About
Jackie Hai is a recent graduate of the University of Massachusetts Amherst with degrees in journalism and philosophy. She lives near Boston and runs a company that does web development for community media. www.jackiehai.com
Darren Lone Fight is a graduate student in American Studies. He lives in Easthampton, Mass., and teaches writing at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. Lone Fight is from North Dakota, where he was a reporter at the Pulitzer Prize-winning Grand Forks Herald daily newspaper. darrenlonefight@gmail.com
Natalia Munoz was a staff reporter for the daily newspaper in Springfield, Mass., before returning to her native Puerto Rico, where she was a reporter for eight years for English- and Spanish-language newspapers. That was followed by three years as a stringer for the Associated Press in Barcelona, Spain, before she returned to Massachusetts in 2004 to re-join the staff of the Springfield Republican daily newspaper. She lives in Northampton. www.nataliamunoz.com
Ilene Roizman is a self-employed writer and editor in Amherst. From the late 1980s until 2004, she worked as a writer in New York. She was a staff editor and writer at the East Hampton Star, a locally owned, award-winning weekly newspaper that has been published continuously for more than 100 years. Among other publications, she contributed to the award-winning Southampton Press weekly newspaper. ileneroizman@comcast.net
Chris Russell lives in Amherst. His newswriting has appeared in the Hampshire Gazette, the daily newspaper in Northampton. crussell1973@gmail.com
Clara Rose Thornton writes a weekly column for the Rutland Herald, a Pulitzer Prize-winning daily newspaper. She lives in Bellows Falls, Vt. Thornton’s writing on the arts and social issues has appeared in national magazines and newspapers. A portfolio, and information on the writing, editing and workshop services she offers, are at www.clararosethornton.com.
Eesha Williams won the Vermont Press Association's Mavis Doyle Award for best investigative journalism published in any of the state's daily and weekly newspapers. Williams covered the Pioneer Valley as a staff reporter for Northeast Public Radio. To read reviews of Williams's book, "Grassroots Journalism" please click here. Reviews of his book "Good News: Local Journalism That Made a Difference" are here. Info on his wife's farm is here.
UPCOMING EVENT
Please see www.valleypost.org/node/283
ABOUT COMMENTS AND SUBSCRIPTIONS
Please call or e-mail us with your story ideas. Reader comments are published by the Valley Post; strong preference is given to comments that are signed with the author's real name and town. If you're willing to post your e-mail address and/or phone number with your comment, that's even better. E-mail alerts are sent out at 1 p.m. on days when a new article has been posted.
T-SHIRTS AND BUMPERSTICKERS
Valley Post t-shirts are $12 including shipping and handling; bumperstickers are $5. Please click the "donate" button at the top right corner of this page, then send an e-mail from the "contact" page with your address and, for shirts, size. (Please click shirt photo to make it bigger.) Your shirt and sticker will look the same as the ones in the photos but will say "ValleyPost.org Award-winning news from the Pioneer Valley, Brattleboro, and Keene."
VOLUNTEER OR BE AN INTERN
The Valley Post is accepting applications for internships. We are also seeking volunteers for two tasks: putting up fliers in the cities and towns that we cover, and converting articles to audio files.
VALLEY POST RADIO
Local radio stations air audio versions of Valley Post news articles. Valley Post Radio can also be heard on this site, and you can sign up for a free e-mail subscription ("podcast") to Valley Post Radio by clicking the "get podcast" button on any Valley Post page that has audio content. Valley Post Radio is produced sporadically, as funding and volunteer labor allow. Eventually, it will be a weekly, half-hour show. To hear past episodes, please do a site search for "Valley Post Radio."
ABOUT DONATIONS
Donations are tax deductible when they are made by check. Please make your check out to "Media Education Foundation," write "Valley Post" on the memo line, and mail it to: Valley Post, 111 Dutton Farm Rd., Brattleboro, VT 05301. Thank you.
VALLEYPOST.ORG
The Valley Post web site is hosted by Gaia Host Collective, a worker-owned cooperative with worker-owners in Greenfield, Mass.; Rockingham, Vermont; and Concord, New Hampshire.
VALLEY POST-SPONSORED PUBLIC EVENTS
In August 2009, the Valley Post sponsored a public event in Dummerston, Vermont that included a speech by Deb Katz, director of the Citizens Awareness Network, and a concert by folk singer Charlie King. About 50 people were at the event. In October 2009, the Post sponsored a public event in Northampton, speeches by University of Massachusetts Communications professor Sut Jhally and Alexandra Russell of www.FreePress.net, followed by questions and answers from the audience. A recording of the October event aired on Valley Free Radio www.ValleyFreeRadio.org and can be heard at:
www.peacejournal.org/activeingredients/ActiveIngredientsValleyPostCommun...
DEMOCRATIC STRUCTURE
Anyone who donates $25 per year or volunteers three hours per year will have the right to run for, and vote for, the Valley Post's board of directors. For more information, please contact Williams via the "Contact" page.
The following local newspapers are owned by out-of-state corporations: Hampshire Gazette, Amherst Bulletin, Brattleboro Reformer, Springfield Republican, Greenfield Recorder, and Valley Advocate. The corporations that own these newspapers are run undemocratically.
AUDIO ARCHIVES