Regardless of pollster Stuart Elway’s suspicion that engagement with politics is likely to be dropping off because the November 2024 presidential election, engagement is excessive amongst Washingtonians of all political persuasions, however most of their focus appears to be on nationwide headlines.
As a recovering doomscroller, I’m not essentially shocked by that knowledge level: Who amongst us hasn’t misplaced hours of our one wild and valuable life to the every day onslaught of breaking nationwide information? However as a information editor at an area outlet, this preoccupation with nationwide politics is a reminder that we have now some work to do if we’re going to get eyeballs centered on protection of this Washington – not simply the opposite one.
This article is an area the place I hope this could occur, and for those who’re a loyal reader, I’m very happy to satisfy you: I’m Megan Burbank, Cascade PBS’ new information editor. You might know my identify from my byline as a longtime freelance reporter: Since 2021, I’ve coated native information associated to reproductive well being coverage, and have beforehand written right here about what drew me to that work. Whether or not we’re speaking about abortion protection or the state funds, public coverage – particularly state-level public coverage – impacts folks’s lives in methods each informal and profound, and I’m fortunate to work with a information workforce who dig into how coverage shapes Washingtonians’ experiences on daily basis.
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