Mary Whitfill Roeloffs, 29

Reporter/news Editor, The Patriot Ledger Education: Bachelor of Arts in Journalism and Political Science, Northeastern University

What advice do you have for other young professionals in the news industry?

The most important thing you can do is listen. Listen to your gut when it comes to news sense, listen to your editors, listen to your audience, and listen to your peers. It can be easy to jump the gun on an article or be over eager to ask your next question in an interview. The best reporters are those who listen carefully and can find a story that others might have missed because they failed to listen carefully and think critically.

With everything that is happening, what keeps you optimistic about working in our industry?

The stories themselves and the readers who love them. There is no better feeling than breaking a big story, highlighting someone who deserves the spotlight or making connections with subjects. My role has allowed me to carve out my own beats, find and break stories in local communities and write about what I love. Hearing feedback from readers looking forward to the coverage, excited to see their neighborhood in the paper or grateful to have a local issue highlighted shows me that there will always be a place for wellreported, local news.

Robin Blinder is E&P’S Associate Publisher and V.P. of Content.

She has been with E&P for three years. She can be reached at robin@editorandpublisher.com.