It’s been a busy year. We’re glad to be back on campus and having activities and meetings in person – but Zoom has also proved handy for remote participation. We’ve welcomed a number of alumni back to campus – in person or virtually – to talk with classes.

Former Klipsun EICs Ciara O’Rourke and Paolo Mottola met in person with Klipsun staffers last summer. Ciara is a freelancer and a regular contributor to such news organizations as PolitiFact and Texas Tribune. Paolo is director of studios and media for REI Co-op. Joining us virtually was Shelby Rowe Moyer, an editor with Nei-Turner Media Group in Wisconsin.

We welcomed some non-journalist guests, too; a surprise one was Bellingham Mayor Seth Fleetwood, who came to the JOUR 307 Reporting class last spring to see students’ Public Records project presentations. We’d covered him at City Council meetings all quarter, but those were still virtual – so it was nice that he visited in person (even though the students didn’t know he was joining us!).

I was awarded academic leave for fall 2022 to focus on an ongoing research project studying journalists who enter public office. This builds on a research assignment I did as a Western undergrad (OK, in senior seminar!) and involved interviews with journalists-turned-politicians and examination of changes to the professional ethics policy of the Society of Professional Journalists.

After taking advantage of the ease of attending conferences virtually, I finally attended one in person, flying to Washington, D.C. in October 2022 to attend the Society of Professional Journalists’ MediaFest. Two officers of Western’s SPJ Student Chapter, Jacob O’Donnell and Joshua Solorzano, also attended and we had a great time at the conference and sightseeing. The chapter picked up a regional award for their outstanding programs.

I continue to volunteer with the Washington Coalition for Open Government, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization focused on promoting government transparency through educational programs and the occasional amicus brief or lawsuit – which also relates to the Mass Media Law class. I help with communications and maintain the WashCOG website. At an Open Government Town Hall conference last fall, alumni Asia Fields and Erasmus Baxter shared their public records tips.

The other journalism students I regularly meet are still in high school, because I volunteer with the Washington Journalism Education Association. After a couple years of virtual conferences, we’re back doing in-person workshops. I give tips on “A high school journalist’s guide to legal snooping” with information about the Public Records Act and Open Public Meetings Act. I also help judge their contests; WJEA always lets me set up a table of materials about Western and its Department of Journalism, so maybe we’ll see some of them in Bellingham soon as future alumni.