The Journalism Salute Mark Simon

On this episode, we’re joined by Daniel Alvarenga. Daniel is an independent journalist who recently hosted the podcast, Humo, Murder and Silence in El Salvador. It is the story of a serial killer who was a national police officer and a highest-level government cover-up. It was done in both Spanish and English and produced by Sonoro in conjunction with FACTum.

As a Salvadorian-American, Alvarenga brings a personal connection to the stories he tells. His family's history as refugees from El Salvador's civil war and his upbringing in a home where news was a constant, have shaped his perspective and fueled his passion for journalism.

He talks about that, his path to AJ+ (Al Jazeera Plus) and Telemundo, writing a story about this for Rolling Stone,and his goal of creating a narrative that that reflects the experiences and struggles of his community.

Notable quotes:

"I just wanted to create archives so that people don't paper over our history and say that, didn't happen."

"I think we should just question anyone in power. I think that's just what journalists should do."

Daniel’s Salute:

Migrant Roots Media

Thank you as always for listening. Please send us feedback to journalismsalute@gmail.com,

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On this episode, we’re joined by Chenue Her. Chenue is in his 3rd year as the morning news anchor for Local 5 News in Des Moines, Iowa. He’s previously worked as a reporter in Eugene, Oregon, Norfolk, Virginia, and Atlanta. Chenue is Hmong – there are fewer than 400,000 Hmong people living in the United States. He was the first male Hmong news anchor in the United States.

Chenue talked about how his Hmong heritage impacts his work, the lessons he learned at his different stops, the kind of stories he’s reported on, ranging from the celebration of Hmong New Year to the shortage of Latino doctors to profiling an artist who made a mural of basketball star Caitlin Clark.

Chenue also explained why the phrase “we’re sharing your story” is especially important and paid tribute to other journalists of Hmong heritage.

Chenue’s salutes:

Gia Vang, anchor NBC Bay Area

Laura Lee, anchor, Northern News Now

Bao Vang, former anchor

Panhia Yang, executive producer, Fox9



Thank you as always for listening. Please send us feedback to journalismsalute@gmail.com,

Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org

Mark's website (MarkSimonmedia.com)

Tweet us at @journalismpod.

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On this episode, we’re joined by Mary Rasura. Mary is a student at Florida Atlantic University who will graduate with a degree in multimedia journalism in December.

Mary is a reporter for Florida Atlantic University Press and for OutSFL, an LGBT-focused publication. And she’s the executive editor at OutFAU, a monthly student publication that she founded that is devoted to LGBTQ issues at the school.

Mary talked about what led her to start OutFAU and the types of stories that she and it covers. That includes everything from explaining how the university’s Campus Inclusion Center shut down to concert and entertainment reviews.

She also spoke about what journalism issues are important to her and the kind of journalist she hopes to be.

Mary’s salute: Dart Center

Thank you as always for listening. Please send us feedback to journalismsalute@gmail.com,
Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org
Mark's website (MarkSimonmedia.com)
Tweet us at @journalismpod.
Subscribe to our newsletter- journalismsalute.substack.com

On this episode, we’re joined by Lomi Kriel and Lexi Churchill.

They are 2 reporters on the team of journalists that just won The Collier Prize, a prestigious award given by The Collier Companies and The University of Florida for investigative journalism and political reporting specific to state governments.

The award was given for coverage on reporting on the actions and lack of actions by law enforcement that were responding to a school shooting in Uvalde, Texas that resulted in 21 deaths.

This team of journalists encompasses reporters from Pro Publica, The Texas Tribune, and PBS’ documentary series, Frontline. Lomi and Lexi are 2 of many who worked on this. They work jointly for ProPublica and the Tribune.

The stories we talk about are

“Someone Tell Me What To Do,” which describes the police response to the shooting in-depth.

https://www.texastribune.org/2023/12/05/uvalde-officer-student-trainings-mass-shootings/

“Reports Analyzing the Police Response To A Mass Shooting Can Leave Unanswered Questions – If They’re Released At All”

https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/article/police-reponse-mass-shooting-reports-questions/

Lomi and Lexi talked about the 2.5 years of work that has gone into their reporting, explaining both their findings and the challenges they faced in their reporting.

They described the collaborative effort, the databases they created, the records requests they filed, and the police interviews and body camera footage they obtained and watched. And they shared the empathy needed to cover a story of this magnitude.

They jointly salute: The entire staff of the Uvalde Leader-News

If you wish to watch the documentary, Inside the Uvalde Response, click here.

Thank you as always for listening. Please send us feedback to journalismsalute@gmail.com,

Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org

Mark's website (MarkSimonmedia.com)

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On this episode we’re joined by Chatwan Mongkol.

Chatwan is the editor and reporter for The Nutgraf, a newsletter that covers student journalism. He’s also a graduate student at The New School going for his masters degree in Media Management. Chatwan is a 2022 grad of Quinnipiac University.

You can find the newsletter at nutgrafnews.substack.com or bit.ly/thenutgraf

Chatwan talked about his journalism path (he was born in Bangkok, Thailand), his brief career as a newspaper reporter, and the types of stories in the newsletter. He also spoke about a certificate program for journalism entrepreneurs at CUNY-Newmark School that he’s participating in.

Newsletter examples

Student journalists in states where DE&I offices are being eliminated

Students covering school shootings

Lesser-known student newspapers that made an impact

Chatwan’s salutes:
College newspapers at Quinnipiac, Michigan State, and Michigan

Thank you as always for listening. Please send us feedback to journalismsalute@gmail.com,
Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org
Mark's website (MarkSimonmedia.com)
Tweet us at @journalismpod.
Subscribe to our newsletter- journalismsalute.substack.com

On this episode, we’re joined by Rebecca Worby. Rebecca is the editorial director for Reasons to Be Cheerful.

Reasons to Be Cheerful is a non-profit website and newsletter founded by the musician and artist David Byrne. And it is what it says it is- reporting on news that should make you feel good. Many of these reasons to be cheerful come in the form of smart, proven, replicable solutions to the world’s most pressing problems. Their newsletter has 135,000 subscribers and the stories in it literally span the globe.

Rebecca talked about her journalism path, which includes getting a masters degree in creative non-fiction, and time as an editor of travel guides. She explained what makes a story appropriate for Reasons To Be Cheerful and provided examples of the kinds of stories they like.

1)Make America Rake Again – A story about trying to wean people off gas-powered leaf blowers

2) One from Vilnius, Lithuania – about “Befriend Vilnius” a program that provides mentorship to Ukranian migrants.

3) How student journalists are stepping up to fill news deserts

And we discussed a piece she wrote for Lithub.com, linking together several crimes – vandalism in national parks, the stealing of Native American artifacts on public lands, and dismantled sculptures.



Thank you as always for listening. Please send us feedback to journalismsalute@gmail.com,

Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org

Mark's website (MarkSimonmedia.com)

Tweet us at @journalismpod.

Subscribe to our newsletter- journalismsalute.substack.com