Hi everyone - Wanted to alert you to another journalism podcast that you might enjoy listening to. This is a recent episode of Small Press, Big Ideas hosted by Paul Gewuerz, who owns and runs a company that produces podcasts for news organizations.

Today Paul sits down with Matthew Watkins, Editor-in-Chief of The Texas Tribune, for a conversation on nonprofit journalism, civic engagement, and navigating polarization in today’s media environment. Matthew shares his journey from local Texas reporting to leading one of the nation's premier nonprofit newsrooms, and offers candid insights into what makes The Tribune unique, from its funding model and newsroom culture to its commitment to transparency and nonpartisanship.

If you like it, be sure to follow it on Apple or at LocalNews.co - we'll be back with a new episode of The Journalism Salute next Tuesday.

On this episode, we're joined by Laura Kebede-Twumasi. Laura is a journalist and public historian based in Virginia. She has formerly been a staff writer at the Richmond Times-Dispatch and an education reporter at Chalkbeat.

From 2022 to 2025 she was a journalist in residence (and professor) at the University of Memphis, where she got her masters, and the Institute for Public Service Reporting. During that time she launched Civil Wrongs, a podcast and series of articles investigating lynchings, deaths related to Civil Rights work and racially-motivated massacres. It spans 21 episodes (so far) and was a collaborative effort with students in social justice classes she taught.

She is a 2012 graduate of the University of Missouri and lists her job as Professional Listener.

She was recommended by our recent guest, another journalist-historian, Logan Jaffe.

Laura's salute: Cardinal News

You can find all our episode guides for teachers and professors here, and you can find the one for this episode here.

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Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com

Visit our website: thejournalismsalute.org

Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com)

Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.social

Subscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.beehiiv.com

On this episode we're joined by Ana Valdez. Ana is a multimedia journalist for KWCH-12 TV in Wichita, Kansas. Ana, a native of Bolivia, describes herself as dedicated to sharing bilingual stories, believing that journalism should create impact and that language should be a bridge, not a barrier.

Ana shared her career path and gave examples of her work ranging from covering immigration and other political issues in Kansas to local news like the birth of a hippo or a local pinball league. She had advice for aspiring journalists, applicable given that she was one herself not long ago (she's a graduate of Emporia State and CUNY-Newmark).

Story example:

https://www.kwch.com/2025/07/26/wichita-schools-reassure-families-immigration-concerns-rise/

Ana's salutes: The National Association of Hispanic Journalists, Leila Medina of the New York Times, and Charlie Spicer of the Committee to Protect Journalists (who recommended Ana for this episode).

You can find 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)

Bluesky at @marksimon.bsky.social

Subscribe to our newsletter– journalismsalute.substack.com