The Journalism Salute

Mark Simon
  • 4.8 (24)
  • Documentary
  • Updated Weekly

The Journalism Salute is a journalism appreciation podcast. We interview working journalists about who they are and what they do. Our aim is to have diverse guests, thoughtful questions, and interesting conversation. If you're an aspiring journalist, you'll learn potential careers to pursue and tips to put to use. If you're an experienced journalist, you'll learn about like-minded members of your profession with notable stories to tell. And if you're not a journalist, we hope you'll garner or further an appreciation for journalists and realize that they are NOT the enemy. Try us! And find us at our website or on Twitter and e-mail us at journalismsalute@gmail.com

  1. Ben Camacho: Journalist, Documentary Photographer, Producer

    1d ago

    Ben Camacho: Journalist, Documentary Photographer, Producer

    On this episode we're joined by Ben Camacho. Ben is a journalist, documentary photographer, and producer. His work focused on state-sponsored violence, subjects like police brutality, and the communities impacted by it. He's a graduate of the University of La Verne and is based around Los Angeles. Ben's work has been published in major outlets, like New York Magazine, and also on his Substack, Inadvertent and West Side Storytellers. We talked with Ben about the different things he's covered and the experiences he's had doing the reporting. He shared insights about the double standard that exists when covering police brutality protests (white reporters and photographers are managed differently by police). Ben also offered advice for aspiring journalists in covering projects like the ones he does. Ben's salutes: Joey Scott and Cerise Castle, who both cover similar subjects as Ben does New York Magazine piece The Terror Of Life Under ICE https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/ice-raids-los-angeles-terror.html Immigration Courts Have Become Hunting Grounds For ICE https://lapublicpress.org/2025/08/la-immigration-courts-have-become-hunting-grounds-for-ice-agents/ Poynter story on double standards in media treatment https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2021/at-police-lines-not-all-journalists-are-created-equal/  The Blue Hand documentary https://www.inadvertent.news/p/the-blue-hand Subscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com   Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org   Mark Simon’s website MarkSimonmedia.com Mark Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-simon-92355124/

    40 min
  2. Dominic Di Palermo, Photographer and Member of Chicago Tribune's Pulitzer-Winning Team

    Jun 2

    Dominic Di Palermo, Photographer and Member of Chicago Tribune's Pulitzer-Winning Team

    On this episode we're joined by Dominic Di Palermo. Dominic just graduated from Western Kentucky University where he worked on both the student newspaper and the campus lifestyle magazine. He's also an intern at the Chicago Tribune and was a contributor to a project that won the Tribune a 2026 Pulitzer Prize for local reporting. The award was "For its powerful coverage of the Trump administration’s militarized immigration sweep of the city that described in vivid, muscular prose how the siege-like incursion of ICE agents unified Chicagoans in resistance." Dominic talked about his variety of experiences with photography, from taking pictures of a young girl being taken into custody, to shooting local events and sports. He explained why empathy is an important trait for any photojournalist and he provided tips for aspiring journalists. Dominic's salutes: Photographers for the Boston Globe, Seattle Times, and those in Washington D.C. Photo of the girl being taken into custody https://www.instagram.com/p/DPUcbWyDoCz/?img_index=1 Photo of symphony conductor https://www.instagram.com/p/DHBgAjpMnKC/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Photo of an athlete screaming https://www.instagram.com/p/DEk_GPaSxHL/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA== Subscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com   Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org   Mark Simon’s website MarkSimonmedia.com Mark Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-simon-92355124/

    37 min
  3. Ginny Monk, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Reporter, Connecticut Mirror

