For the past four years, Trey Kay has gathered a group of West Virginians — four from the political right and four from the left — for the “Us & Them Dinner Party.” The discussion at this year’s gathering focused on former President Trump’s indictments, abortion laws, diminishing public trust and more.
In a new podcast episode of Us & Them, host Trey Kay invites his dinner party guests to gather once again for some fresh conversation across the divide.
Kay’s friends, old and new, all share a favorite dish at the potluck meal while offering honest and sometimes raw accounts of how the social and political issues of the day affect them. Kay guides the conversation through a range of potential minefields – including the indictments of former President Trump, trust in elections, allegations of government corruption and our nation’s changing abortion laws.
The show highlights heartfelt disagreements while acknowledging moments of common ground.
This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the West Virginia Humanities Council, the Daywood Foundation and the CRC Foundation.
Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and beyond.
For the past four years, Trey Kay has hosted an Us & Them Dinner Party. The first few gatherings were virtual due to COVID, but for the past two years, the group has met face-to-face to discuss some of the tough issues of our time. This year’s party included Terri Triplett DeLauder (on the upper right gesturing with her hands), Marsha Albert, Jay Gould, Elliot G. Hicks, Kay, David Pendrake, Joe Solomon, Karen Cross and Frank Annie.
Credit: Kyle VassThe Us & Them Dinner Party group this year included two city council members, Joe Solomon (green baseball cap) and Frank Annie (in the plaid shirt on the right), who represent different political parties but campaigned together saying they would work together to “get things done.”
Credit: Kyle VassUs & Them host Trey Kay pointed out some of the dessert options on the table for the guests at his dinner party.
We used to trust the news, but now some polls and surveys show that our confidence has eroded. Recently, the Us & Them team partnered with West Virginia University’s Reed College of Media for a conversation on diminished trust in journalism. Host Trey Kay spoke with Raney Aronson-Rath, editor-in-chief and executive producer of PBS Frontline, and June Cross, director of the documentary journalism program at the Columbia Journalism School.
Trust is in short supply in America as social and political divides continue to erode our faith in our democratic republic. National surveys and polls show that people distrust each other as well as our government and institutions.
Us & Them Host Trey Kay recently partnered with West Virginia University’s Reed College of Media for a conversation focusing on diminished trust in journalism and the news media. He spoke with special guests Raney Aronson-Rath, editor-in-chief and executive producer of PBS Frontline, and June Cross, director of the documentary journalism program at the Columbia Journalism School.
The panelists agreed that the rise of social media and the hollowing out of local news have been part of the problem. The event included thought-provoking audience questions and comments about who and what they trust. This episode of Us & Them draws from that live event as we figure out where to turn for reliable information.
This episode of Us & Them is presented with support from the West Virginia Humanities Council, and the CRC Foundation.
Subscribe to Us & Them on Apple Podcasts, NPR One, RadioPublic, Spotify, Stitcher and beyond.
Professor June Cross (left) of the Columbia Journalism School and Raney Aronson-Rath (center) editor-in-chief and executive producer of PBS Frontline, speak with Us & Them Host Trey Kay at West Virginia University.
Credit: Julie BlackwoodRaney Aronson-Rath is editor-in-chief and executive producer of Frontline, PBS’s flagship investigative journalism series. She is a leading voice on the future of journalism. Under her leadership, Frontline has won every major award in broadcast journalism.
Courtesy PhotoJune Cross is Columbia University’s Fred W. Friendly, professor of media and society, and director of the Documentary Journalism Program. Her work has been awarded with the highest honors in broadcast journalism, and her career has highlighted stories of the dispossessed and the intersection of race, politics, and public health. She joined the Columbia Journalism School in 2001, and she is now a tenured faculty member.
Courtesy Photo“We’ve heard from many people who say that the erosion in public trust in America is an existential threat to our democratic republic. We believe this is the issue of our times.” — Trey Kay, Us & Them host
Credit: Julie BlackwoodAn audience of students, faculty and community members from throughout West Virginia came to West Virginia University’s Reynolds Hall to listen to a discussion about diminished trust in the news media and journalism.
