Supporting the Alaska Beacon and other news sources strengthens Alaska democracy

I am leaving the Alaska Beacon on Friday, after serving as its editor for three years, to pursue a new opportunity in Philadelphia. I leave with a strong sense that Alaska – and this outlet – can have a bright future. 

I flew to Juneau on Jan. 17, 2016, two nights before the start of the legislative session, with little but the clothes on my back and in my bags. I was starting work in what I consider one of the best journalism jobs in the country, the state government reporter for the state’s public media outlets. KTOO and Alaska Public Media gave me a chance after I spent 16 years at news outlets — and all of my life until then — on the East Coast.

It was an eventful time to become a political reporter in Alaska: The collapse of oil prices in October 2014 had left the state budget reeling, and the coming legislative session was the first to fully grapple with that fact. The top priority for then-Gov. Bill Walker was to pass a long-term plan to balance what the state spends with what it brings in. Alaskans were passionate about the debate’s outcome.

I immersed myself in oil economics, the governance of the U.S.’s largest sovereign wealth fund and methods to find the sun in the winterlong shadows Mounts Juneau and Roberts cast over downtown Juneau. 

I had been part of one of the country’s largest capital press corps in Trenton, New Jersey, but I was deeply impressed with the smaller but mighty group covering the Alaska Legislature. 

And Alaskans responded to our reporting. I repeatedly had the experience of people who I had never previously met thanking me on the street for my work – once when a driver stopped their car alongside me as I walked down Juneau’s Main Street. I doubt many public radio reporters have similar experiences outside of Alaska. 

The reporting news outlets did in Juneau had an immediate effect on the conversations Alaskans had with their elected officials. Compared with New Jersey, Alaska political parties play a much smaller role in mediating between legislators and constituents. When lawmakers hear someone call in during public testimony from a community they represent, they visibly perk up. This isn’t always the case elsewhere. And this responsiveness is apparent in the access many public officials give to reporters, knowing constituents will read or listen to their reporting. 

The budget crisis wasn’t resolved in 2016. Or in 2017. Or, really, in any year since. Alaskans are genuinely conflicted over how to prioritize their support for government services including public education; the long-term future of the Alaska Permanent Fund; the size of the Permanent Fund dividend; and opposition to new taxes. 

While Alaskans have been conflicted over state policy, they have not lacked access to information about it. Public radio in the state has been uniquely strong, serving small communities with dedicated journalists. The state’s newspapers, from the Anchorage Daily News to the Nome Nugget, are models of what reporters can still do even within economic constraints. 

After covering nearly seven full legislative sessions and several special sessions for public radio, TV and websites, I received a second and equally exciting opportunity in Alaska journalism. The national nonprofit States Newsroom hired me as the first editor of the Beacon. 

And since May 11, 2022, the Alaska Beacon has been welcomed by Alaskans as a news source, with the mission of connecting the state’s residents with their state government. 

While the Beacon is going strong, it’s a troubled time for Alaska’s news media. The federal support that’s been an underpinning of public radio and TV has ended. Many Alaskans have stepped forward to support public media, but the scope of the dilemma is vast. I’m deeply concerned about the future of my former colleagues serving Alaska communities. 

Part of what is so important about news organizations is that they are much larger than one journalist. When Alaskans support the Beacon – or become public media members or newspaper subscribers – they’re investing in a sustainable free press as a bulwark of democracy. 

I’ve told my three co-workers – Corinne Smith, James Brooks and Yereth Rosen – that the Alaska Beacon’s future is brighter than its past. And I believe this because of the support Alaskans have offered since the launch. Please consider the value the Beacon brings to Alaska and make a donation. Readers’ support makes it possible that the Beacon will cover the state government without fear or favor, and inform Alaskans about the state’s economy and environment; education; health; and criminal and social justice long into the future.

Nine and a half years after I arrived amid a budget crisis, Alaskans are still weighing the direction of their state. I leave Alaska with a sense that it can overcome its challenges. That’s because I’ve gotten to know Alaskans — risk-taking, open, strengthened by communities built over more than 10,000 years — in a way that is difficult in less vast but more populous states. I continue to love Alaska and am eager to see what Alaskans make of the state’s future. 

Thank you to everyone who’s given me time since 2016. I look forward to seeing some of you the next time I visit.