Jon Campbell, who covers New York State government and Andrew Cuomo for USA Today Network-New York, joins Brian this to talk about being a government writer both in the BeforeTimes and the post-coronavirus world.
The conversation starts with a lot of talk about where Upstate New York begins, why Jon loves trolling people about it, the differences between regions in New York State, and the trap that national writers fall into when writing about upstate. That moves into a deeper conversation about how Jon’s journalism is influenced by being a lifelong upstate resident (go Lockport Lions).
Jon discusses how he resisted being known as “The Fracking Guy” but also how owning that one specific beat involving state government helped him develop sources to cover the entire government.
Jon then talks about covering Covid-19. He recalls the moment he realized just how major a story it was going to be, what it’s like to cover Andrew Cuomo’s press conferences, what it’s like when Cuomo and President Trump start bickering with each other in real time, and the Covid-19 story he wants to tell.
Jon Campbell at USA Today Network-NY
Truth in our Times by David McGraw
Subscribe: