Introducing three new reporters at The Sacramento Bee
Greetings, subscribers,
We would like you to meet the newest members of our newsroom. Sharon Bernstein, Jake Goodrick and Annika Merrilees have joined our Sacramento Bee community, of course focused on presenting news about your communities. We intersect that way, with an understanding that people define who we are as a group, that as individuals together we can help bring about a greater good. They are smart, dynamic journalists who share that vision.
We know you will enjoy their reporting and getting to know them through their stories. We’d like to give you a little insight as to who they are behind their bylines.
Sharon Bernstein
Sharon covers criminal justice issues and federal courts. She comes to us from the nonprofit Berkeleyside, which provides news for Berkeley and the East Bay. She was managing editor there, building on a substantial career in journalism, including stints with Reuters and the Los Angeles Times.
In her words: “Some of the most important issues of our day are being addressed in federal court — disputes over environmental protection, voting rights, education, health care and major crimes all pass through the Eastern District of California, affecting our politics, our lives and our communities. At the same time, broader issues of criminal justice are playing out in front of our eyes, as the pendulum swings on tough-on-crime legislation and society grapples with questions that are key to living in a community: how to protect victims while also preserving the rights of those who are accused of crimes; how to balance calls for punishment with the desire to give people a path to redemption. These are very human stories involving real people, and I am looking forward to sharing them with our readers. “
Read her first story: Striking attorneys agree to ‘cease-fire’ with Sacramento County, go back to work until Tuesday
Contact: sbernstein@sacbee.com
Jake Goodrick
Jake covers Sutter County. This is a new beat for us, part of the California Local News Fellowship, a state-funded prgram run by UC Berkeley that aims to provide news and information for underserved communities. Jake was the editor of the Gillette (Wyo.) News Record, where he learned all aspects of news, from reporting to editing to capturing visuals.
In his words: “As one of dozens of local news fellows spread across the state, I’m tasked with bringing local news coverage to Sutter County, an area short on coverage but not on news. Throughout the next two years in this position, I hope to address that shortage one story at a time. Spending the past several years reporting in rural northeast Wyoming taught me how local news — its presence and lack thereof — affects the balance of a community. Consistent, reliable news is essential not only to the health of local democracy, but to the lives of the people who call that community home. Of course, Sutter County has its own home in the broader ecosystem of northern California. In time, I hope our coverage proves relevant and newsworthy to readers beyond the county north of the capital.”
Contact: jgoodrick@sacbee.com
Annika Merrilees
Annika covers business, which was her beat, as well as health care, for the St. Louis Post Dispatch for five years. She is from the West Coast (Half Moon Bay) and has a strong sense of the myriad issues that the business beat encompasses.
In her words: “I’ll be covering the region’s private-sector businesses, from health systems to tech firms to the ag industry. I’ll be writing about companies here that are growing, struggling, innovating, creating and losing jobs, and the economic forces guiding business leaders’ decisions. Business reporting is a fascinating and fast-paced gig, and I can’t wait to get to know Sacramento’s workers, economists and business and labor leaders.”
Read her first stories:
- Sacramento hotel workers are considering a strike. It’s about more than money
- Amazon to shutter West Sacramento fulfillment center. Here’s what it means for workers
- Sacramento hotel workers approve strike option, joining national movement
Contact: amerrilees@sacbee.com
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