Acknowledgments

The journalists who participated in the American Press Institute’s Accountability Summit are:

Stephanie Arnold, Philly.com

Stephanie is a print-turned-multimedia journalist who is the lead social media producer for philly.com. She is particularly interested in social media ethics for journalists, growing digital audiences, training, and studying analytics and trends. Previously she was The Virginian-Pilot’s first social media editor. With more than 16 years of combined newspaper and digital experience, she also has worked at The Philadelphia Inquirer, The News Journal, Tallahassee Democrat, and Commercial Appeal.

Briana Bierschbach, MinnPost

Briana reports on public affairs, higher education, politics and other issues for MinnPost. She got her start in journalism covering city government and transportation for the Minnesota Daily, the University of Minnesota’s campus newspaper. After college she covered the 2010 Minnesota legislative session with the Associated Press before joining Politics in Minnesota as a reporter. She has worked with the St. Paul Pioneer Press, the Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal and Minnesota Premier Publications.

Troy Carter, Bozeman Daily Chronicle

Troy is a Montana native who joined the Chronicle’s staff in 2014. From 2001 to 2006, he served as infantryman in the 10th Mountain Division, including combat tours in Afghanistan and Iraq. He received a master’s degree in political science from the American University of Beirut and a bachelor’s degree in the same field from the American University in Cairo.

Anjeanette Damon, Reno Gazette

Anjeanette is an investigative journalist focusing on narratives that drive the community toward solutions. She is currently the government watchdog reporter for the Reno Gazette, and previously worked as a political reporter and editor for the Las Vegas Sun. At the Reno Gazette, she also covered beats ranging from police to city hall to the state legislature and politics.

Tom Jackman, The Washington Post

Tom has been covering crime and courts for The Washington Post since 1998, after reporting on similar topics at The Kansas City Star. He helped lead the coverage of the D.C. sniper trials in 2003, and was the lead writer on The Post’s breaking news coverage of the 2007 Virginia Tech shootings, which won the Pulitzer Prize. In 2016 Tom launched the “True Crime” blog which looks at criminal justice issues and important cases both locally and nationally.

Mary Ellen Klas, Miami Herald

Mary Ellen is Capitol bureau chief for the Miami Herald and co-bureau chief of the Tampa Bay Times/Miami Herald Tallahassee Bureau. Before she became bureau chief for the Herald in 2004, Mary Ellen was Tallahassee bureau chief for Florida Trend magazine and also served as a senior writer for the Palm Beach Post. She was bureau chief for the Palm Beach Post from 1990-94. She is a graduate of the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.

Ricardo Lopez, Minneapolis Star Tribune

Ricardo covers all aspects of Minnesota politics, the state budget, the administration and state agencies for the Star Tribune, based in St. Paul. Previously, he was a business reporter at the Los Angeles Times where he covered the California economy, focusing on labor unions, ports, and agriculture. He began writing in high school, earning bylines in his hometown paper, The Las Vegas Review-Journal. He completed summer internships with the The News Journal in Delaware, The Virginian-Pilot and the St. Paul Pioneer Press.

Lauren McGaughy, Dallas Morning News

Lauren covers Texas politics for the Dallas Morning News. Based in Austin, she focuses on higher education, money and politics, and the Office of Attorney General Ken Paxton. Previously, she covered politics for the Houston Chronicle and politics for NOLA.com/The Times-Picayune. In Washington, D.C., she was a reporter for the Japanese newspaper Asahi Shimbun, where she focused on U.S.-Sino and U.S.-Korean relations.

