The Utah Investigative Journalism Project is hosting a free webinar about how to pitch stories to journalists.

The event will be on Wednesday, Oct. 22, at 6-7 p.m.

Come get your questions answered about what makes a good story pitch and what you can expect from the reporting process from a panel of local journalists.

Please RSVP for the webinar here and we will send you a Zoom invite closer to the day of.

Our panelists work in a variety of mediums and cover several different beats. Learn more about them below.

Meet the panelists

Taylor Stevens is an investigative reporter at FOX 13 News through the E.W. Scripps Company’s Journalism Journey Initiative, which redeploys the skills of experienced print journalists into broadcast newsrooms. She previously spent two years working as a freelance reporter with The Associated Press’ Global Investigations Team on the “Lethal Restraint” project, a national investigation into deaths that occur after police use deadly force that wasn’t meant to kill. Taylor also worked for nearly five years as a senior politics reporter at The Salt Lake Tribune and holds a master’s degree in investigative journalism from Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School of Journalism. You can see Taylor’s recent reporting here.

Tim Vandenack covers immigration, the Latino community and happenings in Northern Utah and Weber County, where he lives, for KSL.com. He worked for several years for the Standard-Examiner in Ogden before that, covering everything from education and local government to development and property taxes. He’s from Nebraska and has also lived and reported in Mexico, the U.S.-Mexico border and Chile. Read Tim’s recent articles here.

Palak Jayswal is an award-winning journalist who covers culture and music at The Salt Lake Tribune. She graduated from the University of Utah and has lived in Utah nearly her entire life. Her work spans across areas of coverage in the culture world, from writing about local communities to reviewing concerts. Palak loves writing about how culture — and the people who create it —  impact and shape life in Utah. She aspires to one day write for Rolling Stone magazine. Read Palak’s recent stories here.

Elaine Clark became news director for KUER, NPR Utah in 2020 following a short turn as managing editor. Before that, she spent 15 years as a producer for the station’s flagship interview program RadioWest. She has a BA in folklore and Germanic studies from Indiana University and earned a master’s degree in Middle East studies from the University of Utah. The latter included a year of academic research and work for an education NGO in the West Bank. Elaine wanders the desert and mountains of the West with her husband, dreams about her former days as a rugby fullback and, as a self-confessed history nerd, reads 19th century newspapers and census records for sport. Check out her recent work here.

Francisco Vazquez is an anchor and executive producer for Univision 32 Utah, where he has worked since 2016. His previous roles included freelancer, cameraman and sportscaster. He was born in Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico, and grew up partially in Mexicali, Baja California, which is the city he considers home after Salt Lake. Francisco attended Granite High School and Salt Lake Community College before graduating from the University of Utah with a BA in communications with emphasis in journalism. He is happily married to his wife, Jessica, and has a 3-year-old son and a 9-month old daughter. Watch some of Francisco’s recent reporting here.

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