The Indiana Publisher

Publisher The Indiana Volume 87, Issue 6 • June 2022 Published monthly When Maya Wilkins' storm coverage was published in her hometown newspaper, she texted her mom, dad and grandpa right away. "I'm from Fort Wayne, so I grew up reading The Journal Gazette. And I grew up wanting to work for The Journal Gazette. It was one of the best moments for me," Wilkins said. "It was on the front page of the paper and it was above the fold, too. And that just made me so happy." 2022 Pulliam interns reporting at newspapers across Indiana See Interns, page 7 Top Cate Charron, Indiana University, The Herald-Times (Bloomington); Kassandra Darnell, University of Indianapolis, Herald Bulletin (Anderson); Angelica Gonzalez Morales, Ball State University, Daily Journal (Franklin) Middle Michael Hemmerle, Indiana University/Purdue University-Indianap- olis, Journal & Courier (Lafayette); Elissa Maudlin, BSU, Daily Reporter (Greenfield); Adam Peterson, IUPUI, Reporter-Times (Martinsville) Bottom Caitlynn Shipe, Valparaiso University, News-Sun (Kendallville); Olivia Tucker, Vincennes University The Crothersville Times; Maya Wilkins, The Journal Gazette (Fort Wayne) By now our Pulliam interns are well settled into their place- ments across the state's news- rooms. But a few weeks ago, we welcomed them into the HSPA conference room for orientation, fresh from their school years and eager to learn. I was impressed by their curiosity and convictions — and hopeful that such a group of stu- dents is seeking to be the future of our industry. During the Q&A section they, as budding reporters always should, asked many thoughtful questions. One in particular stuck with me, and has hung on in the aftermath of the horrific mass shooting in Uvalde. The questioning intern is a precocious young reporter who is the editor of her school paper. She spoke of the decision to run a story reporting on the death of a student in an on-campus car accident. In a way, she lamented doing so, and questioned the ethics of it. Our panel — and the other students — immediately reas- sured her that they had done the right thing. The hard thing, but the right thing. Because in a world where terrible events seem to be crescendoing to an almost intolerable daily occurrence, bear- ing witness through the written word is ever more important. The only semblance of solace afforded to the family members of the victims of the Uvalde shoot- ing was that millions of people around the country and world remembered their loved ones with them and wept tears of grief over their loss. But it's more than the shared memory of the lives The Capitol Dispatch Amelia McClure Aspiring reporters confront tough issues during internships Indiana Capital Chronicle launches statewide news outlet See Dispatch, page 7 INDIANAPOLIS – The Indiana Capital Chronicle, a nonprofit, non-partisan online news organization covering state govern- ment and policy, launched this month. Hoosiers face critical issues such as housing affordability, worker shortages and education gaps, yet the number of reporters covering statehouse news across the country has plummeted over the last 15 years. "When I first started at the Indiana Statehouse in 1999, numerous newspapers had their own reporters keeping an eye on state news. But those days are over," said Niki Kelly, editor-in-chief. "Indiana Capital Chronicle will fill in those gaps and keep state government accountable to Hoosiers." The Capital Chronicle will cover issues including education funding and outcomes, health care, economic challenges and state fiscal affairs, as well as politics and other poli- cies. Our mission is accountable journalism that sheds light on See Chronicle, page 7 Content will be available for free to newspapers ... in a world where terrible events seem to be crescendoing to an almost intolerable daily occurrence, bearing witness through the written word is ever more important.

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