Ana Valdez, Multimedia Reporter, KWCH-TV (Kansas)

On this episode we're joined by Joe Coughlin. Joe is the co-founder and editor-in-chief of The Record - North Shore, a non-profit newsroom serving Chicago's North Shore suburbs.Joe has 20 years in the journalism industry to draw upon. The Record and The Journalism Salute started at around the same time. In fact, Joe reached out to me not long after he started to tell me what he was doing. I said – I'll talk to you eventually. Eventually is now – 5 years later!Joe talked about why he has such a passion for local news, how he started and manages a small, local, award-winning non-profit and how it has been able to survive. He also provided examples of the kind of stories that work and why he thinks sports is so important to local news coverage.Joe's salute: Block Club ChicagoYou can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here,Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.orgThank you for listening. You can e-mail me at [email protected] Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com)Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.socialSubscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.beehiiv.com

On this episode we're joined by Nicole Lewis. Nicole is the engagement editor for The Marshall Project, leading the organization’s strategic efforts to deepen reporting that reaches communities most affected by the criminal legal system. She also leads certain investigative reporting projects.The Marshall Project is a non-profit nonpartisan newsroom covering America's criminal justice system with the belief that the system is broken and needs reform.We talked to Nicole about both her purpose as a journalist and The Marshall Project's purpose as an organization. She provided examples of stories she's worked on, everything from 'as-told-to' pieces with incarcerated people dealing with pregnancy issues to lawmakers' response to a supposed shoplifting crisis, to a massive survey of those incarcerated about the 2024 election (which featured a surprising level of support for Donald Trump).Nicole's salutes: Outlier Media and New York MagazineRelated interviews on this podcast: Trina Reynolds-Tyler & Sarah Conway (Invisible Institute)Justin Baxley, More Than A NumberErin Perry, Outlier MediaYou can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors (including this one) here,Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.orgThank you for listening. You can e-mail me at [email protected] Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com)Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.socialSubscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.beehiiv.com

On this episode we're joined by Ishan Thakore. Ishan is a climate and environmental reporter for Colorado Public Radio. He previously worked as a researcher, fact checker and field associate producer for Full Frontal with Samantha Bee, a show that ran on TBS that used comedy to tell and analyze news stories.We talked to Ishan about both jobs. He discussed his responsibilities on Full Frontal, the kinds of stories he did, the process that went into producing them, and why comedy was an effective storytelling tool.He also explained his current beat and how almost every story has a climate and environmental aspect to it, and he shared what it's like to work in public radio right now.Ishan's websitehttps://www.ishanthakore.com/Lumpkin or Leave It (Full Frontal)https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iL1EyLolFUkTrump Administration Canceling Fundinghttps://www.cpr.org/2025/07/10/trump-cancels-millions-agriculture-funding/Ishan's salutes: The Committee to Protect Journalists and The Society for Environmental JournalistsYou can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors (including this one) here,Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.orgThank you for listening. You can e-mail me at [email protected] Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com)Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.socialSubscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.beehiiv.com

On The Journalism Salute we talk to journalists about who they are and what they do, with the intent of showing that journalists are not the enemy of the people.On this episode, we're joined by Rick Goldsmith. Rick is a 2-time Academy Award nominated documentary filmmaker. His most recent film, Stripped For Parts, American Journalism On The Brink is streaming on PBS.com through the end of 2025 and is scheduled for airing on many local PBS stations on October 20.We talked to Rick both about the movie and how he made it. We explored why Alden Global Capital is so dangerous and what people are doing to fight back against them. Rick also provided advice for aspiring documentary filmmakers.And then (35:29) we checked in with Anita Pinto, speech therapist and student newspaper advisor at Urban Assembly Gateway School for Technology in New York City, who shared the growing success of the school's second-year newspaper.Here's a link to Anita's appearance on the podcast a month agohttps://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/anita-pinto-speech-therapist-journalism-club-advisor/id1526063503?i=1000727283749Rick's salutes: The documentaries No Other Land and Love + WarYou can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors (including this one) here,Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.orgThank you for listening. You can e-mail me at [email protected] Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com)Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.socialSubscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.beehiiv.com

On this episode we're joined by Gregorio Olivares Gutierrez. He is a political science and philosophy student at the University of Texas at Dallas. He's the editor-in-chief of The Retrograde, a student newspaper that operates independent of school administration.He previously was editor-in-chief of The Mercury, which was the campus newspaper that received funding from the school, until school administration took an extremely hostile position towards the paper and local media, leading to a series of events discussed in this episode.Gregorio talked about his journalism interest (he took an atypical path to it) and described what he and his staff have been through.You can learn more about Gregorio and his colleagues in these articleshttps://www.keranews.org/education/2024-09-18/ut-dallas-mercury-student-newspaper-strike-eic-firedhttps://www.dallasobserver.com/news/ut-dallas-newspaper-ban-is-another-blow-to-freedom-on-campus-23056264https://www.wfaa.com/article/news/education/schools/ut-dallas-student-newspaper-student-groups-sue-to-block-texas-law-used-to-suppress-student-protestYou can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors (including this one) here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.orgThank you for listening. You can e-mail me at [email protected] Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com)Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.socialSubscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.beehiiv.com