    May 26

    Ginny Monk, Pulitzer Prize-Winning Reporter, Connecticut Mirror

    On this episode we're joined by Ginny Monk. Ginny is a reporter covering children's issues and housing for the non-profit Connecticut Mirror and along with three others just won a Pulitzer Prize. Wrote the Pulitzer Board: "For an impressive series exposing how the state’s unique towing laws favored unscrupulous companies that overcharged residents, prompting swift and meaningful consumer protections." Ginny previously worked for a few different places, including 4 years with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. She is a native of Pencil Bluff, Arkansas and a graduate of the University of Arkansas. Ginny talked about the work she did as part of a team covering those towing stories. She also discussed a piece she wrote over several years covering foster adoption. She shared examples of the work she did and her writing process. The Pulitzer series https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/dave-altimari-and-ginny-monk-connecticut-mirror-and-sophie-chou-and-haru-coryne-propublica The Foster Adoption story https://ctmirror.org/2025/12/02/ct-foster-parents-rights-case/ Ginny's Salute: Arkansas Press Women Subscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com  Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org   Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com)

    31 min

  4. May 19

    Lessons I've Learned From 275+ Interviews

    A postponed guest meant we had to improvise, so we put together this episode based on the presentations that I've done at the College Media Association and Journalism Education Association national conventions. The subject: Lessons I've learned from 275+ interviews on this podcast. You'll hear from 14 different journalists that I've interviewed in the last five years, all of whom share anecdotes or observations that emphasize larger points. Those featured are: Javeria Salman, formerly of The Hechinger Report Massarah Mikati, formerly of The Philadelphia Inquirer Humberto Basilio, freelance science writer Medar De La Cruz, freelance illustrative journalist, Pulitzer winner Jada Vasser, recent graduate of Michigan State Daarel Burnette, The Chronicle of Higher Education Yanqi Xu, Flatwater Free Press Ishan Thakore, Colorado Public Radio, formerly Full Frontal w/ Samantha Bee Adrianna Adame, Buffalo's Fire Sam Donndelinger, Uncloseted Media Curtis Bunn, journalist of 40+ years, formerly of NBC BLK Aisha Sultan, St. Louis Post-Dispatch Emma Restrepo, freelance bilingual journalist Angilee Shah, Charlottesville Tomorrow Subscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org  Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com) Follow us on LinkedIn (Mark, Journalism Salute), Bluesky, Instagram, and Facebook

    22 min
  5. Maggie LeBeau & Divya Thamman, Student Producers: PBS On Our Minds Podcast

    May 12

    Maggie LeBeau & Divya Thamman, Student Producers: PBS On Our Minds Podcast

    On this episode we're joined by Maggie LeBeau and Divya Thamman. Maggie is a student at the University of Missouri majoring in journalism and history. Divya is a student at Edina High School just outside Minneapolis. Together, they are part of the reporting team for PBS News Hour Student Reporting Labs producing and reporting for the On Our Minds podcast. This is our second year talking to students for this series. We previously spoke to the podcast hosts for a past season. This year we talk to the reporting team. We'll also be joined by their lead podcast producer, Becky Wandel.and the director of communications and partnerships for Student Reporting Labs, Christine Zirneklis. This season's theme for the series is an audio road trip exploring what’s unique about teen life in every corner of the country through hyperlocal stories about cities, towns, and neighborhoods. Maggie and Divya talked about the stories they covered, with Maggie telling the story of the local drag community and Divya reporting on a quirky festival in Minneapolis that reminds people that there are positive stories coming from that city. They also shared their backgrounds and the valuable lessons they've learned in their journalism pursuits You can find all the episodes for the On Our Minds series here. https://studentreportinglabs.org/on-our-minds/ Their joint salute: Dave Jorgenson (former Washington Post TikTok guy) We've also got our monthly report from Anita Pinto, advisor to The Gateway Times at Urban Assembly Gateway School for Technology in New York City. She shares how her students are progressing as the school year nears an end. Subscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org  Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com)