Credit: Julie BlackwoodI’m 18 and journalism has been so skewed for my whole life. My political consciousness kind of was there during the Trump presidency, and we know that since then the media has been so biased… Have you noticed any trends of apathy or ignorance among teenagers in my generation towards politics and current events? Because we just don’t care what the media has to say, because it’s been so bad.” — West Virginia University student
Credit: Julie Blackwood“I want to talk to you about the role and impact of technology and journalism. Should journalists be rushing towards new technologies? And what about also the impact of AI [Artificial Intelligence]? Raney, you said that you know journalists are trained to be able to distinguish reality from fake. What if we are soon or if not already in that time where we genuinely cannot tell what is true and what is not?” — Prof. Robert Quick, director of Marshall University’s W. Page Pitt School of Journalism & Mass Communications
Credit: Julie Blackwood“My trust in West Virginia media was diminished after the West Virginia Broadcasters Association and West Virginia media, including Public Broadcasting, changed the debate rules to exclude third party candidates. How do we restore our faith that we can return to a structure where outside voices and not just the two corporate parties have a seat at the table?” — Joel Brown, West Virginia University staff
Credit: Julie Blackwood“There is something to be said that we’ve splintered and that we’re getting news from TikTok instead of just the CBS Nightly News. That it’s not just Walter Cronkite, it’s a variety of voices that are doing this online. But at the same time, you both also mentioned that, that part of this splintering and this distrust resulted as a [democratizing of] the media ecosystem since more and more people have entered. And so I’m wondering, is part of restoring faith in the media, actually restoring some sense of gatekeepers?” — Amy Eddings, reporter from Ideastream Public Media in Cleveland, OH
Credit: Julie Blackwood“When do the individuals that are beholden to media, have a love for media and actually care about the reputation of media, begin to step in and say, ‘For the integrity of my profession, I need to show some authenticity and fix how we as a profession are seen, not the problems of the world per se, but how we conduct ourselves in this profession?’” — Meshea Poore, vice president for West Virginia University’s Division of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion
This week, we’re joined by Lilly Knoepp, regional reporter at Blue Ridge Public Radio in Western North Carolina. Boom and bust cycles for coal, timber and textiles are nothing new to Appalachia. Today, we’re seeing another industry struggle – local journalism. Some newspapers have scaled back or disappeared entirely, but journalism isn’t dying. Journalists are adapting and some are reinventing what they do.
This week, we’re joined by Lilly Knoepp, regional reporter at Blue Ridge Public Radio in Western North Carolina.
Boom and bust cycles for coal, timber and textiles are nothing new to Appalachia. Today, we’re seeing another industry struggle – local journalism.
Some newspapers have scaled back or disappeared entirely, but journalism isn’t dying. Journalists are adapting and some are reinventing what they do.
You’ll hear these stories and more this week, Inside Appalachia.
In This Episode:
Preserving The Cherokee Language
Newspapers Unionize And The Roanoke Rambler Rises
New News Startups In Appalachia
Preserving The Cherokee Language
Local journalists tell local stories that big news media ignore, like the struggle of places like the Kituwah Academy to uphold its mission.
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The Kituwah Academy is a Cherokee immersion school in Western North Carolina. During the COVID pandemic, they tried to continue teaching students the language without being in the classroom with them.
Knoepp spoke with teachers at the school, including Irene Smoker-Jackson whose mother was one of the last people in the Cherokee Snowbird community who only spoke Cherokee.
Henri Gendreau, founder of the Roanoke Rambler, interviews Angelo Colavita, founder and owner of War on Books in Roanoke.
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Local Media Unionizes And The Rise Of The Roanoke Rambler
Appalachia is sometimes thought of as a news desert but Western North Carolina has a lot of newspapers. There’s lots of coverage, but still gaps and a need to get more stories from the western counties to the rest of North Carolina.
Meanwhile, like in other parts of the country, some workers at media companies in North Carolina and Virginia have unionized. It has also led to new media outlets like The Roanoke Rambler, started by a former Roanoke Times reporter.
Mason Adams spoke with Alicia Petska of the Timesland Guild, a union formed at the Roanoke Times in Virginia.
New News Startups In Appalachia
The Asheville Blade and Scalawag are recent additions to the regional media community.
The Asheville Blade is a leftist local news co-op, that takes an adversarial stance toward covering local government, including the police. The startup has been at the center of conversations about journalist’s rights and made national news after two Asheville Blade journalists were arrested on Christmas Day in 2021.
Scalawag is an independent media organization based out in the south whose work often includes Appalachia interests. Their approach to journalism is to disrupt the narratives of the South.
