Two journalists join Free Press

Kankelberg, Davis to cover West Plains

 

Last updated 6/24/2021 at 2:04pm

CHENEY — Two new journalists have joined the Cheney Free Press newsroom.

Riley Kankelberg, 20, of Camas, and Scott Davis, 23, a Spokane native, began covering news in the Cheney, Medical Lake and Airway Heights areas last week.

“It’s exciting to have two new journalists dedicated to covering local news,” Publisher Roger Harnack said. “We’re looking forward to seeing them blend their journalism education with digital and social media skills.

“I look forward to engaging with local people … and bettering myself as a writer,” Davis said.

“I’m really excited to get to know the community, and really dig into community journalism,” Kankelberg said.

Journalism intern

Kankelberg, a reporting intern wrapping up her journalism degree from Western Washington University, said her interest in journalism began at her Camas High School newspaper.

It was then that Kankelberg fell in love with reporting, later deciding to major in news/editorial journalism, she said. She got her first taste of community journalism on the college paper, The Western Front, while working with the city news team.

“Of all the beats I could have worked on, city news was the most rewarding,” Kankelberg said. “We were a college paper, but we were a resource for everyone in Bellingham.”

Kankelberg spent two more quarters on The Front, first as a section editor and then as a copy editor.

She also wrote and copy edited for Western’s Klipsun magazine.

Kankelberg applied for an International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors. When it came to her choice of newspapers, she put Cheney Free Press at the top.

“I’ve lived in Washington my whole life, but I’ve stayed on the west coast,” she said. “I wanted to explore the other side of the state I love and get to know the communities that live there.”

Managing Editor John McCallum joined Harnack in reviewing the applicants.

“Kankelberg stood out,” Harnack said, noting she was one of only a handful of aspiring journalists whose documentation talked about the importance of local news coverage.

Her first day was June 14.

Spokane native

Two days later, Davis joined the Free Press news team.

A 2016 graduate of Mead High School and a 2020 graduate of Gonzaga University, he has written for a number of publications, including ARMY Magazine, Warhistoryonline.com and Nostalgia magazine.

Over a two-year period, Davis ran the oral history project, “Faces of Valor,” aimed at interviewing America’s last World War II and Korean War veterans, he said.

In that period, he collected and preserved more than 200 individual accounts from local servicemen and women ranging from D-Day survivors to veterans of Iwo Jima.

His project is on exhibit through September at the Northwest Museum of Arts and Culture in Spokane.

Davis said his passion for storytelling provides him an excellent base for honing journalism skills.

“I think it’ll mesh well. I enjoy the story aspect of it,” Davis said. “I think a lot of our communication is storytelling.”

McCallum said Davis would be taking the Cheney beat — which includes the city and the 99004 zip code — while Kankelberg will handle Medical Lake and Airway Heights.

“I will continue covering Eastern Washington University and writing for our publication, the Spokane Valley News Herald,” he added.

 

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