Meet your local newsroom staff

Being Frank, by Frank Ameduri

Recent events in the Frontiersman newsroom have given me an opportunity to pause and think about this business I love so much. Within the past few weeks we've said good-bye to a valuable member of our team, we've been chastised at a public meeting and we've been called biased and a "liberal rag." It goes with the territory. Voices of outrage mixed with the sound of applause tells us we're on the right track. The job of a reporter is a mixed bag. Some days the phone rings off the hook and the e-mail piles up all with words of praise. Other days are filled with righteous indignation and disappointment. Often, separated by only a day or two, the praise and the anger are spoken with the same voices.

Reporters are an interesting lot, really. To a large extent they're underpaid and overworked. They put in long hours, and they're asked to finish their work on strict deadlines. Most of them do it because they believe it matters. Most of them do it because they believe an informed community is an empowered community. I've worked with good reporters and bad ones over the years. I've never worked with a better team than the group assembled here at the Frontiersman. I think this community is very fortunate to have such a collection of dedicated, ethical and talented people working for its newspaper. You see their names on the pages of this newspaper every edition, but to a large extent their hard work goes without much thanks, or much recognition. I thought I'd share a little bit about these people with you today.

Rindi White reports on state and borough government and on utilities. She also writes a home and garden column for Peak Magazine. Rindi knows the people and issues on her beats inside and out, and she is simply one of the most intelligent people I've ever known. Rindi never turns in an assignment until she's sure she's tipped every stone and that every fact is straight. She does that for our readers, not for herself. Rindi also makes the extra effort to visit the borough's animal control shelter every week, and she provides the text and photos for our Pet Tails column. That work has helped give many animals a second chance, and Rindi approaches that essentially thankless task with all the passion and commitment she approaches everything else. If she didn't do it, it would likely not get done.

Casey Ressler is our Valley Life editor. Casey is in here writing articles and designing pages at all hours of the day and night. Casey's a pro with a heart. His articles and columns are always well-received, and he's got a following of loyal readers out there who turn to the "B" section first. They are readers who look forward to reading Casey's columns so they can keep up with the latest shenanigans of Maddie Claire and the rest of the Ressler Nation. When Casey is in the newsroom, the newsroom is laughing. He could recite words directly from the dictionary, and the newsroom staff would be rolling on the floor. It's probably because he's genuine and because he's still filled with a sense of wonder that reminds us all why we're here in the first place.

Jeremiah Bartz is our sports editor, and a legendary long snapper from Palmer High. J.B. doesn't get much in the way of weekends and evenings to himself -- he's usually at some sporting event or another. He's also in here early some mornings and late some evenings designing pages. J.B. gets a lot of flack for not covering every event that happens, but I've seen his work and his schedule, and I'm pretty sure he's always in at least three places at once. Somebody who doesn't know J.B. might wonder why he works so hard at his job. I know him, so I can tell you. Jeremiah loves what he's doing, and he takes his job seriously. If I wanted to turn a green sports writer into a seasoned pro, I'd have him follow J.B. around for a couple of weeks. He'd probably pick up a few unusual habits, but he'd be a whale of a sports reporter just the same.

Amy Menerey is simply the glue that holds this place together. She designs the entire "A" section of every edition and most of our special sections as well. She keeps our files and photos organized, and makes sure everybody knows their assignments and deadlines. There's a whole list of other things Amy does. Essentially, she does all the stuff nobody else can or wants to do. She moves through a maze of text, photos and information with a grace that makes it look much easier than it is. With Amy on my team I succeed. Without her I would fail. Every team needs a person like Amy, but few are fortunate enough to have one. This newspaper is one of the lucky ones.

Jen Ransom, Steve Kadel and Becky Stoppa are all relatively new faces on our team. Steve covers crime and courts, Jen handles business, agriculture and the Wasilla city beat. Becky covers education and the Palmer city beat. Each of them has brought new ideas and different skills to the team. Steve is a seasoned journalist who is simply one of the most prolific, skilled writers I've ever worked with. Steve is one of those journalists who can take a scant news tip and within 30 minutes develop it into a detailed, skillfully-written story. Every newsroom needs at least one Steve Kadel. Jen is one of those journalists you have to call "intrepid." She'll go anywhere and cover anything. In the short time she's been here, Jen has waded into a creek to get a photo, she's ridden a train to get a story, and I'm sure she'd climb a tree if she thought there was a good photo or news tip to be had. She's one of those reporters who immerses herself in her stories, and she brings our readers perspectives they might not get any other way. Becky has just completed her journalism degree from UAA, and she comes to our team with a clear passion for the education beat and every other assignment I can throw at her. Becky's passion for her work and her obvious joy doing what can so often be a difficult job are all inspirational to an old editor.

That's your newsroom team. They are all talented journalists who bring a level of ethics, commitment and determination to their jobs that every good journalist should emulate. I'm fortunate to work with every one of them, and I think our readers are lucky to have them, too.

Frank Ameduri is the managing editor of the Frontiersman newspaper.