Journalism Salute Update: Happy New Year!
Last 2 episodes share a theme: Covering important but uncovered stories
Hi everyone. With the conversion to Substack, I may send these out a little more frequently (I’ll take no offense if you unsubscribe).
The best thing you can do is share this newsletter (and the podcast) with an aspiring journalist.
In the interests of transparency (and reporting good news), I’m happy to report that the number of downloads of The Journalism Salute increased from 7,500 in 2022 to 11,600 in 2023. That’s an increase of nearly 55%. Hoping for even more growth in 2024.
After some of my episodes, my mom will say something to the effect of “That journalist is why your podcast exists. So you can share their work.”
I think my 2 most recent episodes fit that description well.
Stephanie Marudas and Emily Previti, Kouvenda Media
Stephanie Marudas and Emily Previti are the co-creators of the podcast, Obscured. Their most recent series of episodes is titled From Words To Weapons and focuses on victims of law enforcement trauma and broken aspects of the criminal justice system.
Why to listen: Kouvenda is dedicated to narrative podcasting with a goal of social change. Stephanie and Emily explain the process that goes into doing that. In this clip, Stephanie explains what defines success for the organization.
Massarah Mikati, The Philadelphia Inquirer
Massarah Mikati covers immigration and communities of color in Philadelphia. In addition to her reporting, Massarah actively engages with the communities she covers, knowing that in the past those communities have been marginalized, even by the newspaper she works for.
Why to listen: Massarah is dedicated to her beat and passionate about her work. She cares about making an impact. She’s wanted to tell the kinds of stories she’s telling since she was a kid. You’ll hear how she does her job and how important it is to her.
In this clip, Massarah talks about why she goes into communities to meet with different groups as often as she does.
Upcoming Guests
Our next two episodes feature longtime journalist Mallory Carra, who runs the Substack, West Coast Media Jobs and teaches journalism at USC, and Andrew Galarneau, a former food critic/reporter at The Buffalo News who now does the same job but on his own at his newsletter, 4 Bites.
Got a guest recommendation for me? E-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com.
Visit my website!
You can find the entire catalog of more than 150 interviews at my website - and you can see lists by category. So if you’re looking for all my interviews with environmental or political journalists or any category of journalists, they’re just a click away.
Also, click here to read about my journalism origin story on another Substack I recommend, Your First Byline.
Find the podcast
To find the podcast, head to these sites …
Keep up with me and my many projects
You can find all the different projects and social media I’m working on at my Linktree.