Will Campbell: Columbian staffers discuss our work across U.S.
May 2-From coast to coast, staffers of The Columbian are visiting other communities to share their experiences in modern journalism, to learn about what other independent newsrooms are doing to keep local media strong and to talk about what our newsroom has accomplished.
We are getting countrywide accolades for our publication considering our size. Most recently, our photographer Amanda Cowan won a major second-place award. We're not doing our jobs for the awards, but the attention means that more groups, associations, societies and conference hosts have asked us to visit and share. Here are a few examples of our staffers visiting other communities to spread the word about The Columbian.
Starting just about as far west as we are here in Vancouver, our photographer Taylor Balkom will be discussing sports photography on Wednesday at the Sports Bra bar in Portland. It's also open to the public.
Moving east from there, in Chicago, I will be attending a conference in August about local media called Local News Fest. I'll be a panel speaker talking about The Columbian and our Community Funded Journalism program, which allows tax-deductible donations to fund additional reporters in our newsroom.
North of Chicago, in Milwaukee, our publisher, Ben Campbell, next week will attend a conference of independent newspaper publishers around the country. Ben (and myself attending remotely; I'll tell you why at the end of this column) will be sharing our methods of keeping locally owned media strong and learning about how others are doing. Often, we come back with new ideas on how to expand. One example is that we learned other newspapers were hosting a high school sports awards event, and we decided to do that here. Visit events.columbian.com/columbian-hosted to see the listing for our third annual iteration.
In Washington, D.C., our reporter Sarah Wolf participated on a panel this past week about local business reporting at the 2026 Local Business Journalism Fellowship. I haven't had the chance to talk to Sarah about it yet, but I know she has learned from economists, business owners and other experts, including big-name business reporters for national outlets.
And finally, in Maine, our photo editor, Amanda Cowan, in June will be a part of a workshop from prestigious photographers and editors called Female Perspectives on Visual Storytelling. Like the title reads, it's geared toward women in photography. Amanda's skill-sharpening helps The Columbian's stories shine.
These are a handful of examples just within these spring and summer months that show how The Columbian staff members are bringing our work to a national stage and bringing ideas, methods and stories back here.
On another note, I will be on paternity leave starting next week, which is why I won't be at the conference in Wisconsin in person. I won't be writing anything while on leave, but I'll resume this column when I return at least a few months from now.
Oh, and it's a boy.
Unlock all stories. Stay informed.
Starting at just $1.99/week
Become a subscriber and get unlimited access to every story, plus our ePaper and app for seamless reading anywhere. Stay informed, support local journalism, and stay connected to your community.
Subscribe today
Copyright 2026 Tribune Content Agency. All Rights Reserved.
This story was originally published May 2, 2026 at 7:12 AM.