On this episode of The Journalism Salute, we're joined by Anita Pinto and Aron Dervishaj. Anita is a speech therapist the advisor to the student newspaper at Urban Assembly Gateway School for Technology in Manhattan at which she started a journalism club. Aron is a student who will be entering 11th grade in the fall (he's wearing a hockey jersey in our cover photo for a reason!). He's been writing for the student newspaper, The Gateway Times.

If you are a regular listener, you've hopefully heard our previous interview with Anita and her monthly updates.

In this interview, we recapped the school year with Anita and got Aron's perspective on what it's like to be a student journalist with no prior journalism experience. We went through two of Aron's stories and discussed how he got them. We also got some thoughts from Anita on ideas for next year, which will be the third year of the newspaper club.

Thanks to Press Pass NYC, a wonderful organization helping advisors start student newspapers in New York City high schools, for connecting us with Anita.

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On this episode Mark Simon was joined by Dr. Ken Schneck. Ken is the founding editor of The Buckeye Flame, Ohio's LGBTQ+ newsroom. He's written for many prominent publications, including The Huffington Post and The Advocate. He also was a tenured professor at Baldwin-Wallace, a book author, a public speaker, and a former syndicated radio show host. And he's a board member for NLGJA- the association of LGBTQ journalists. I hope that covers everything.

He's a 1999 grad of NYU with a masters there and a doctorate from Fordham and was formerly a college administrator. And we should have interviewed him a long time ago.

Ken talked about why The Buckeye Flame exists and what its purpose is. He shared examples of some of the things that he's written about, talked about his approach to teaching, explained how he managed his mental health, and much more.

Ken's salute: Queer Kentucky

Article Examples

Taking a call from his high school bully

https://thebuckeyeflame.com/2020/07/06/my-high-school-bully-just-called-me-25-years-later/

School board defeats anti-LGBTQ+ legislation

https://thebuckeyeflame.com/2023/03/24/ohio-school-board-defeats-anti-lgbtq-resolution/

The 2026 Pride Guide

https://thebuckeyeflame.com/2026/06/04/2026-ohio-lgbtq-pride-guide/

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Thank you for listening. You can e-mail me at journalismsalute@gmail.com

On this episode Mark Simon was joined by José Ralat. José is the taco editor, yes, the taco editor, for Texas Monthly magazine. He is the author of American Tacos: A History & Guide. Ralat is a two-time winning editor of a James Beard Award, which is foodwriting's most prestigious honor.

He is a graduate of St. Andrews Presbyterian College.

José explained what he does as a taco editor and why it's important that the magazine has one. He shared how he covers food and stories related to it by traveling across the entire state of Texas. He talked about how covering this beat also means covering immigration-related stories and detailed his own experiences with ICE. He also discussed how he manages his epilepsy and his mental health in what is a difficult time in his state.

Jose's salutes: National Association of Hispanic Journalists and Javier Cabral of L.A. Taco.

José's website

https://joseralat.net/

José's story on the Missions

https://www.texasmonthly.com/travel/forgotten-old-missions-texas-history/

José's story on the Smashburger Taco

https://www.texasmonthly.com/food/smash-burger-taco-history/

José's Instagram

https://www.instagram.com/tacotrailofficial/

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Mark Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-simon-92355124/

On this episode we're joined by Nicole Carr.

Nicole is a journalism professor at Morehouse College and author of the new book, The Price of Exclusion, The Pursuit of Healthcare in a Segregated Nation.

She's previously been a TV reporter in North Carolina, and in Atlanta, where she won four Emmys. And she was an investigative reporter for ProPublica.

Nicole has a degree in mass communications from Winston Salem State, a masters from Syracuse, and is currently studying for a doctorate at Clark-Atlanta University.

Nicole talked about her book writing journey and why she wrote it. She explained how she linked past to present with the story of her great grandfather's becoming a doctor and his work as one, in conjunction with an explanation about the shortage of Black doctors in America. She provided tips for those interviewing people "in the fourth quarter of their lives" and explained how a cold e-mail to Kamala Harris' father led to a gold mine of information.

We also talked about an article Nicole wrote for ProPublica about a school administrator from Maryland who took a new job in Georgia and was promptly chased out of town by overzealous anti-Critical Race Theory parents.

If you were a fan of the Longform podcast, I think you'll like the approach we took in this episode.

Link to Nicole's book

https://www.harpercollins.com/products/the-price-of-exclusion-nicole-carr

Nicole's ProPublica story

https://www.propublica.org/article/georgia-dei-crt-schools-parents

Nicole on the importance of the Black Press

https://theemancipator.org/2024/11/09/topics/movements/the-black-press-democratized-america/

Nicole's salute: Ida B. Wells Society for Investigative Reporting & The Committee to Protect Journalists

Nicole's book recommendations: Caste, The Origin of Our Discontent & The Warmth of Other Suns (Isabel Wilkerson), How The Word Is Passed (Clint Smith)

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Mark Simon’s website MarkSimonmedia.com

Mark Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-simon-92355124/

On this episode we're joined by Ben Camacho. Ben is a journalist, documentary photographer, and producer. His work focused on state-sponsored violence, subjects like police brutality, and the communities impacted by it. He's a graduate of the University of La Verne and is based around Los Angeles.

