on stories and projects. She also provided examples of the types of stories she's worked on, including one about a homebuying franchise that was using inappropriate methods to take advantage of seller desperation. Thank you as always for listening. Please send us feedback to journalismsalute@gmail.com Story example "The ugly truth behind We Buy Ugly Houses" https://www.propublica.org/article/ugly-truth-behind-we-buy-ugly-houses Mollie's salutes: Specialty team members, copy editors, newsroom lawyers, newspapers that invest in investigative reporting, and journalism "ex-pats." Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com) Tweet us at @journalismpod and Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.social Subscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.substack.com

On this episode, we're joined by Tara García Mathewson. Tara is a bilingual reporter covering education and technology, particularly the harms within them, both on a national and state level for The Markup and CalMatters. The Markup is a non-profit newsroom that challenges technology to serve the public good. A motto often within its stories is 'report deeply and fix things.' Its stories combine news reporting and data analysis and 'The Markup Method' means they show their work. CalMatters is a non-partisan and non-profit news organization covering California policies and politics to make the government more transparent and accountable. Tara talked about her experience covering artificial intelligence, technological surveillance, and digital censorship in education and the work that went into specific stories. She also spoke about the benefit of getting a background in newspaper reporting before working for non-profit journalism outlets. Work examples: Digital Book Banning https://themarkup.org/digital-book-banning/2024/04/13/schools-were-just-supposed-to-block-porn-instead-they-sabotaged-homework-and-censored-suicide-prevention-sites Technological surveillance https://themarkup.org/machine-learning/2023/11/30/he-wanted-privacy-his-college-gave-him-none Artificial intelligence https://calmatters.org/education/k-12-education/2025/03/school-counselors-ai-chatbots/ Tara's salutes: The 74, Caitlin Dickerson (The Atlantic), Hannah Dreier (New York Times) Thank you as always for listening. Please send us feedback to journalismsalute@gmail.com Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com) Tweet us at @journalismpod and Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.social Subscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.substack.com

On this episode we're joined by Daniel Newman. Daniel is a digital content producer for Cleveland Jewish News in Cleveland Ohio. He's an early-career journalist who also spent a year as a news reporter for the Tribune Chronicle in Warren, Ohio. He's a native of Youngstown, Ohio and a 2023 graduate of Cleveland State University, where he spent a year as news editor of the student newspaper. Daniel discussed his upbringing and multi-layered racial religious background and what he's enjoying about working for a Jewish media outlet. He walked us through the different elements of his job, gave examples of what he's covered, and shared several other interests he has. Daniel's salute: Chris McBride, Tribune-Chronicle Thank you as always for listening. Please send us feedback to journalismsalute@gmail.com Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com) Tweet us at @journalismpod and Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.social Subscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.substack.com

On this episode we're joined by Miranda Green. Miranda is a freelance investigative reporter based in Los Angeles. She was the director of investigations at Floodlight news covering corporations and political interests stalling climate action. She's also previously worked for Newsweek, The Daily Beast, Decode DC, CNN, the Hill, and Huffington Post. She's a graduate of George Washington University. I became interested in talking to Miranda after I found stories she wrote about a specific way in which misinformation about climate science is spreading. We spent much of the episode discussing how she reported on those stories, how those are both individual stories and also a problem for the journalism industry, and advice she has on covering one story that may lead to many more stories. Examples of coverage: Chevron owns a newspaper https://mirandacgreen.com/chevron-owns-this-citys-news-site-many-stories-arent-told-2/ The North Dakota "newspaper" and a Greenpeace lawsuit https://www.niemanlab.org/2025/03/a-pipeline-company-is-suing-greenpeace-for-300-million-a-pay-to-play-newspaper-is-accused-of-tainting-the-jury-pool/ How an Alabama utility wields influence by financing news https://mirandacgreen.com/control-the-narrative-how-an-alabama-utility-wields-influence-by-financing-news/ Miranda's salute: Byron Tau, investigative reporter, AP Thank you as always for listening. Please send us feedback to journalismsalute@gmail.com Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com) Tweet us at @journalismpod and Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.social Subscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.substack.com

On our 221st episode, we're joined by Kristen Hare. Kristen is Poynter Institute's director of craft and local news. She teaches local journalists the skills they need to serve and cover their communities. Previously she covered the people of business and local news for Poynter. She's based near Tampa, Florida. We covered a wide range of topics with Kristen, including what local news looks like in 2025, tips she has for maximizing local news coverage, and how she views the work of college students helping local news thrive and the role of newsletters in covering local news. And she talked about one of her passions- obituary writing (our first obituaries discussion!). Kristen's salute: Justin Baxley, WMAZ Thank you as always for listening. Please send us feedback to journalismsalute@gmail.com Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com) Tweet us at @journalismpod and Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.social Subscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.substack.com

On this episode we're joined by Evan Urquhart. Evan covers anti-transgender propaganda and transgender news issues for Assigned Media (AssignedMedia.org), an organization he founded. He is also the community manager for Slate's comments section and is a freelance writer with many prominent bylines. And he's currently doing a Knight science writing fellowship at MIT. We interviewed Evan, who is transgender, on Trans Day of Visibility (March 31) Evan talked about why he started Assigned Media and the kind of stories it covers. He discussed covering news and writing personal essays. He also explained the kinds of things that mainstream media, like the New York Times, gets wrong when covering transgender issues and the kind of stories that are currently getting overlooked, with all the attention given to whether transgender women should play high school and college sports. Evan's salute: The Trans Journalist Association Coverage examples: Stories about the New York Times and its mistakes https://www.assignedmedia.org/breaking-news/you-betrayed-us-azeen-parents-of-trans-youth-reeling-after-speaking-to-the-nyt Thank you as always for listening. Please send us feedback to journalismsalute@gmail.com Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com) Tweet us at @journalismpod and Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.social Subscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.substack.com

On this episode we're joined by Lizzy Lawrence. Lizzy covers the Food and Drug Administration for STAT News, a subscription-based part of Boston Globe's media newsroom owned by the Boston Globe that covers the frontiers of health and medicine. As they say- "We take you inside the science labs and hospitals, biotech boardrooms, and political backrooms. We dissect crucial discoveries. We examine controversies and puncture hype. We hold individuals and institutions accountable. We introduce you to the power brokers and personalities who are driving a revolution in human health." Lizzy has been with them for 2 1/2 years and she's been part of stories that have won prominent awards. She's previously covered technology and was editor-in-chief of the University of Michigan's student newspaper. And she's a graduate of my alma mater, Stuyvesant High School in New York City. Lizzy talked about what it's like to cover both breaking news, like the mass firing of thousands of people at the FDA and bigger enterprise stories, like the team coverage on United Healthcare that won a Polk Award for investigative journalism. She shared the biggest lessons she learned and what she feels she's taken from being a journalist. Lizzy's salute: The Association of Health Care Journalists A detailed interview explaining STAT's coverage of United Healthcare https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B0VJGEv5IGw