Mason Adams spoke with Blade founder, David Forbes.
Lilly Knoepp talked with Scalawag publisher, Cierra Hinton.
Blue Ride Public Radio’s Lilly Knoepp joined host, Mason Adams, as a guest for this episode.
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Our theme music is by Matt Jackfert. Other music this week was provided by Jesse Milnes, Appalachian Road Show, Paul Loomis and Chris Knight.
Bill Lynch is our producer. Zander Aloi is our associate producer. Our executive producer is Eric Douglas. Kelley Libby is our editor. Our audio mixer is Patrick Stephens. Our co-host this week is Lilly Knoepp from Blue Ridge Public Radio.
You can send us an email: InsideAppalachia@wvpublic.org.
West Virginia recently became the 17th state in the nation to pass a law protecting student journalists. It is known as the Student Journalist Press Freedom Protection Act. News Director Eric Douglas, a Marshall Journalism School alumnus, spoke with Chuck Bailey, the faculty adviser to WMUL and Makaylah Wheeler, the student news director, to discuss how it will affect their reporting.
News Director Eric Douglas, a Marshall Journalism School alumnus, spoke with Chuck Bailey, the faculty adviser to WMUL and Makaylah Wheeler, the student news director, to discuss how it will affect their reporting.
This interview has been lightly edited for clarity.
Douglas: Was this something that, in the back of your mind you were concerned about? Did it actually affect your day-to-day decisions about broadcasting?
Bailey: The answer on the broad scope is no. Administrations change and administration’s understanding of journalism change widely based on their interactions and their perceived pressures they get from boards of governors to community, if something is done that they do not like. But routinely, I think the administration’s at most higher ed institutions realize they deal with journalists all the time, they can’t control the message.
Douglas: Tell me about some of the issues that you’ve covered that might have come to the attention of the administration.
Wheeler: One of my reporters covered when we had protests on campus over the potential abortion ban. At the time, we had some pretty heated protests happening, and that could have very easily been a point in time where the administration had stepped in. But it wasn’t. Our reporters were able to go out and they were able to cover these protests and interview whoever they wanted with no pushback. That happens pretty much anytime. I wouldn’t say that we have a whole lot of issues on campus where it’s something that potentially the administration feels like they would need to step in because they’re worried about bad press.
Even in times that we have had things that may be a little bit iffy. Even covering, like the campus politics, people that are running our debates for student government, those can get pretty intense. Those are very easily points in times where the administration could step in, and they could say something about it. But they don’t. They kind of respect the work that we’re doing, and they trust that we’re going to be unbiased in what we’re releasing and just reporting on what’s happening.
Douglas: That’s actually really gratifying to hear that the administration has mostly taken a hands-off attitude, which is what you want to hear with student journalists. I mean, that’s the point of the professional advisers in the first place.
Bailey: I was just thinking there was one instance where we did truly cooperate with the administration, one of those clickbait stories, the most unsafe campus, that type thing. And one got out with Marshall being just really wretched. There were no sources or anything to it, it was just a claim. I asked Makaylah [Wheeler] to contact the university administration to get some feedback. And I’ll let her tell you about that, because we didn’t want to run something that absolutely had zero credibility.
Wheeler: A lot of the time, I do get redirected to their communications department. Depending on where I contact on campus, I don’t always get the go ahead to talk to the higher ups. Sometimes I do just because I’m a little bit pushy. We talked to the communications department, and they had actually already done their research on this trying to cover just in case of the press. We do have to do our research in those circumstances. But obviously, as a news director, I’m not going to run something that I’m not 100 percent positive.
That’s one thing we’re lucky about here is not only do they trust that we’re going to be doing that. But sometimes they do kind of leak into the territory of either they trust us enough that they think that they can be comfortable enough to tell us a little more than they usually would.
Or that it becomes kind of businessy and you have to worry about that inter-department relationship if they’re going to work with you in the future. That was good to have that line of communication that they were at least willing to respond and that circumstance.
Makaylah Wheeler and Chuck Bailey. Courtesy
Douglas: West Virginia is actually one of the first 17 in the country to pass this law. But it doesn’t sound like it at least is overwhelmingly needed. It’s good to have as a backup, but it’s not been a pressing issue.
Bailey: It’s good that it takes it off the plate because a lot of administrators think the adviser should have prior restraint, that you should go in and say don’t do this. If Makayla has a question and wants to ask me, I will give her my advice, but I’m not going to tell her to or not to do that.
