Alaska

Erin McKinstry

Erin McKinstry reports for KCAW in Sitka, Alaska, a city and borough near Juneau with a population under 10,000. McKinstry brings experience to the KCAW post, where she concentrates on Sitka issues. She is an Alaska-based journalist and audio producer who has reported stories for Alaska Public Media, Edible Alaska, The Trace, The Midwest Center for Investigative Reporting, KBIA and Harvest Public Media. She’s a former host and producer for the Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE) Radio Podcast and produces her own podcast called “Out Here” about life in rural Alaska. McKinstry has a master’s degree from the University of Missouri School of Journalism. She’s a fellow of Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics (FASPE), a Fulbright Scholar and an Edward R. Murrow Award Recipient from the Radio Television Digital News Association (RTDNA).

KCAW

KCAW serves Sitka and seven other communities, from Yakutat to Port Alexander — roughly the same distance between Washington, DC, and Columbus, Ohio. However, for those communities outside of Sitka, there is no other media source, and limited and unreliable internet. KCAW is the sole source of information about everything: from weather and tsunami warnings, to presidential elections.  

Anchorage Daily News

The Anchorage Daily News is the most-read newspaper and news site in Alaska. In 2017, the organization was purchased by an Alaska family with an interest in keeping the newspaper alive. The business turned around—by controlling costs, growing revenue, with a continued shift online, and especially, continued newsroom transformation that has emphasized producing quality journalism, serving audiences where they are, and adapting to changing platforms and reader habits and needs. Partnerships of all kinds have become critical for us.

Annie Berman

Annie Berman covers health care for the Anchorage Daily News. A veteran of AmeriCorps and Vista volunteer programs, Berman is a multimedia journalist who has covered breaking news, crime, culture and politics for Mission Local and KQED, both in San Francisco. She has also helped produce “The Science of Happiness,” an award-winning podcast by PRX, Her work has been published in The New York Times, KQED and The Indian Express, an English-language daily published in Mumbai. She holds a B.A. from Smith College and is graduating from the University of California’s Berkeley’s Graduate School of Journalism in May.