Covering Spokane’s Stories

Hello! 

My name is Holly VanVoorhis, I’m originally from Spokane, WA, and this summer I’m working in the city as a writing intern for RANGE Media, a worker-owned newsroom covering the Inland Northwest. I am a rising Junior majoring in English at Whitman, so the opportunity to gain experience in a humanities field has provided a lot of insight into my options for post-grad work. 

As a writing intern, I’ve gotten to sit-in on editorial meetings and contribute to staff-wide pieces as well as my own articles. RANGE is a relatively small newsroom, so interning for them has given me a chance to work one-on-one with both reporters and their media and marketing coordinator. Because I have access to different roles, all of whom contribute to the news cycle, I’ve gained experience and understanding about the entire production process, and the opportunity to hone my skills as a writer. I love that I can contact my coworkers with relative ease, and that because of that, they can coach me through interview prep, brainstorm articles, and work together on social media projects. My first project was collaborating on a social media script and video with one of the RANGE reporters! 

My favorite project so far has been working on RANGE’s weekly newsletters. As an organization, RANGE prioritizes accessibility for readers, so we work each week to review upcoming council and board meetings and provide a debrief of significant resolutions and ordinances. When I first began this internship, I was intimidated by all the various (and lengthy) agendas that RANGE’s reporters comb through every week. Now, I’m much more comfortable sifting through these documents and their legal jargon, and enjoy the responsibility of highlighting important issues and decisions for public understanding. 

Aside from working on the newsletters, I am also gaining experience researching for news writing and exposure to county and city government functions. The most memorable afternoon I’ve spent in the RANGE office was probably when a colleague showed me how to send public records requests through the City of Spokane, a process I now use for my own writing. Moments like these grant me both a way to reference my existing research skills and cultivate my understanding of current affairs and how to write about them as they occur. 
During my time at RANGE, I’ve also been able to apply the analytical skills I learned in my courses at Whitman to write and edit news articles. At the moment, I’m working on a somewhat confidential article, but some of the other topics I’ve covered for RANGE include common misconceptions about fentanyl and LGBTQIA+ community events in the city of Spokane.