I think this will have more impact on high school journalism teachers and I believe they need it. I think there will be instances in higher ed where somebody will need this protection, and it will probably be a new adviser more so than a veteran adviser.
On this West Virginia Morning, West Virginia recently became the 17th state in the nation to pass a law protecting student journalists. It is known as the Student Journalist Press Freedom Protection Act.
On this West Virginia Morning, West Virginia recently became the 17th state in the nation to pass a law protecting student journalists. It is known as the Student Journalist Press Freedom Protection Act.
News Director Eric Douglas, a Marshall J-school alumnus, spoke with Chuck Bailey, the faculty advisor to WMUL and Makaylah Wheeler, the student news director, to discuss how it will affect their reporting.
West Virginia Morning is a production of West Virginia Public Broadcasting which is solely responsible for its content.
Support for our news bureaus comes from West Virginia University, Concord University, and Shepherd University.
Assistant News Director Caroline MacGregor produced this show.
Listen to West Virginia Morning weekdays at 7:43 a.m. on WVPB Radio or subscribe to the podcast and never miss an episode. #WVMorning
A major part of the reporting process for many journalists is being on the ground and on the scene when news is happening.
Whether going out in the field to report a feature (and then returning to the office to write and produce the story) or responding to breaking news and having to file stories on the road, reporters are accustomed to working remotely. Plus, nothing beats a first-hand account.
But, given the ongoing coronavirus pandemic — and Gov. Jim Justice’s statewide stay-at-home order — the West Virginia Public Broadcasting newsroom and other staff are largely working remotely in ways we could not have imagined.
Sure, we realize that news organizations have been deemed essential in the governor’s executive order. But, collectively, we’re trying to slow the spread of COVID-19 by limiting the work we are doing outside of our own homes.
The current work-from-home reality presents its own set of challenges. But there are also some perks, too. Each one of us at West Virginia Public Broadcasting is approaching it differently. With that in mind, we thought we could share what reporting the news (and making sure it goes on the air and online) looks like in these times.
The Show Must Go On
Credit Eddie Isom / WVPB
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WVPB
Control board operator/production assistant Zander Aloi wiping down the production studio before getting to work.
While the reporting staff can largely work from home, our hosts and production staff don’t always have that luxury. To help keep the news on the air, our engineering team is still checking on transmitters and other equipment in the field. Hosts still have to come to work and are taking extra precautions to keep our studios safe.
Our video production team is also still going out into the field, observing social distancing, of course. Largely, they are shooting outside, updating the IDs you see on our PBS stations.
Credit WVPB
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WVPB
Videographer John Hale flies a drone.
Dave Mistich, Senior Reporter (Morgantown)
For most of my time at West Virginia Public Broadcasting, I’ve had a steady mix of working from the office and out in the field. As a person who thrives (and, believe it or not, enjoys) the rush of breaking news, it’s kind of a happy medium. A story breaks, I report what I can from my desk, get out to the scene, report some more (file if I can) and then return to the office.
Over the years, I feel like I’ve filed stories from a lot of different places — the state Capitol, hotels, a city council meeting, the sites of industrial and environmental disasters, a Trump rally, my car, literally the middle of a street in Mingo County, a McDonald’s in Summersville or a coffee shop in Parkersburg. The most uninteresting place, of course, has been my home.
Sometimes news just happens when a person is at home and they have to take care of it. But reporting on this pandemic feels different.
Aside from the slight burden of not being on the scene and relying more heavily on the phone and email for sourcing, my days aren’t all that much different in practice. To be sure, things are certainly a bit more difficult (not getting a question in during a conference call, not getting a response to a call or an email and the occasional tech failure, etc.).
The upshot, though, is that I was authorized to bring home an additional monitor and some other equipment that makes my life easier. I’ve also created a system in which I can attend a virtual news conference, transcribe it in real time and record the audio for a story. (It’s all about efficiency, baby.)
I can also #alwaysbesnacking — and I can always find a reprieve from the news cycle with my Playstation 4. But my biggest concern falls outside of work: making sure that my girlfriend, who works as a nurse in the emergency department at Ruby Memorial, has everything she needs when she gets off work and is as safe as possible when she heads to the hospital. (Disinfecting wipes are like gold in my house.)
