A greeting from the new guy
New Capital-Star Editor Tim Lambert spent more than 23 years at WITF in Harrisburg, where he worked as a host, reporter, multimedia news director and most recently special projects editor. (Courtesy of Tim Lambert)
It's been a few days since I started this new gig, so I'm overdue for a little chat with you.
How about we start things off with a simple, 'hello?'
As the third editor-in-chief in the Pennsylvania Capital-Star's history, the pleasure is all mine.
If you would have told me four months ago that I would be leading a three-person team covering politics and policy in Pennsylvania, I would have said you were nuts.
But, the more I thought about it, the more I was intrigued.
Here was an opportunity to shift toward a different approach – away from horse-race coverage and partisan bickering and toward a focus on how policy decisions impact you and your community.
Here was an opportunity to make our work accessible to people who may have tuned political coverage out.
Here was an opportunity to tell the story of the commonwealth during unprecedented times.
So, here I am.
But now, you may be wondering who I am.
A lifelong Pennsylvanian and son of a steel worker, I grew up in Aliquippa in Beaver County, graduated from Hopewell High School and The Indiana University of Pennsylvania, and have worked/survived in radio/journalism for 32 years. Besides Hopewell and Indiana, Pa., I've lived my entire life in this great commonwealth – including stops in Lewistown, Gettysburg, Harrisburg, Millersville and my last one (knock on wood), New Cumberland.
The majority of my career was spent at WITF, Central Pennsylvania's public media organization.
During my time there, I held several jobs – morning news host, podcaster, reporter, news director and special projects editor. In my reporting role, I worked to bring the stories of Pennsylvanians to life, including one young woman's journey through the juvenile justice system and a mentorship program through handball.
But, I may be best known for my work on and connection to Flight 93, the hijacked jetliner that crashed in Somerset County during the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. In a twist of fate, my family owned part of the land that is now part of the national memorial honoring the passengers and crew who fought back against the terrorists.
For two decades, I returned to the site again and again to chronicle how family members dealt with their grief over the years as well as their fight to honor their loved ones' memory. It culminated in an hour-long documentary with my old colleague Scott Detrow – produced by NPR – that aired on public radio stations across the country.
While I'm sure I'll continue to do some reporting at the Capital-Star, my main focus will be leading our three-person bureau in covering how policy and politics have an effect on your life. So, I'll be drawing on my more than a dozen years leading WITF's small newsroom where we consistently punched above our weight.
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How will that translate to what we do as part of States Newsroom?
I'll implement lessons learned from Trusting News strategies to try to improve and build credibility with our audience. We will work to avoid treating politics as a sport and focus on what issues matter to Pennsylvanians by looking at approaches championed by Democracy SOS and America Amplified. Our coverage will try to connect what has worked in other communities and states through a Solutions Journalism lens.
We will tap into our fellow States Newsroom outlets across the nation to enrich our coverage, while providing the proper context that is so often overlooked in the world of 'click bait' or 'outrage' viral stories.
I will work to find creative ways for our team to bring stories to life to help people have a better understanding of issues and their communities. I firmly believe journalists need to meet their audience where it is. We're doing it with our digital stories, but I know some of you may prefer to get your news through audio stories, podcasts or video explainers.
We will experiment in those spheres.
Nothing that I have written here will happen overnight. Journalism is an evolving process.
What I can promise you is our coverage will always be fact-based, smart, nuanced, fair, transparent and geared toward you.
I'm so looking forward to having you along for the ride as a reader and – if we do our job right – a donor who recognizes the need for a strong, independent, free press.
SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
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