The TNT Editorial Board just got larger and more diverse. Meet our new community members
I have a confession: There was a time, not terribly long ago, when I wasn’t a big fan of traditional newspaper editorial boards.
Why? Well, part of it’s my background writing for small, weekly alternative press papers, which tend to view traditional editorial boards as a mouthpiece of “The Man.” I always pictured editorial board meetings as closed-door affairs where very important people met to discuss very important subjects, often emerging with milquetoast opinions like “stay the course,” or “slow down,” or “use that tax money wisely.” While there’s nothing inherently wrong with such opinions (usually), I always read them as an outsider would. Even to me, editorial boards felt exclusive and opaque, and I’m a straight white guy who grew up in Puyallup. It wasn’t hard to understand how underrepresented communities probably viewed editorial boards, or recognize their historic shortcomings. and deficiencies.
Then a funny thing happened: In late 2019, I was invited to join The News Tribune Editorial Board, and I went from a skeptic to someone who regularly attended those mysterious meetings and took part in the board’s mysterious process. While I’d had opportunities to sit in on editorial board meetings over the years as a columnist — watching professionals like Cheryl Tucker, Patrick O’Callahan and Matt Misterek do their thing — now the mystery was gone. Suddenly I had a better appreciation for the important role that local newspaper editorial boards can play, and the powerful voice they can give to a community, particularly when they’re at their best.
Earlier this year I was named opinion editor at The News Tribune. When I started, one of my goals was to build on the expansion and diversification of the board that began shortly after News Tribune President and Editor Stephanie Pedersen arrived. The truth is, The News Tribune has long known its editorial board wasn’t nearly as diverse as it needed to be reflect the local readers it serves, and Pedersen moved quickly to start rectifying the issue. Adding Jim Walton as a community representative, as we did in 2020, was a creative approach and an important first step. But even at the time, we knew there was more to do.
That’s why I’m excited to announce that The News Tribune Editorial Board is expanding once again, once again with a goal of increasing diversity of all kinds and better reflecting Tacoma and Pierce County. Mr. Walton — as we respectfully and endearingly refer to him — has agreed to stay on as a community representative, and we’re adding two new community members to the mix to help make us stronger.
Together, these additions widen the breadth of opinion and lived experiences that will inform the board’s work in the future.
The move is also part of re-imagining what the editorial board is and how it can best serve readers, while increasing transparency, access and understanding in a new, digital age.
Walton, 83, has brought a well of knowledge and perspective to The News Tribune Editorial Board since officially joining two years ago, making us far better in the process. While he’s originally from Mineola, Texas — and he’ll rarely let you forget it — over the course of six decades spent in Tacoma, Walton has gone from a Civil Rights-era leader to the city’s first Black city manager. The insight and thoughtful analysis he’s provided has been invaluable, and I’m grateful he’ll be sticking around.
Amanda Figueroa, who works in student affairs at the University of Washington Tacoma and lives on the Eastside, has also accepted our invitation to join The News Tribune Editorial Board as a community representative. A first-generation college student who graduated with a master’s in science from UW, today Figueroa, 43, serves as senior director of student transitions and success at UWT and leads several important initiatives at the school, including one designed for first-gen students like herself.
Over the course of her career, Figueroa said that working to increase college access for students from diverse backgrounds has been a calling. She regularly partners with local school districts to engage new students, and has actively participated in the Graduate Tacoma and supported the Husky Post Prison Pipeline project. Figueroa also serves on the Chief Leschi career and technical education advisory board, and last year she became the first UWT staff member to be recognized by the school’s office of community partnerships with a community engagement award for equity in education.
Finally, Kent Hojem, the recently retired CEO of the Washington State Fair, has also agreed to join The News Tribune Editorial Board as a community representative. Well-known in his longtime home of Puyallup, Hojem, 65, was born and raised near Chehalis and went on to major in mathematical sciences at Stanford University before returning to the Pacific Northwest to get into the fair business, where he spent more than 40 years.
In addition to helping to lead the Washington State Fair as CEO until his retirement this fall, Hojem is a past president of the Puyallup Main Street Association and the Puyallup-Sumner Chamber of Commerce. Personally, Hojem describes working to improve public education and preserve rural farmlands as two of his passions. When we first met, Hojem humbly acknowledged he often disagrees with my columns, which is just one of the many reasons I’m excited to welcome him to the board.
I want to be as clear as possible: Improving diversity on The News Tribune Editorial Board is more than checking boxes and taking a new picture. This can’t just be window dressing or eyewash. Over the coming months and years, the work will continue. These new additions are simply an exciting step along the way.
As always, I welcome feedback and questions. You can reach me via email at mdriscoll@thenewstribune.com.
