Alaska Beacon celebrates four years of state coverage

The Alaska Beacon launched four years ago today, with a mission to connect Alaskans to their state government. 

Since then, we have covered four legislative sessions from the Alaska State Capitol in Juneau. We have written 5,670 articles. And our reporting has won 44 awards — including the Society of Professional Journalists’ General Excellence award, an A-Mark Investigative Journalism award and five Alaska Press Club awards this year.

The Alaska Beacon is a four person team: one editor and three reporters. Our stories have and will continue to investigate how state policies affect specific areas, like the economy, environment, health and education.

Yereth Rosen covers health and the environment from Anchorage, but her reporting takes her all over the state. She’s in Juneau this week for the end of the legislative session, but she’s also racked up trips to Nome, Sitka, Homer, Seward and Whittier. Most of that travel has been supported by a fellowship grant through USC Annenberg’s Center for Health Journalism. Yereth has been with the Alaska Beacon since its inception.

James Brooks covers government and politics from Juneau. He’s back in the halls of the state house after taking some leave to bring twin sons into his family this year. In the coming weeks, he will be following how state lawmakers decide to spend a projected increase in state revenue and the fate of various proposals to incentivize the developers of the potential Alaska LNG project. He has been with the Alaska Beacon since its inception.

Corinne Smith joined the Alaska Beacon in 2024, reporting on the education and justice beats. After award-winning coverage of the education funding and policy debates last year, she is monitoring the effects of that policy — and whether lawmakers address education policy again before they gavel out next week.

I rejoined the Alaska Beacon as its editor in late 2025 after several years as the education and justice reporter and a year-long departure to lead the newsroom at KTOO in Juneau. While I still contribute news stories from time to time, my main focus is leading our three-person team in coverage that centers how state politics and policy affect your life.

In the coming year, we plan to continue our coverage with a major focus on the upcoming November elections. You can look forward to our Voter Guide launching in the coming months, and elections coverage in partnership with other Alaska newsrooms, including the state’s public radio network and the Anchorage Daily News.

Thank you for reading the Alaska Beacon over the last four years. In the years to come, we’re looking forward to earning your continued readership, trust and support.

SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE

Courtesy of Alaska Beacon