Washington

Santiago Ochoa

Santiago Ochoa is a bilingual journalist covering health care access at the Yakima Herald-Republic in Yakima, Washington. Before joining the Herald, Ochoa reported for Flint Beat in Flint, Michigan, covering the city’s Latino population—health care, education, community building and more, and winning top honors in the Michigan Press Association’s feature category. He holds a bachelor’s degree from the University of Michigan-Flint, where he was editor-in-chief of the school’s paper, The Michigan Times. When he’s not working, Ochoa enjoys cross-country trips on his motorcycle, going to the movies, reading and skiing.

Yakima Herald-Republic

The Yakima Herald-Republic, a daily paper and news site, is the largest media outlet in the Yakima Valley, and dedicated to serving central Washington with breaking news and in-depth coverage. El Sol de Yakima, a Spanish-language website and weekly paper, is part of the Herald-Republic newsroom, and the two publications cross-publish stories. Yakima Magazine, a monthly, is also part of this news organization.

Yakima Herald-Republic

The Yakima Herald-Republic, a daily paper and news site, is the largest media outlet in the Yakima Valley, and dedicated to serving central Washington with breaking news and in-depth coverage. El Sol de Yakima, a Spanish-language website and weekly paper, is part of the Herald-Republic newsroom, and the two publications cross-publish stories. Yakima Magazine, a monthly, is also part of this news organization.

The Daily Herald (Everett, Wa.)

For more than a century, The Daily Herald has been the leading news source in Snohomish County, home to 18 cities and over 800,000 residents. This news organization's fundamental philosophy, first stated in 1901, is simple: “There is in this community no one so poor or insignificant that The Herald will not defend him if he be wronged, no one so high and powerful that the Herald will not fearlessly attack him if he seek to do injustice.”

The Spokesman-Review

For nearly 140 years, The Spokesman-Review has been a leading voice of the inland Northwest, a region centered in Spokane and home to more than 730,000 people in eastern Washington and north Idaho. The region's largest daily and family-owned, it delivers accurate and balanced news reports, data, analyses and commentaries. While its primary focus is Spokane County, this news organization also reports on surrounding rural counties and the five counties of the north Idaho Panhandle.

Katie Hayes

Katie Hayes reports for The Daily Herald in Everett, Washington and covers issues that affect the working class. As a freelance reporter zeroing in on government accountability in the Northwest, Hayes reported on state laws that prohibit private militias. Her work appeared in InvestigateWest and Crosscut, Seattle-based nonprofit news outlets. In 2020, Hayes created a website dedicated to exploring police accountability issues in Olympia, Washington. She wrote in-depth stories and took photos for the site, along with editing stories submitted by other journalists. Hayes is originally from St. Louis and holds a bachelor’s degree in English from the University of Missouri–St. Louis. She has reported on issues that affect rural western Washington communities as a reporter for both The Chronicle in Centralia and the Shelton-Mason County Journal.

Natasha Brennan

Natasha Brennan reports on Indigenous communities in Washington state for The News Tribune in Tacoma, and also provides coverage for other McClatchy newsrooms in the state. Previously, she worked as a freelance journalist and photographer focusing on Native American issues in Southern California. Her work has been published by Indian Country Today, The Associated Press and PBS Native Report. She became inspired to specialize in writing about Native American culture and issues as a child visiting her father's family on the Cahuilla Reservation in Southern California. Brennan, from West Covina, California, holds a master's degree in journalism from the USC Annenberg School, where she was an Annenberg Leadership scholar and Initiative fellow. Her 2019 book, “People of the Willow House,” has been featured in museums and libraries in Southern California, and Brennan says it “aims to dispel the myth that Native people and culture are extinct or ancient.”

The Daily Herald

The Herald is one of 43 newspaper titles owned by Everett-based Sound Publishing, the largest community media organization in Washington state. We are the primary source of news and information for the communities we serve as well as the leading editorial voice. We are part of the greater Seattle metropolitan area. The fundamental philosophy that our founders committed themselves to from the first day they began publishing on Jan. 5, 1901 is still at the center of what we attempt to do every day: “There is in this community no one so poor or insignificant that The Herald will not defend him if he be wronged, no one so high and powerful that the Herald will not fearlessly attack him if he seek to do injustice.”

Abbie Shull

Abbie Shull reports for The News Tribune in Takoma, Washington, where she covers Joint Base Lewis-McChord military installation, a huge and underreported part of the local economy. She is a graduate of Columbia University’s Graduate School of Journalism and previously covered the Louisiana legislature for The Manship Statehouse Bureau. Her byline can be seen in The Advocate, The Times-Picayune, 225 Magazine, The Advertiser and USA Today. Shull is a proud alumna of Louisiana State University’s campus newspaper, The Daily Reveille, where she served as managing editor. She earned her B.A. in mass communication with a focus in journalism at Louisiana State University’s Manship School of Mass Communication.