On this episode, we're joined by Eda Uzunlar. Eda is the arts and culture reporter and a news anchor for WSHU Public Radio, an NPR affiliate in Connecticut that covers both that state and Long Island, New York.

Eda is a first generation Turkish-American who grew up in the Black Hills of South Dakota. In addition to radio and print work, she's also done illustrations, graphics, and comics journalism. Eda is a graduate of Yale University

Eda talked about her having a curious nature from a very early age, as well as her early interest in radio. She explained the importance of being an emotive speaker in her reporting and anchoring work and someone who tries to make her stories as easy to understand as possible.

Eda also discussed how she manages her passions for print, audio, and illustrative journalism. She shared how she comes up with story ideas and how she relates to interview subjects.

Examples of her work

The local teen with a technology museum

https://www.wshu.org/connecticut-news/2024-08-12/ct-teen-westport-tech-museum-historic-innovations

Illustrative piece on maternal health care challenges

https://wyofile.com/saras-story-one-womans-birthing-trials-underscores-broader-challenges/

The evil eye (nazar) and what it means in different cultures

https://www.instagram.com/washingtonpost/p/CyJUKOUMjMN/?img_index=4

Eda's salutes: Tennessee Watson (Wyofile) and Fatma Tanis and Jasmine Garsd (NPR)

Thank you as always for listening. Please send us feedback to [email protected]

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On this episode, we're joined by DorMiya Vance. DorMiya is a multimedia reporter for WABE, the NPR and PBS affiliate serving Atlanta, Georgia. She's been with them for almost 3 years.

DorMiya is a graduate of an HBCU, Fayetteville State University with a masters from Georgia State. She's part of Report for America, a non-profit that provides and helps pay the salaries of journalists at newsrooms across the country.

DorMiya talked about taking on a radio job without having experience in radio and how she learned what to do on the job. She gave examples of the reporting she did and explained how she gets her story ideas. And she talked about the value of both an HBCU education and of working with Report for America.

DorMiya's salutes: Journalists of Color at WABE (including Marlon Hyde, Julien Virgin, Rahul Bali, Jasmine Robinson) and also Ethel Payne, The First Lady of the Black Press

Story examples

Blighted properties in South Dekalb

https://www.wabe.org/whos-responsible-for-south-dekalbs-blighted-properties/

Atlanta's LGBTQ rappers and hip hop artists

https://www.wabe.org/queering-the-mic-lack-of-representation-in-hip-hop-creates-challenges-for-lgbtq-atlanta-rappers/

Atlanta's transgender basketball league

https://www.wabe.org/how-a-transgender-basketball-league-is-creating-space-for-trans-people-in-atlanta/

Black Women Mayor's Roundtable

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XS95Xnhdio4

Thank you as always for listening. Please send us feedback to [email protected]

Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org 

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On this episode, we're joined by Katelyn Vue. Katelyn is a reporter for the non-profit newsroom Sahan Journal in Minnesota covering the immigration and housing beats. She's been with them for a little over 2 years. In 2024 she shared the Young Journalist of the Year award from the Minnesota branch of the Society of Professional Journalists.

Katelyn is a graduate of the University of Minnesota. She's our 2nd Hmong guest to appear, joining tv news anchor Chenue Her.

Katelyn is a product of Report for America, a non-profit that helps pay the salaries of journalists across the country. Applications to join the next Report for America corps of reporters are due on February 3.

Katelyn talked about the importance of building trust with sources and recounted notable stories, including those on housing issues and different cultural communities. She also reflected on the challenges and rewards of her work, the impact of Report for America on her career, and the importance of maintaining mental health as a journalist.