If this is the “new normal” for a while, I suppose I will enjoy this newfound introvertedness. Really, though, I’m just ready to hang out with my friends again and play some softball.
Kara Lofton, Appalachia Health News Coordinator (Charleston)
About two weeks before the coronavirus pandemic really took hold, I called interim news director Glynis Board and asked to use the rest of my leave to work part time for a couple of weeks. I had come back from maternity leave in January and had been working from home with my infant. I was really struggling with it, but my husband and I were waiting to put our baby in daycare because of the bad flu season, wanting her immune system to build up a bit. Ha. Remember the flu?
I went part-time for about two weeks. Now, I probably work 60 hours a week. I’m WVPB’s lead health reporter reporte in the middle of a pandemic, and I have mastered the art of breastfeeding while conducting an interview. Joke is on me.
It’s a juggling act around here. I have four large dogs who take protecting the yard from cats very seriously, and a 7-month-old baby who is attracted to anything cord-related like a magnet. My husband is an ER nursem and is finishing up a nurse practitioner degree this spring, so most of the time, I try to schedule interviews during naptime and pray the baby doesn’t decide to babble when it is my turn to ask a question during the governor’s virtual press conferences.
Most of my days are spent working in five-minute increments: edit a story, feed the baby, write a spot, walk the dogs. Working parents, I see you.
If you want a glimpse into my life tune into the biweekly coronavirus Facebook lives I’ve been hosting — you’ll see peeks of my husband and dogs ducking out of the background!
Caitlin Tan, Folkways and Southern Coalfields reporter (Charleston)
It’s been a strange few weeks at the Tan household. I’ve never worked from home for such a long stretch of time, and it’s been the best and the worst. The No. 1 highlight: My two dogs are so happy. We have been spending all of our time together. They patiently lay beside me as I type away, my lunch break has become an hour for us to take walks around the neighborhood, and treat time has become much more frequent — for them and me.
My boyfriend, Sam, lives with me and he’s been working from home, too. Surprisingly we are not sick of each other yet! We work in separate rooms and take turns making lunch and breakfast for each other, which is great — although he’s taken a strong liking to Spam, which is not great.
There are downsides with working from home. First, the way I work, primarily including gathering audio for my stories, has completely changed. Since I can’t go out and record people in person, I’ve been having sources record themselves on their phones, including everyday things like baking with their kids or feeding theor animals. It weirdly feels like I’m giving people homework.
And the other snag is that strange feeling that my life and work have collided, and it’s just one continuous loop in which weekends don’t really matter. I’ve been trying to do a lot of artwork and cardio to break up the monotony. It’s not lost on me just how fortunate I am to be healthy and still have a job, so that helps me check my privilege as well.
Brittany Patterson, Energy & Environment Reporter (Morgantown)
Much to the chagrin of my partner, I’ve totally taken over our kitchen table as my new home office. And the dog has taken it upon himself to find the squeakiest toy and loudly play with it EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. I have an interview or record something.
Daily walks in our neighborhood are really important, as is finding time to exercise. A lot of baking is happening, which means my snack game is strong. (These cookies broke the internet for a reason.) One thing I’m trying to do is check in with my colleagues and be transparent when I need to take a break. Trying to find balance is key right now. Another thing that keeps me going are the stories of hope and resilience shared with us here at WVPB.
Emily Allen, Statehouse & Southern West Virginia Reporter (Charleston)
If you listen closely, you can probably hear my cats begging for food in the background of my radio pieces.
When I moved to Charleston and picked out an apartment last year, “DIY recording studio” was not the first thing that crossed my mind after I saw the closet space.
Fast forward 10 months and here I am, sitting on a kitchen stool between two sweaters with my laptop balanced on a mobile shoe cart, which my cats usually end up knocking down mid-recording.
Times are dark and the things we’re covering aren’t easy. I miss my friends, and I’m scared for my family out West. I worry endlessly for my loved ones who are essential workers, who can’t prop up a stool in their closet and call it a workspace.
But I am so grateful to still have a job reporting on West Virginians making a difference in their communities.
Hearing real voices and meeting new people from all over the state is my favorite thing about working for WVPB. As the trees change colors and flowers bloom around Charleston, I long to load up the car with my radio gear and spend a day in the field, having face-to-face conversations and learning more about this gorgeous, welcoming state.
In the meantime, slow jogs along the Kanawha river and hikes in the state forest will do.
