On this episode we're joined by three reporters from the San Francisco Chronicle – Susie Neilson, Megan Fan Munce, and Sara DiNatale.

The three of them won the 2026 Pulitzer Prize for explanatory reporting for the series of articles, Burned, which show how insurance companies using algorithmic tools have failed Californians who lost their homes to wildfires. They did so by systematically undervaluing properties, denying claims and making it impossible for them to rebuild. There were roughly 20 stories done on this project with a large team of contributors.

Susie, Megan, and Sara provided a behind-the-scenes perspective of how the stories came together. They also provided advice and insight for journalists who aspire to do such work.

Susie, Megan, and Sara's salutes: The other Pulitzer Finalists for Explanatory Journalism at Bloomberg (Staff) and ProPublica (Brett Murphy and Anna Maria Barry-Jester).

A full list of Thank Yous From Susie, Megan, and Sara

Brontë Wittpenn (and pitbull Mama Wittpenn), Stephen Lam, Ryan Gabrielson, Kate Galbraith , Demian Bulwa, Emilio Garcia-Ruiz, Michael Gray, Sarah McGrew, Erin Caughey, John Blanchard, Alex Fong, Joy Jeong, Nami Sumida, Jessica Christian, Alisha Jucevic, Brooke Park , Christian Leonard, Anthony Edwards, Maggie Beidelman, Nicole Fruge, Emily Jan, Dan Kopf, Hannah Hagemann, Caleb Pershan, Linda Houser/Tafur,Shoka Safiee

Full series

https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/susie-neilson-megan-fan-munce-and-sara-dinatale-san-francisco-chronicle

Inside Burned (3 1/2 minute video)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glFQduuo7qI

15-minute summary

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kh5HW42fEII

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Hi. I'm Mark Simon and welcome to The Journalism Salute. On this episode we're joined by Sandeep Ravindran. Sandeep is a freelance science journalist based in Bethesda, Maryland. He's written for many publications, including The New York Times, National Geographic and Wired. Sandeep is also the president of the National Association of Science Writers.

He's also a program manager for community mentoring at The Open Notebook, an organization that mentors science writers. The Open Notebook has a new book out – The Best Science Stories and How They Work. Sandeep annotated a story by journalist Jessica Seigel for the book.

Sandeep talked about why Jessica's article is so good and then walked us through a couple of stories that he's written about AI and about supplements. He shared guidance for aspiring science writers and explained the goals of the NASW.

Jessica Seigel's The Truth About Lying

https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/mind/2021/the-truth-about-lying

Sandeep's article about efficient AI

https://dhewxdsd0qahx.cloudfront.net/5105472/Cutting_AI_Down_to_Size-science.adw7713.pdf?1741032784

Sandeep's article about supplements

https://time.com/6171584/are-vitamins-supplements-healthy/

Interview with Siri Carpenter of The Open Notebook (Episode #13!)

https://open.spotify.com/episode/2yJBCItJCZrmnBbZfTtOGl?go=1&sp_cid=f5ca8b5c892565553f13a8e595421365&utm_source=embed_player_p&utm_medium=desktop

Sandeep's salutes:

1) The Council for the Advancement of Science Writing

2) Society of Environmental Journalists

3) Association of Health Care Journalists

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I'm Mark Simon and welcome to The Journalism Salute. On this episode, I'm joined by Heather Morrison. Heather is a managing producer for MassLive.com, which covers the state of Massachusetts. She's previously been a reporter and a social media producer with them.

Heather is a graduate of the University of Missouri, class of 2015 with degrees in religious studies and journalism.

Heather talked about MassLive's social media strategy and her approach to running the organization's accounts, such as Instagram and TikTok. She explained the different types of things she's tried, how she deals with viewer comments, and provided advice for those interested in pursuing social media account management as a job.

MassLive Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/masslive/

MassLive Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@masslivenews

Heather's TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@heatheradamsmorrison44

Heather's salute: Maine Trust for Local News

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On this episode we're joined by Jay Dow.

