IRJ to participate at 2026 Kiplinger fellowship event on saving local news

Professor Benjy Hamm, director of the Institute for Rural Journalism, will participate as a speaker and mentor at the 2026 Kiplinger “Saving Local News: A Practical Guide” fellowship weekend for professional journalists on May 11-14 at the E.W. Scripps College of Communication at Ohio University.

The 3-day event includes 32 fellows, representing 17 states and four nations, who will take a holistic look at the demise of local news and develop plans to rejuvenate their outlet’s success.

The fellows represent news leadership at small community publications, medium to large market TV newsrooms and a few niche publications.

Speakers for the fellowship will include experts from The Knight Foundation, Rebuild Local News, The American Press Institute, the Institute for Rural Journalism, the Local News Initiative, Press Forward and the Institute for Non-Profit News. Also featured will be news executive from local news groups in Michigan and Virginia. Ohio University faculty will also be involved.

The 2026 Kiplinger Fellows include:

Audra Anderson, managing editor/news, Cascadia Daily News; Bellingham, Washington
Ann Augherton, managing editor, Arlington Catholic Herald; Arlington, Virginia
Toria Barnhart, deputy editor, The Park Record; Park City, Utah
Natasha Barber, managing editor, Star Publications; Sauk Centre, Minnesota
Nicholas Bechtel, assistant news editor, NBC4; Columbus, Ohio
Katie Brandt, editor-in-chief, Chicago Health Magazine, Chicago, Illinois
Chris Coates, senior director of local news, Lee Enterprises; Mechanicsville, Virginia
Meghann Garcia, managing editor, Uvalde Leader-News; Uvalde, Texas
Kenneth Garner, publisher, Garner Media Holdings;  Marysville, Missouri
Jeff Gaye, publisher, Respect; Cold Lake, Alberta, Canada
Dave Gould, president/CEO, Main Street Media of Tennessee; Nashville, Tennessee
Christopher Gunty, associate publisher/editor, Catholic Review Media; Baltimore, Maryland
Ashton Hagen, general manager, Grant County Herald; Elbow Lake, Minnesota
Matthew T. Hall, deputy editor of investigations, inewsource; San Diego, California 
Faisal Karimi, publisher, Nowruz Media; San Francisco, California
Tom Lappas, publisher, Henrico Citizen; Henrico County, Virginia.
Hyuntaek Lee, independent journalist, South Korea
Julie Makinen, co-founder/board member, Coachella Valley Journalism Foundation; Palm Springs, California
Jatara McGee, anchor/investigative reporter, WPXI; Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Victor Parkins, publisher, Mirror-Exchange Media Group; Milan, Tennessee
Geoffrey Plant, editor, Taos News; Taos, New Mexico
Walter Smith Randolph, executive producer of investigations, CBS News New York; New York City
Debbie Schimberg, founder and publisher, The Providence Eye; Providence, Rhode Island
Andy Schotz, editor, The Frederick News-Post; Frederick, Maryland
Jen Sieve-Hicks, editor/owner Buffalo Bulletin; Buffalo, Wyoming
Elizabeth Stephens, executive editor, Columbia Missourian and Boone County Journal; Columbia, Missouri
Matt Sullivan, chief operating officer, Spotlight Delaware; Wilmington, Delaware
Becca Tucker, deputy publisher, Straus News; Chester, New York
Anton van Zyl, publisher, Limpopo Mirror; Louis Trichardt (Makhado), South Africa
Travis Weik, group editor, Southern Indiana News Group; New Castle, Indiana