Ben's work has been published in major outlets, like New York Magazine, and also on his Substack, Inadvertent and West Side Storytellers.

We talked with Ben about the different things he's covered and the experiences he's had doing the reporting. He shared insights about the double standard that exists when covering police brutality protests (white reporters and photographers are managed differently by police). Ben also offered advice for aspiring journalists in covering projects like the ones he does.

Ben's salutes: Joey Scott and Cerise Castle, who both cover similar subjects as Ben does

New York Magazine piece The Terror Of Life Under ICE

https://nymag.com/intelligencer/article/ice-raids-los-angeles-terror.html

Immigration Courts Have Become Hunting Grounds For ICE

https://lapublicpress.org/2025/08/la-immigration-courts-have-become-hunting-grounds-for-ice-agents/

Poynter story on double standards in media treatment

https://www.poynter.org/reporting-editing/2021/at-police-lines-not-all-journalists-are-created-equal/

The Blue Hand documentary

https://www.inadvertent.news/p/the-blue-hand

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Mark Simon’s website MarkSimonmedia.com

Mark Simon's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mark-simon-92355124/

On this episode we're joined by Ginny Monk. Ginny is a reporter covering children's issues and housing for the non-profit Connecticut Mirror and along with three others just won a Pulitzer Prize.

Wrote the Pulitzer Board: "For an impressive series exposing how the state’s unique towing laws favored unscrupulous companies that overcharged residents, prompting swift and meaningful consumer protections."

Ginny previously worked for a few different places, including 4 years with the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette. She is a native of Pencil Bluff, Arkansas and a graduate of the University of Arkansas.

Ginny talked about the work she did as part of a team covering those towing stories. She also discussed a piece she wrote over several years covering foster adoption. She shared examples of the work she did and her writing process.

The Pulitzer series

https://www.pulitzer.org/winners/dave-altimari-and-ginny-monk-connecticut-mirror-and-sophie-chou-and-haru-coryne-propublica

The Foster Adoption story

https://ctmirror.org/2025/12/02/ct-foster-parents-rights-case/

Ginny's Salute: Arkansas Press Women

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A postponed guest meant we had to improvise, so we put together this episode based on the presentations that I've done at the College Media Association and Journalism Education Association national conventions.

The subject: Lessons I've learned from 275+ interviews on this podcast.

You'll hear from 14 different journalists that I've interviewed in the last five years, all of whom share anecdotes or observations that emphasize larger points. Those featured are:

Javeria Salman, formerly of The Hechinger Report

Massarah Mikati, formerly of The Philadelphia Inquirer

Humberto Basilio, freelance science writer

Medar De La Cruz, freelance illustrative journalist, Pulitzer winner

Jada Vasser, recent graduate of Michigan State

Daarel Burnette, The Chronicle of Higher Education

Yanqi Xu, Flatwater Free Press

Ishan Thakore, Colorado Public Radio, formerly Full Frontal w/ Samantha Bee

Adrianna Adame, Buffalo's Fire

Sam Donndelinger, Uncloseted Media

Curtis Bunn, journalist of 40+ years, formerly of NBC BLK

Aisha Sultan, St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Emma Restrepo, freelance bilingual journalist

Angilee Shah, Charlottesville Tomorrow

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On this episode we're joined by Maggie LeBeau and Divya Thamman. Maggie is a student at the University of Missouri majoring in journalism and history. Divya is a student at Edina High School just outside Minneapolis.

Together, they are part of the reporting team for PBS News Hour Student Reporting Labs producing and reporting for the On Our Minds podcast. This is our second year talking to students for this series. We previously spoke to the podcast hosts for a past season. This year we talk to the reporting team. We'll also be joined by their lead podcast producer, Becky Wandel.and the director of communications and partnerships for Student Reporting Labs, Christine Zirneklis.

This season's theme for the series is an audio road trip exploring what’s unique about teen life in every corner of the country through hyperlocal stories about cities, towns, and neighborhoods.

Maggie and Divya talked about the stories they covered, with Maggie telling the story of the local drag community and Divya reporting on a quirky festival in Minneapolis that reminds people that there are positive stories coming from that city. They also shared their backgrounds and the valuable lessons they've learned in their journalism pursuits

You can find all the episodes for the On Our Minds series here.

https://studentreportinglabs.org/on-our-minds/

Their joint salute: Dave Jorgenson (former Washington Post TikTok guy)

We've also got our monthly report from Anita Pinto, advisor to The Gateway Times at Urban Assembly Gateway School for Technology in New York City. She shares how her students are progressing as the school year nears an end.

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Mark’s website (MarkSimonmedia.com)