Reporting interns Abbey McDonald (left) and Joey Cappelletti joined the Enterprise newsroom recently. (THE ENTERPRISE/Pat Caldwell)
VALE – Four journalists have joined the staff of the Malheur Enterprise for a summer of reporting and training.
This is the fifth year that the Enterprise has provided summer jobs for college interns.
“In a time when the news profession is under such pressure, the community is fortunate to draw these talented young journalists,” said Publisher Les Zaitz. “They deepen our ability to cover local news while they sharpen their skills.”
The crew includes two reporters and two photojournalists.
• JOEY CAPPELETTI:
Cappelletti, a native of Michigan, just graduated from the University of Oregon. He is one of the Charles Snowden interns from the university’s School of Journalism and Communication. Top journalism students are selected for internships around Oregon in a program named for a longtime editor at the Oregon Journal and Oregonian.
Cappelletti has reported for the student-run Daily Emerald and for the Eugene Weekly.
“As a hopeful investigative reporter, I’ve been determined for multiple years to work with the staff at the Enterprise that has won awards for investigative journalism,” he said.
“While I am coming to the Enterprise to improve my journalistic skills, I am ultimately there to serve the readers of Malheur County,” he said.
Cappeletti will be leading coverage of wildfires while reporting on Nyssa government and housing issues in Malheur County.
Multimedia specialist Austin Johnson will write stories and shoot photos as an intern for the Enterprise this summer. (THE ENTERPRISE/Pat Caldwell)
• AUSTIN JOHNSON:
Johnson is from Kanas City and comes to Vale with two degrees – a bachelor’s in economics from the University of Kansas and a bachelor’s in journalism this year from the UO. He is also a Snowden intern, focusing on multimedia work at the Enterprise.
“I may not be good at many things, great at even fewer, but telling stories is something I love and can do well,” Johnson said. “I still have an immense amount to learn about this industry, which is why I am so excited about working at the Malheur Enterprise this summer.”
He won a national journalism honor for his photographic coverage of the Portland protests during last summer.
“My journalistic interests revolve around civil unrest, justice/prison reform, poverty, economics and the formation of individual identity,” he said. “I also have a desire to learn more about investigative journalism and conflict zone reporting.”
He will develop reporting on the issues of poverty and the homeless in Malheur County.
Angelina Katsanis is ready to take photos and build graphics for the Enterprise as an intern this summer. (THE ENTERPRISE/Pat Caldwell).
• ANGELINA KATSANIS
Katsanis comes to Vale from the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill, where she will be a junior in the fall. She is studying journalism with a second major in studio art a minor in social justice. She was the photo and video editor for the Daily Tar Heel.
She is one of four interns across the U.S. supported for the summer by the International Society of Weekly Newspaper Editors. This is the third year the Enterprise has partnered with the society.
“I love all things creative that can tell stories and make change, which is what brought me to a path in photo and video journalism in the first place,” Katsanis said. “I’ve been behind the camera my entire life, even film cameras that bring me to the darkroom.”
She describes herself as “extremely extroverted.”
“Not only does the thought of meeting people in Vale and learning their stories excite me, but I’m also excited about all the people I’ll get to work with and learn more about,” she said. “I love how close we as journalists can become with our story subjects and the deep connections that are made between storyteller and subject.” She will be the lead photojournalist for the Enterprise on wildfires while developing coverage of farmworker housing and agriculture.
• ABBEY MCDONALD
McDonald graduated from the UO with degrees in journalism and anthropology, and also from the Clark Honors College.
She is from Oregon City and comes to Vale after reporting experience elsewhere in Oregon.
She has served internships with Portland’s Willamette Week and was a Snowden intern last year at the News-Review in Roseburg.
“A lot of my previous work has been in reporting on homelessness, income inequality and local and state legislature,” she said. “In my work, I try to approach every story with an intersectional lens and always ask who has the least amount of power in a given situation.”
“My long-term career goal is to be an investigative journalist,” she said. “I’m excited to work with the staff and other interns this summer to develop my reporting skills and learn more about what matters to Malheur County.”
She will develop reporting on child poverty in Malheur County and how local nonprofit organizations are adjusting to life post-pandemic.
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