This article first appeared in the St. Louis Beacon, Feb. 17, 2009 - We’re pleased to introduce the Beacon’s two newest staff members – Kristen Hare and Elia Powers. If both names sound familiar, it’s because you’ve been reading their work here for months.
As a freelancer for the Beacon, Kristen has written articles on race, immigration and the economy. Kristen, a Mizzou grad, moved to St. Charles County after five years as a reporter for the St. Joseph News-Press. Her experiences include Peace Corps work in Guyana, where she found both new motivation to make the most of every minute and new perspective on the role race plays in society. Race will be among the topics she focuses on for the Beacon.
Elia has covered a variety of topics for the Beacon, including health care, politics and education. A graduate of Northwestern's Medill School of Journalism, he previously covered higher education for the website Inside Higher Ed. His assignments at the Beacon will include a focus on people under 35.
These hires are possible in part because of a grant for local reporting from the John S. and James L. Knight Foundation. Recently, the Beacon also announced the hiring of political reporter Jo Mannies, also under the grant. At a time when economic problems are forcing many news organizations to cut staff, we are especially grateful to Beacon supporters - the Knight Foundation and others - who enable us to make an even greater commitment to providing news that matters for people in our region.
More than 80 people applied for these jobs – a truly impressive field of candidates. Elia and Kristen stood out for their quality work and innovative ideas about how to improve the Beacon's coverage.