Our first Washington correspondent will join us this week. He’s Barry Piatt, originally from Adel, Van Meter, and parts nearby. He got an early start as a cub reporter in Iowa and became a press secretary for midwest U.S. Senators. Barry will be our D.C. tour guide. He will add solid reporting to the machinations of the Iowa delegation and beyond. When not in his Capitol Hill Senate office, Barry would take advantage of all kinds of obscure lectures by the Smithsonian. He has seen politics and government up close for more than 50 years from both sides of the reporter’s notebook. Political messaging has been his expertise. He now teaches Communications at a major university in D.C. Barry has walked the halls and tunnels of the Capitol grounds and even served as Master of Ceremonies for the National Christmas Tree Lighting. He is a member of the Adel-DeSoto-Minburn Alumni Association and is from the 1971 graduating class.
We have a couple of other Washington correspondents in the wings. Stay tuned.
Save the date: October 28 for our first Office Lounge gathering. Readers who are paid subscribers to any one of the members of the Iowa Writers’ Collaborative will be invited to participate in an hour or so of what we call our ‘newsroom’ chats. It’s a premium we offer as a small token of our appreciation for your support. Meet the columnists you see listed below.
Speaking of support, I’m on an Iowa road trip, and the stark reality of what it means to live in a ‘news desert’ is sinking in. More on this later, but please understand: we must support local journalism. I do not have a magic wand to change the market forces that brought us to this point, but I can type these words to you: become a paid subscriber to as many of these columnists as you can afford. And your local newspaper.
Your Iowa Writers’ Collaborative Roundup gatherer, Julie Gammack
These columnists are on FIRE this week!