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About this Series
Explore the world of media with the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association’s “A Better Press for a Better World” webinar series. We invite middle and high school students to learn directly from professional journalists and others in the media industry during our weekly online program.
This episode: We talk with three reporters about covering specialized beats in the time of COVID-19 and take your questions. Our panelists will talk about their work, how they got started in media and what you can do to get your start in the news industry.
“A Better Press for a Better World” is the official motto of MIPA. It was first proclaimed during the organization’s first “High School Editors Conference,” a gathering of 100 editors and advisers in May 1922.
Featured Speakers
Steve Eder, The New York Times
Steve Eder is an investigative reporter for The Times, where he writes about the federal government under President Trump, as well as his personal businesses.
He previously covered the 2016 presidential campaign, writing in-depth articles about the candidates, from Hillary Clinton and Bernie Sanders to Jeb Bush and Donald Trump. He joined The Times in 2012 in the Sports department, where he examined doping in baseball, domestic violence in the N.F.L., and Qatar’s ambitions to become an international soccer power.
In 2018, Mr. Eder was part of a team that won a Pulitzer Prize in 2018 for public service for reporting on workplace sexual harassment issues.
Before joining The Times, Mr. Eder covered hedge funds at The Wall Street Journal, where he later became a national legal correspondent. Earlier, he reported on Wall Street banks for Reuters in the aftermath of the financial crisis. He began his career at The Toledo Blade, where he was part of a reporting team that was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service for uncovering an investment scandal in Ohio state government. He is a Michigan native and graduate of Michigan State University.
Eric Morath, The Wall Street Journal
Eric Morath reports on labor economics and policy from The Wall Street Journal’s Washington Bureau. Previously, Mr. Morath covered the Treasury and Commerce departments, the Postal Service and bankruptcy news. Prior to joining Dow Jones in 2008, he covered the U.S. auto industry in Detroit.
Morath graduated from Michigan State University, where he studied economics and journalism.
Melissa Sanchez, ProPublica Illinois
Melissa Sanchez is a reporter at ProPublica Illinois who is focused on immigrants and low-wage workers. Her work examining Chicago’s punitive ticketing and debt collection system helped prompt major city reforms, including the end of driver’s license suspensions for unpaid parking tickets and debt relief.
She previously reported on topics ranging from education to absentee ballot fraud for The Chicago Reporter, Catalyst Chicago, el Nuevo Herald in Miami and the Yakima (Washington) Herald-Republic. She lives in a 1926 brick bungalow on Chicago’s Northwest Side with her husband, their toddler son, and two cats.
Moderated by Jeremy Steele, Michigan Interscholastic Press Association
Jeremy Steele is executive director of the Michigan Interscholastic Press Association and a specialist in the School of Journalism at Michigan State University, where he teaches various reporting courses. Steele is an award-winning journalist who has also worked for one of Michigan’s largest independent public relations firms.