Notable articles

You live day by day’: Language, cultural stigma add to barriers for unhoused Hmong

https://sahanjournal.com/housing/hmong-homeless-st-paul-minnesota-encampments

The funeral with 400 Whopper Juniors

https://sahanjournal.com/immigration/burger-king-whopper-jr-400-burgers-hmong-funeral/

The West Side Flats Displacement

https://sahanjournal.com/housing/st-paul-west-side-flats-displacement-report-apology-reparations/

 Lebanese Community Response To Israeli Attacks

https://sahanjournal.com/immigration/lebanon-minnesota-community-response-israeli-attacks/

Katelyn's Salutes: Susan Du, Minneapolis Star Tribune and Chao Xiong, Sahan Journal

Thank you as always for listening. Please send us feedback to [email protected]

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On this episode, we're joined by Jennifer Berry Hawes. Jennifer is a reporter for the non-profit ProPublica focusing on criminal justice, religion, race, and the welfare of women and children in the southern part of the United States.

Prior to ProPublica, Jennifer was a longtime Watchdog and Public Service reporter for The Charleston Post and Courier. She was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2015 for Public Service for a series about South Carolina's failure to protect women from domestic violence. She's won several other prominent awards. Her book- Grace Will Lead Us Home- about a mass shooting in a South Carolina church was published in 2019.

Jennifer discussed her work on stories about domestic violence, segregation academies, human trafficking, and the challenges of reporting on emotionally taxing topics, while emphasizing the importance of empathy, detailed storytelling, and teamwork in journalism.

This episode abounds with lessons for aspiring journalists in how to excel at longform reporting.

Jennifer's salute: Asheville Watchdog

Thank you as always for listening. Please send us feedback to [email protected]

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On this episode we're joined by student journalists Poojasai Kona and Nico Fischer. They are wrapping up their time as this season's hosts for On Our Minds: Election 2024, a podcast run by the PBS News Hour Student Reporting Labs. Poojasai is an 11th grader at Frisco High School in Texas. Nico is an 11th grader at Santa Clara High School in California.

You'll also hear from Christine Zirneklis, the organization's director of communication and partnerships and Briget Ganske, youth media producer and lead podcast producer for Student Reporting Labs.

The two students, who come from vastly different backgrounds, share insights into the skills they've gained from working on the podcast (particularly the importance of gaining self-confidence), the need for diverse youth perspectives in media, and stories of their triumphs and rejections. They also talk about balancing school and their outside activities and managing their mental health.

Christine and Briget share some background on the program, what is so impressive about the students who work on it, and how other students can get involved. Both students saluted Student Reporting Labs, as well as ...

Poojasai's salutes: Neha Madhira, New Voices

Nico's salutes: Amanda Vigil, digital producer and youth specialist at KQED Public Radio and Washington Post reporter Arelis Hernández

Notable Links

Where to find On Our Minds Election 2024 (select your app of choice)

https://studentreportinglabs.org/on-our-minds/

Teen Vogue article referenced by Nico about conspiracy theories aimed at Latino men

https://www.teenvogue.com/story/conspiracy-theories-young-latino-men-gaming-sports-sites

Thank you as always for listening. Please send us feedback to [email protected]

Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org 

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On this episode, we're joined by Tony Bartelme. Tony is the senior projects reporter for the Charleston Post and Courier, for whom he has worked for 35 years. He's a four-time Pulitzer Prize finalist with one designation in four different categories (explanatory, breaking, feature, and local reporting).

He's also the author of 4 books, most recently A Surgeon in the Village, an American Doctor Teaches Brain Surgery in Africa in 2017. And he's done other recent reporting in both Greenland and Africa as well, as relates to the origin of hurricanes that have hit South Carolina.

Tony shared how his reporting on hurricanes came together, how an Elvis impersonator helped him explain what happened as they watched glaciers met, what goes into writing cinematically, and how an angeltree played a pivotal role in his career. He also discussed the evolving mission of local newspapers amid current media dynamics. 

Tony's salute: The Pulitzer Center

Thank you as always for listening. Please send us feedback to [email protected]

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On this episode we're joined by Diego Mendoza-Moyers. Diego is a reporter covering energy and the environment in western Texas for El Paso Matters for the last 2 years. He's previously worked for papers in San Antonio, Phoenix, and Albany N.Y. He's a graduate of Arizona State University.

