At my last journalism job in Spokane, a political consultant told me he advises all his candidates to avoid campaigning in college neighborhoods. The kids aren’t going to vote anyway, he said, so why waste time?
The comment bothered me. He’s right that young people tend to vote in lower numbers than other age groups, but that doesn’t mean their opinions don’t matter. When young people feel that their concerns are being ignored by politicians — and some news organizations, frankly — I worry it can create a self-perpetuating cycle of disengagement. It doesn’t have to be that way.
As the newest reporter at Cascade PBS, I’ll be covering political power dynamics and policy in Washington state with an emphasis on the issues facing people 18 to 35. It’s a beat we’re calling “Generation Next.” Since starting the job in October, I’ve written about young peoples’ economic concerns, youth voter turnout, a new wave of young local politicians and new regulations aimed at protecting renters.
My new job is a bit complicated. It’s part of a new grant-funded partnership between Cascade PBS and KNKX, a local NPR station. I work with editors from both newsrooms and split my time between the two Seattle offices. Almost everything I produce gets published in both outlets. That means you can read my work on CascadePBS.org and KNKX.org and listen to audio versions of my stories on 88.5 FM.
I grew up in Seattle and got my start in journalism as a reporter for Roosevelt High School’s student newspaper. My first story was an investigation into why a zipline at Cowen Park was replaced with a new model that was slower and more boring. (A parks spokesperson told me it had to do with safety concerns.)
I liked talking to people and asking questions. So in college I decided to major in journalism. I attended Western Washington University and worked as editor-in-chief of the school paper, The Front. Shortly after the pandemic turned college upside down, I started freelance reporting for Cascade PBS, then called Crosscut.
After graduating I moved to Spokane and spent two years working as a reporter at the Inlander, an alternative weekly. I covered housing, homelessness, transportation, public safety and other city issues.
My new job at Cascade PBS and KNKX is part of a new experiment called the Murrow News Fellowship, an initiative hosted by Washington State University that aims to help revitalize local journalism at a time when newsrooms are strapped for resources. I’m part of a cohort of 16 early-career journalists who will spend the next two years working with newsrooms across the state.
Our salaries are funded by the Washington State Legislature and, by extension, you, the taxpayer. That means everything we write is paywall-free and available for anyone to republish. The idea of state-funded journalism understandably makes some people nervous. But the editors at Cascade PBS and KNKX still have complete editorial independence, and I haven’t had any lawmakers try to tell me what to write yet. (If they do, I’ll make a stink about it.)
I’m still trying to figure out exactly what it means to cover politics with an emphasis on young people. It’s a unique beat. Traditional news coverage of young generations can sometimes feel out of touch and — for lack of a better word — cringe. I don’t want to write about avocado toast and TikTok trends.
I want to focus on policy debates that actually matter to young people. Issues like housing, transportation and climate change impact everyone, but they feel especially salient for younger generations trying to establish themselves and figure out if they have a future in Washington. So many of my peers feel like they’ll never be able to afford a home here. I think every elected official needs to be asked — repeatedly and vigorously — what specifically they’re planning to do about it.
I’m 25 (early Gen-Z?). I have a few ideas about what matters to people my age, but I don’t pretend to speak on behalf of my generation. I’m looking for help. If you’re a young adult, I’d love to hear what matters to you. What do you see as the biggest challenges facing young people in Washington? What questions should elected leaders be asked? What do you wish the news would cover?
Send me an email at nsanford@knkx.org.
Topics: Local Politics, voting, youth