Media Moves

THE TIMES-NEWS, Twin Falls

Following 4 1/2 years as an editor at USA TODAY, where he led a national team of more than 20 editors and reporters, Steve Kiggins became the Times-News newsroom’s top editor on Nov. 14. He has won national, regional and state reporting awards over three decades in journalism, working mostly in Wyoming and Utah.

Jesse Gwin joined the Times-News on Oct. 31 as a sports reporter, covering primarily high school sports in the Magic Valley.

BOISE STATE PUBLIC RADIO

This past year Julie Luchetta joined Boise State Public Radio as a reporter, as part of the Report for America program, with a focus on Canyon County and Latino affairs. She arrived from Arizona, where she worked at the Arizona Republic and Arizona Public Media. 

Newsroom intern Richard Rodriguez, a scholarship recipient from Voces Internship Idaho, has extended his tenure through his Spring semester at the University of Idaho. Troy Oppie, full-time local host of All Things Considered, remains with the station, but will discontinue his music program Jazz Conversations. 

Katie Kloppenberg, Digital Content Coordinator, has completed her master’s degree in digital audience strategy at Arizona State University. Madelyn Beck, Idaho reporter for the Mountain West News Bureau, has moved to Wyoming to work at WyoFile.

IDAHO CAPITAL SUN

Agustin Martinez joins the Idaho Capital Sun as a legislative intern through a partnership through the Voces Internship of Idaho program. Originally from Buenos Aires, Argentina, he grew up in Utah and received his bachelor’s degree from Boise State University.

KTVB-TV, Boise

Karson Schenk was promoted from the production department to join the news team as Wake Up Idaho’s editor.

IDAHO PRESS, Nampa/Boise

Boise Bureau Chief and state capitol reporter Betsy Russell retired Jan. 1. Former Idaho Press City Editor Laura Guido was promoted to Boise Bureau Chief and assistant managing editor, and is now covering the Idaho Legislature for the Idaho Press and Adams Publishing and writing the Eye on Boise blog.

PUBLIC RELATIONS

Julie Chigbrow has been promoted to Account Director at Red Sky PR. She plays a vital role at the agency, leading several key accounts and communication initiatives in addition to business development and other operational responsibilities. Chigbrow brings more than a decade of public relations and marketing experience in both the agency and corporate landscapes and has continually expanded her skills, responsibilities and leadership role since joining the agency in 2016.

NICOLE CAMARDA, formerly a multimedia journalist at KIVI-TV, is the new marketing and communications specialist for the Ada County Clerk’s Office in Boise. A graduate of Chico State University, she interned with FOX 40 in Sacramento, ABC7 in San Francisco and more before coming to Idaho to join KIVI in June of 2020. She started her new position in December. 

IN MEMORIAM

Jean McNeil died Jan. 5 at the age of 77. She was a retired longtime Idaho journalist, who joined Idaho Public Television in the late 1970s, where she worked on the Idaho Reports team for a decade, editing, writing, producing and anchoring the program, primarily focused on covering the Idaho Legislature.

She also worked for newspapers and the Associated Press, and then worked for 14 years as a public information professional with state and federal law agencies, including the Idaho Attorney General’s office and the U.S. Attorney’s office, where she was the public information officer from 1998 to 2008.

Jean held a master’s degree in mass communications from the University of Illinois, and a bachelor’s degree in theater from Syracuse University. She is the author of the book “Boise With Kids,” which she wrote after the birth of her daughter, Kate, in 1987, to share her passion for helping families enjoy and discover Boise.

She and her beloved husband, Don Reading, took joy in traveling the world, and Jean shared her love of horses with daughter Kate. For years, she worked as a freelance writer and a volunteer for numerous causes she believed in, including charities, cat shelters and local political campaigns.

At Jean’s request, no immediate services were scheduled, but a memorial will be held in the late spring/early summer. In lieu of flowers, the family requests donations to the Idaho Humane Society in her honor.

Here is a link to the history of Idaho Reports that has (some) more info about Jean and others involved with the program over the years:
https://www.idahoptv.org/shows/idahoreports/history/