Hi everyone - Wanted to alert you to another journalism podcast that you might enjoy listening to. This is a recent episode of Small Press, Big Ideas hosted by Paul Gewuerz, who owns and runs a company that produces podcasts for news organizations. It's a podcast about the business of local news and community journalism.Today Paul sits down with Matthew Watkins, Editor-in-Chief of The Texas Tribune, for a conversation on nonprofit journalism, civic engagement, and navigating polarization in today’s media environment. Matthew shares his journey from local Texas reporting to leading one of the nation's premier nonprofit newsrooms, and offers candid insights into what makes The Tribune unique, from its funding model and newsroom culture to its commitment to transparency and nonpartisanship.If you like it, be sure to follow it on Apple or at LocalPod.co - we'll be back with a new episode of The Journalism Salute next Tuesday.

On this episode, we're joined by Laura Kebede-Twumasi. Laura is a journalist and public historian based in Virginia. She has formerly been a staff writer at the Richmond Times-Dispatch and an education reporter at Chalkbeat.From 2022 to 2025 she was a journalist in residence (and professor) at the University of Memphis, where she got her masters, and the Institute for Public Service Reporting. During that time she launched Civil Wrongs, a podcast and series of articles investigating lynchings, deaths related to Civil Rights work and racially-motivated massacres. It spans 21 episodes (so far) and was a collaborative effort with students in social justice classes she taught.She is a 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri and lists her job as Professional Listener.She was recommended by our recent guest, another journalist-historian, Logan Jaffe.Laura's salute: Cardinal NewsYou can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, and you can find the one for this episode here.Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.orgThank you for listening. You can e-mail me at [email protected] Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com)Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.socialSubscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.beehiiv.com

On this episode we're joined by Ana Valdez. Ana is a multimedia journalist for KWCH-12 TV in Wichita, Kansas. Ana, a native of Bolivia, describes herself as dedicated to sharing bilingual stories, believing that journalism should create impact and that language should be a bridge, not a barrier.Ana shared her career path and gave examples of her work ranging from covering immigration and other political issues in Kansas to local news like the birth of a hippo or a local pinball league. She had advice for aspiring journalists, applicable given that she was one herself not long ago (she's a graduate of Emporia State and CUNY-Newmark).Story example:https://www.kwch.com/2025/07/26/wichita-schools-reassure-families-immigration-concerns-rise/Ana's salutes: The National Association of Hispanic Journalists, Leila Medina of the New York Times, and Charlie Spicer of the Committee to Protect Journalists (who recommended Ana for this episode).You can find our episode guides for teachers and professors herePlease support your local public radio station: adoptastation.orgThank you for listening. You can e-mail me at [email protected] Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com)Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.socialSubscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.substack.com

On this special edition of The Journalism Salute, we talk to Anita Pinto, a speech therapist for Urban Assembly Gateway School for Technology, a high school in Manhattan in which she started a journalism club last year.Anita is going to check in with us once a month to let us know how her club is doing, the challenges the students face, and the things they learn. We thank the non-profit Press Pass NYC for connecting us with her. Press Pass is supporting the efforts of Anita and other journalism educators starting new programs throughout New York City.In this episode, Anita introduced us to her school and club and explained why she started the program. She shared what Year 1 was like and what her expectations are for Year 2. Look for more updates from Anita throughout the school year.School Newspaper: The Gateway TimesAnita's salute: Kevin Benoit, founder Parlé MagazineYou can find our episode guides for teachers and professors herePlease support your local public radio station: adoptastation.orgThank you for listening. You can e-mail me at [email protected] Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com)Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.socialSubscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.substack.com

On this episode we're joined by Cara Kuhlman. Cara is the director of digital strategy and products for KNKX Public Radio in Seattle. She is also the founder of Future Tides, which provides news for people who work, play, and live on the Pacific Northwest's waterways.I'm interested in that in particular because Cara is doing some clever things to engage with her readership, including using her expertise to give tours to local residents.Cara talked about how she started this project from scratch and how she's built it over the last few years. She spoke about what she's done with her tours and how she's planning to help others who want to give tours to their community. She also shared the organizations that have been helpful to her, which includes a program at CUNY-Newmark, Lion Publishers, and Tiny News Collective.Cara's salute: Monica Nickelsburg, KUOW-FM reporterPlease support your local public radio station: adoptastation.orgThank you for listening. You can e-mail me at [email protected] 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.beehiiv.com