Jay is a well-known TV reporter and host in New York City. He's in his 15th year as a correspondent and host for PIX11, where he's won or shared 17 Emmys and 2 Edward R Murrow Awards. Prior to that he was a correspondent for WCBS TV for 9 years and did some national reporting as well. And he was a reporter for my family's favorite TV channel- NY1.

Jay is a native of St. Thomas in the Virgin Islands and a graduate of my alma mater, The College of New Jersey, with a degree in political science and concentration in economics. He was in my graduating class and we were profiled in the same article in the alumni magazine.

Jay gave a behind-the-scenes look at covering notable stories, and how he handles reporting on snowstorms. He explained how a planned venture into a legal career shifted when his uncle got him a job in TV news. And he provided advice for aspiring TV journalists and offered words of hope for local TV news.

Examples of Jay's reporting:

https://www.youtube.com/c/JayDowTV/videos

https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUK8g7y07fCFb52EO1cLFw2dJf6tErxwk

Jay's salute: The National Association of Black Journalists.

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On this episode of The Journalism Salute, we're joined by Anita Pinto and Aron Dervishaj. Anita is a speech therapist the advisor to the student newspaper at Urban Assembly Gateway School for Technology in Manhattan at which she started a journalism club. Aron is a student who will be entering 11th grade in the fall (he's wearing a hockey jersey in our cover photo for a reason!). He's been writing for the student newspaper, The Gateway Times.

If you are a regular listener, you've hopefully heard our previous interview with Anita and her monthly updates.

In this interview, we recapped the school year with Anita and got Aron's perspective on what it's like to be a student journalist with no prior journalism experience. We went through two of Aron's stories and discussed how he got them. We also got some thoughts from Anita on ideas for next year, which will be the third year of the newspaper club.

Thanks to Press Pass NYC, a wonderful organization helping advisors start student newspapers in New York City high schools, for connecting us with Anita.

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On this episode Mark Simon was joined by Dr. Ken Schneck. Ken is the founding editor of The Buckeye Flame, Ohio's LGBTQ+ newsroom. He's written for many prominent publications, including The Huffington Post and The Advocate. He also was a tenured professor at Baldwin-Wallace, a book author, a public speaker, and a former syndicated radio show host. And he's a board member for NLGJA- the association of LGBTQ journalists. I hope that covers everything.

He's a 1999 grad of NYU with a masters there and a doctorate from Fordham and was formerly a college administrator. And we should have interviewed him a long time ago.

Ken talked about why The Buckeye Flame exists and what its purpose is. He shared examples of some of the things that he's written about, talked about his approach to teaching, explained how he managed his mental health, and much more.

Ken's salute: Queer Kentucky

Article Examples

Taking a call from his high school bully

https://thebuckeyeflame.com/2020/07/06/my-high-school-bully-just-called-me-25-years-later/

School board defeats anti-LGBTQ+ legislation

https://thebuckeyeflame.com/2023/03/24/ohio-school-board-defeats-anti-lgbtq-resolution/

The 2026 Pride Guide

https://thebuckeyeflame.com/2026/06/04/2026-ohio-lgbtq-pride-guide/

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Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at [email protected]

On this episode Mark Simon was joined by José Ralat. José is the taco editor, yes, the taco editor, for Texas Monthly magazine. He is the author of American Tacos: A History & Guide. Ralat is a two-time winning editor of a James Beard Award, which is foodwriting's most prestigious honor.

He is a graduate of St. Andrews Presbyterian College.

José explained what he does as a taco editor and why it's important that the magazine has one. He shared how he covers food and stories related to it by traveling across the entire state of Texas. He talked about how covering this beat also means covering immigration-related stories and detailed his own experiences with ICE. He also discussed how he manages his epilepsy and his mental health in what is a difficult time in his state.

Jose's salutes: National Association of Hispanic Journalists and Javier Cabral of L.A. Taco.

José's website

https://joseralat.net/

José's story on the Missions

https://www.texasmonthly.com/travel/forgotten-old-missions-texas-history/

José's story on the Smashburger Taco

https://www.texasmonthly.com/food/smash-burger-taco-history/

José's Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/tacotrailofficial/

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On this episode we're joined by Nicole Carr.