El Paso Matters is a non-profit news website covering El Paso and the surrounding area in western Texas.

Diego discussed his approach to storytelling, how he sources his stories, and provided examples of stories he covers on his beat. He explained what makes El Paso such an interesting city to cover and shared how he's still learning as a journalist.

Diego's salutes: Houston Landing, Source New Mexico, Texas Monthly

Article examples:

An Ode to El Paso

Story about rare earth deposits

Impact of Trump Tariffs

Thank you as always for listening. Please send us feedback to [email protected]

Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org 

Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com)

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On this episode, we're joined by Isabella Ramírez. Isabella just completed her tenure as editor in chief of the Columbia Daily Spectator at Columbia University and President of Spectator Publishing Company. She is the first Latina to hold that position. She just received the National Association of Hispanic Journalists Student of the Year award.

One of the people who nominated her for the award said Isabella's leadership changed her campus.

Isabella led a staff covering protests against the Israel-Hamas War and the university's investments in Israel. That included a Gaza Solidarity encampment in April, the takeover of a campus building, Hamilton Hall, the subsequent arrests of hundreds of protesters by the NYPD, and the resignation of the school president. The protests at Columbia were a catalyst for other collegiate protests across the country. Isabella also represented The Spectator in national and international interviews.

Isabella discussed her journalistic leadership during campus protests, her approach to storytelling, managing, and teaching, and the significant internal and external challenges faced by The Spectator during her tenure. She also reflected on her heritage, how she manages her mental health, and her aspirations within journalism.

Isabella's salute: National Association of Hispanic Journalists.

An oral history of the protests written by Columbia students for New York Magazine

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/columbia-university-protests-israel-gaza-campus.html

An interview with Isabella on how the staff managed its mental health

https://mindsitenews.org/2024/05/08/a-student-journalist-on-how-her-team-coped-with-the-stress-of-covering-a-campus-under-siege/

Thank you as always for listening. Please send us feedback to [email protected]

Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org 

Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com)

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Subscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.substack.com

On this episode, we're joined by North Carolina State University student journalist Erin Ferrare. Erin is a junior majoring in science, technology, and society with a specialization in science and technical writing.

She's also a sports writer for Technician, the school newspaper at NC State. She recently wrote a piece 'The Invisible Girl on Press Row' about the contrast in experiences between male and female writers in covering college sports and the Carolina Hurricanes.

And she's also written about how men's sports at her school have been more highlighted at her school than on social media.

Erin has also worked in science communication both at her school and at Yale.

I learned of Erin through Melissa Ludtke's newsletter, Let's Row Together – Melissa is a pioneer among women in sports journalism.

We talked to Erin about both her sportswriting and science writing experiences (an example of the latter, here), how she views her purpose as a journalist, and more.

Erin's salutes: Any woman pushing boundaries in women's sports and also research communication lead Matt Shipman.

Thank you as always for listening. Please send us feedback to [email protected]

Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org 

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In this episode, Mark Simon interviews science journalist and NYU grad student Humberto Basilio, who covers stories about science globally, with an emphasis on Latin America. Humberto's stories touch on climate change, biodiversity, and vulnerable communities across the globe, as well as many other topics.

Humberto discussed one example of his approach to a story, a piece about desert racers in Chile destroying ancient art that ran in The New York Times and a story about the future of science in Venezuela.

He also shared insights into his featured essay in 'The Craft of Science Writing' (edited by past podcast guest Siri Carpenter) and his methods for pitching stories to major outlets. Humberto revealed the challenges and rewards of being a freelance journalist and emphasized the impact of journalism on personal perspective.

Humberto's salutes: Science writer Alexa Robles Gil and The Mexican Network of Science Journalists.

Thank you as always for listening. Please send us feedback to [email protected]

Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org 

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