John Micek, Patriot News/PennLive

John has covered Pennsylvania government and politics for The Morning Call since 2001. He also writes and edits the paper’s “Capitol Ideas” blog, contributes to the newspaper’s “Pennsylvania Avenue” and “Lehigh Valley Music” blogs and, from 2009 to 2011, co-hosted the weekly “Politics as Usual” podcast. He’s contributed analysis to the Pennsylvania Cable Network as well as the weekly “Pennsylvania Newsmakers,” and “Face the State” public affairs shows. He is a graduate of the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

Graham Moomaw, Richmond Times-Dispatch

Graham, who covers Richmond City Hall, came to the Richmond Times-Dispatch in 2013. He previously worked as a reporter at The Daily Progress in Charlottesville and as an online producer at The Washington Post. He is a native of Lynchburg and a graduate of James Madison University and the University of Maryland’s Philip Merrill College of Journalism.

Brandon Rittiman, KUSA

Brandon has been a political reporter at 9NEWS since 2011, covering all levels of government in Colorado. He co-hosts and produces “Balance of Power,” a weekly politics and public affairs program. He also leads the “Truth Test” series, which twice won the national Cronkite/Jackson prize for political fact-checking. His coverage of the Aurora movie theater shooting was awarded a regional Emmy. Before moving to Denver, Brandon was news director for KUNR-FM, the NPR affiliate in Reno.

Jason Rosenbaum, St. Louis Public Radio

A graduate of the University of Missouri School of Journalism, Jason spent more than four years in the Missouri State Capitol writing for the Columbia Daily Tribune, Missouri Lawyers Media and the St. Louis Beacon. Since moving to St. Louis in 2010, his work has appeared in Missouri Lawyers Media, the St. Louis Business Journal and in the Riverfront Times’ music section. He also served on staff at the St. Louis Beacon as a politics reporter.

Jonathan Shorman, Topeka Capital-Journal

Jonathan is a state government reporter for The Topeka Capital-Journal. Previously he was a statehouse and breaking news reporter at the Springfield News-Leader, and he completed internships at USA Today and The McPherson Sentinel. He graduated from the William Allen White School of Journalism at the University of Kansas.

Lee Tolliver, The Virginian-Pilot

Lee is a born-and-raised local of Southeast Virginia who started working at The Virginian-Pilot in 1976. He covers high school sports and outdoor sports and activities, including government regulations and environmental issues.

Kera Wanielista, Skagit Valley Herald

Kera is the education and crime reporter at the Skagit Valley Herald. Her dual beats include coverage of seven school districts, breaking news and ongoing crime stories. She previously worked as a communities reporter for Seattle’s KOMO-4 News and also has been published in the Ferndale (Wash.) Record Journal and the lifestyle magazine Bellingham Alive.

Jeremy White, Sacramento Bee

Jeremy is a reporter at The Sacramento Bee’s Capitol Bureau, covering the California Assembly and state politics. He reports and writes in-depth stories, blog posts and tweets about all aspects of politics, from budget battles to campaigns. He also has worked for the International Business Times, the New York Observer, Roll Call and the Columbia Journalism Review.

Clinton Yates, The Undefeated

Clinton is a senior writer at ESPN’s The Undefeated and is a commentator for WTOP, a D.C.-based radio station where he discusses everything from politics to pop culture. Previously he covered sports and blogged for The Washington Post. He graduated from Miami University.

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An early version of this report was reviewed and augmented by a group of veteran journalists and accountability experts from around the U.S.  We especially thank these people for providing important and insightful feedback:

• Michael Bolden, Knight Foundation
• Len Downie, Arizona State University
• Jill Geisler, Loyola University
• Marty Kaiser, Center for Journalism Ethics
• Kim Perry, The New York Times
• Connie Schultz, syndicated columnist
• Estizer Smith, Democracy Fund

American Press Institute staff members who also contributed to this report were:

• Tom Rosenstiel, executive director
• Jeff Sonderman, deputy director
• Amy Kovac-Ashley, senior newsroom learning program manager
• Liz Worthington, content strategy program manager
• Laurie Beth Harris, editorial coordinator
• Katie Kutsko, program associate
• Kevin Loker, program manager
• Meldon Jones, research associate