Nicole is a journalism professor at Morehouse College and author of the new book, The Price of Exclusion, The Pursuit of Healthcare in a Segregated Nation.

She's previously been a TV reporter in North Carolina, and in Atlanta, where she won four Emmys. And she was an investigative reporter for ProPublica.

Nicole has a degree in mass communications from Winston Salem State, a masters from Syracuse, and is currently studying for a doctorate at Clark-Atlanta University.

Nicole talked about her book writing journey and why she wrote it. She explained how she linked past to present with the story of her great grandfather's becoming a doctor and his work as one, in conjunction with an explanation about the shortage of Black doctors in America. She provided tips for those interviewing people "in the fourth quarter of their lives" and explained how a cold e-mail to Kamala Harris' father led to a gold mine of information.

We also talked about an article Nicole wrote for ProPublica about a school administrator from Maryland who took a new job in Georgia and was promptly chased out of town by overzealous anti-Critical Race Theory parents.

If you were a fan of the Longform podcast, I think you'll like the approach we took in this episode.

Link to Nicole's book

https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-price-of-exclusion-nicole-carr

Nicole's ProPublica story

https://www.propublica.org/article/georgia-dei-crt-schools-parents

Nicole on the importance of the Black Press

https://theemancipator.org/2024/11/09/topics/movements/the-black-press-democratized-america/

Nicole's salute: Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting & The Committee to Protect Journalists

Nicole's book recommendations: Caste, The Origin of Our Discontent & The Warmth of Other Suns (Isabel Wilkerson), How The Word Is Passed (Clint Smith)

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Mark Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-simon-92355124/

On this episode we're joined by Ben Camacho. Ben is a journalist, documentary photographer, and producer. His work focused on state-sponsored violence, subjects like police brutality, and the communities impacted by it. He's a graduate of the University of La Verne and is based around Los Angeles.

Ben's work has been published in major outlets, like New York Magazine, and also on his Substack, Inadvertent and West Side Storytellers.

We talked with Ben about the different things he's covered and the experiences he's had doing the reporting. He shared insights about the double standard that exists when covering police brutality protests (white reporters and photographers are managed differently by police). Ben also offered advice for aspiring journalists in covering projects like the ones he does.

Ben's salutes: Joey Scott and Cerise Castle, who both cover similar subjects as Ben does

New York Magazine piece The Terror Of Life Under ICE

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/ice-raids-los-angeles-terror.html

Immigration Courts Have Become Hunting Grounds For ICE

https://lapublicpress.org/2025/08/la-immigration-courts-have-become-hunting-grounds-for-ice-agents/

Poynter story on double standards in media treatment

https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2021/at-police-lines-not-all-journalists-are-created-equal/

 The Blue Hand documentary

https://www.inadvertent.news/p/the-blue-hand

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On this episode we're joined by Dominic Di Palermo. Dominic just graduated from Western Kentucky University where he worked on both the student newspaper and the campus lifestyle magazine. He's also an intern at the Chicago Tribune and was a contributor to a project that won the Tribune a 2026 Pulitzer Prize for local reporting.

The award was "For its powerful coverage of the Trump administration’s militarized immigration sweep of the city that described in vivid, muscular prose how the siege-like incursion of ICE agents unified Chicagoans in resistance."

Dominic talked about his variety of experiences with photography, from taking pictures of a young girl being taken into custody, to shooting local events and sports. He explained why empathy is an important trait for any photojournalist and he provided tips for aspiring journalists.

Dominic's salutes: Photographers for the Boston Globe, Seattle Times, and those in Washington D.C.

Photo of the girl being taken into custody

https://www.instagram.com/p/DPUcbWyDoCz/?img_index=1

Photo of symphony conductor

https://www.instagram.com/p/DHBgAjpMnKC/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

Photo of an athlete screaming

https://www.instagram.com/p/DEk_GPaSxHL/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==

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