    42 min
  6. Kirk McKnight, Rural Newspaper Editor & Book Author

    May 5

    Kirk McKnight, Rural Newspaper Editor & Book Author

    On this episode we're joined by Kirk McKnight. Kirk is the editor-in-chief of The Eagle, a weekly newspaper in rural Washington that has been in existence since 1891. The paper recently came under new ownership. Kirk has previously been a writer and editor for a weekly newspaper in southwest Arizona, The Wickenburg Sun. Kirk is also the author of two books about sports broadcasting. He's from Utah and a grad of BYU. We talked to Kirk about his career transition from Las Vegas valet to community news journalist and book author. He explained how his newspaper is put together and the kind of stories it covers. He shares what he learned on the fly that allowed him to be this kind of journalist. And he told stories related to his favorite broadcaster interviews. Kirk's salutes: Sportswriters Joe Posnanski and Susan Slusser. Links to Kirk's books Voices of Hockey https://www.bloomsbury.com/us/voices-of-hockey-9781442262812/ Voices of Baseball https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/the-voices-of-baseball-kirk-mcknight/1121378748 Subscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org  Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com)

    36 min
  7. Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, Investigative Reporting Fellow at The Appeal

    Apr 28

    Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg, Investigative Reporting Fellow at The Appeal

    On this episode we're joined by Elizabeth Weill-Greenberg. Elizabeth is an investigative reporting fellow for The Appeal. The Appeal is a non-profit news organization that writes exposés about the criminal legal system. She's written for other news organizations too. Among the topics she writes about – wrongful convictions and extreme sentences. She has previously worked for The Innocence Project as a case analyst helping exonerate those wrongfully convicted. And she's written two interview-based plays on intense subjects. Elizabeth is a graduate of Rutgers with a masters from Northwestern. Elizabeth explained how a job like this has always been her passion, what goes into the work she does reporting on such harrowing subjects, and why a distrust of those in power is necessary for her reporting work. She explained how she decompresses. And she shares what aspiring journalists need to know about entering the profession. Elizabeth's articles: https://theappeal.org/authors/elizabeth-weill-greenberg/ Elizabeth's salutes: Lauren Gill (Bolts), Joshua Vaughn (Penn Live) Subscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org  Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com)

    40 min
  8. Kaela Roeder, Lead Reporter in D.C. and Virginia for Technically

    Apr 21

    Kaela Roeder, Lead Reporter in D.C. and Virginia for Technically

    On this episode we're joined by Kaela Roeder. Kaela is the lead reporter in Washington D.C. and Virginia for Technical dot LY, a national news organization that reports on local innovation economies in the United States, a newsroom that has done so since 2009. Kaela has been with them for 2 years. Prior to that she's had a few different jobs, including one as deputy editor for Street Sense Media, covering homelessness in the DC/Baltimore region and LGBTQ issues for the Washington Blade. Kaela is a graduate of American University with a journalism degree where, among other things, she won an award for aspiring LGBTQ journalists. Kaela explained Technical.ly's purpose and the kind of stories she reports on. She shared how she learned on the fly so that she could cover this beat. And she detailed important things for young journalists to know as well as those she's recently learned that help in the job. Kaela's salute: Street Sense Media Kaela's LinkedIn- https://www.linkedin.com/in/kaela-roeder/ Kaela's Instagram- https://www.instagram.com/kaelacoverstech/ We also heard from Anita Pinto, filing her monthly update as advisor to The Gateway Times, the school newspaper at the Urban Assembly for Gateway Technology in Manhattan. This is done in conjunction with Press Pass NYC, a non-profit that helps advisors start journalism clubs and programs in schools that don't have them. Subscribe to our newsletter here You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, Please support your local public radio station: adoptastation.org Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org  Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com)

    33 min
See All (287)

4.8
out of 5
24 Ratings

About

The Journalism Salute is a journalism appreciation podcast. We interview working journalists about who they are and what they do. Our aim is to have diverse guests, thoughtful questions, and interesting conversation. If you're an aspiring journalist, you'll learn potential careers to pursue and tips to put to use. If you're an experienced journalist, you'll learn about like-minded members of your profession with notable stories to tell. And if you're not a journalist, we hope you'll garner or further an appreciation for journalists and realize that they are NOT the enemy. Try us! And find us at our website or on Twitter and e-mail us at journalismsalute@gmail.com

Information

  • Creator
    Mark Simon
  • Years Active
    2020 - 2026
  • Episodes
    287
  • Rating
    Clean
  • Copyright
    © All rights reserved.
  • Show Website
    The Journalism Salute

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