Ben Chase: From Social Worker to Small-Town Journalist for The Huron Daily Plainsman

On this episode, Mark Simon is joined by Ben Chase, a reporter for The Huron Daily Plainsman in Huron, South Dakota (population 13,000). Ben took an interesting path to his position, having previously worked as a social worker, in youth ministry, and as a freelance baseball writer.

Ben discussed working as a jack-of-all-trades who takes curiosity and his desire to help people into his work. One day he may be covering COVID issues and the newest developments at the town dump, the next he might be spending all day at state high school basketball tournaments. And then the day after that, he might produce an op-ed piece on racial inequality or the latest piece of anti-transgender legislation to come through the state. Ben is a throwback to the days of when local journalism mattered most. It still matters in Huron.

Thank you for listening. Please rate and review the podcast if you can. Stay safe and stay well.

Notable Links

Huron Plainsman

Ben Chase’s Twitter

Huron Plainsman Twitter

John Miller’s Poynter story about small town journalism

The newspaper Ben saluted – Kingsbury Journal