Above: Amy Alonzo speaks with a participant at a BLM wildfire training event in South Reno. Credit: David Calvert.
One of the first stories that journalist Amy Alonzo wrote in her career was about a first-generation college student whose family had immigrated to the United States. The story had a lasting impact—someone who read it was so moved that they offered to pay for two years of the college student’s education. This experience is one that Alonzo strives to replicate with every piece she writes, now focusing on topics related to the environment, conservation, and other sciences. Her goal with her reporting is to help people better understand the world they live in.
Alonzo is now the environment and energy reporter for The Nevada Independent and has spent 25 years in journalism. She began as a photographer before transitioning to reporting roughly a decade ago. Though she enjoyed the physically demanding nature of photography in her younger years, she now appreciates the mental challenges and depth of reporting.
Over the last five years, she has focused on environmental reporting, with special interests in solar development, renewable resources, energy, and conservation. In this Q&A, Alonzo shares her experiences and the knowledge she has gained along the way.
HP: Can you tell us about a day in your job?
Alonzo: It is not very glamorous. It involves a lot of sweatpants. Working at the Nevada Independent is a unique position because we are fully remote, we don’t have a newsroom, which I think is kind of a trend that a lot of places are going toward. It requires generating your own ideas and seeing them come to fruition. So, my workdays are honestly just a lot of research and learning and talking on the phone. Sometimes, you’re out in the field, but it’s definitely a lot of learning and researching.
HP: How do you come up with your ideas for new stories? What does that process look like?
Alonzo: I have no idea where my ideas come from! There’s not just like a magic pile I’m pulling them from. I think it’s just being very aware of everything that’s happening within this state and being curious about them. So, I do not necessarily rely on press releases or on what the editors assign–in fact, I think I’ve had less than one handful of stories assigned to me since I’ve been here. It’s mostly just paying attention to what’s happening within the state and wanting to either educate people about that or to understand it better myself.
HP: Once the idea is there, how do you decide how to approach the topic? How do you decide how to write, who to interview?
Alonzo: I do a lot of reading, a lot of just throwing things into Google and seeing what I find. And sometimes you find a treasure trove and sometimes you find nothing. It’s a lot of just talking to people, either on background or for a ‘formal’ interview. I don’t necessarily have a pre-written questionnaire. And then I just end up with a million pages of notes and I save a copy of everything that I do, but I’ll open up a second copy and I just start cutting all the things I don’t need and just move stuff around. I’ll make really broad subheads and move things into different categories and suddenly you kind of have a story that forms itself. It’s a really organic process rather than just being like, ‘oh, I want to write about this, here’s the 10 questions I’m going to ask the person, and hopefully they answer in a way that suits my narrative.’ It’s much more just kind of seeing what I find online, what people tell me, and a lot of relying on other subject matter experts.
HP: As a photographer, how do you use your visual communications skills and how do you try to fit photography into your stories?
Alonzo: I think it’s the most important part. Other than like a headline to get people to click on something, assuming that we’re just talking about visual platforms beyond the headline, I think it’s the most critical part of the story. I know good art catches my eye and makes me want to keep looking at stuff. I also think incorporating video Is excellent. When you have the opportunity to work with somebody who’s a really talented photographer or talented videographer, that takes your work to the next level.
HP: Can you tell us about something you’re working on right now or recently finished? What was that process like?
Alonzo: I just finished a story about coyote calling competitions in Nevada. These competitions are primarily in rural Nevada but also in Reno and Clark County. Participants pay to join and compete to kill as many coyotes as possible within a set time. The winner receives cash prizes for either the most kills or the largest carcass. There’s been a push for years to ban these competitions, but many people, particularly in rural areas, support them.
The process of covering this story goes back to having an understanding of the issue over the last several years, as I’ve covered it before. I have an interest in conservation, so it’s a topic that resonates with me. There’s been a lot of listening to meetings, as there have been many discussions on this issue. The story is a comprehensive look at what’s been happening with these competitions over the years and where things stand now.
There’s a big divide in the state over these competitions. Groups like the Humane Society are pushing to eliminate them, but they’re also economic drivers in rural communities, as people come from out of state and spend money on local hotels and restaurants. When reporting, I try to look at all sides of the issue. Even if I don’t always succeed, my goal is to include multiple viewpoints so that people can understand the full picture, not just what I want them to know. Sometimes it’s hard to get all the voices involved, but it’s crucial to find a way to express each side of the story.
HP: How did you decide which visuals to use for this particular story?
Alonzo: It goes back to the question of when to incorporate visuals and when not to. The images that have been shared with me are quite gory. You want people to read the story, and if the first thing they see is a gory photo, they’re either going to be turned off or click away. It’s not what people expect when they’re reading their news over coffee or in the morning. So, there’s a strategy in how to choose an appropriate image that will keep people reading instead of just clicking onto another site.
I’m going to run some photos that the Humane Society shared from an undercover investigation they did a couple of years ago. Those will be placed at the bottom of the story. At the top, I’ll include more traditional, visually appealing wildlife photos from the Department of Wildlife. This way, readers can engage with most of the story before encountering the more graphic images.
HP: In your LinkedIn profile, you have a quote that says, “I report news that helps people better understand the world they live in.” What does that mean to you?
Alonzo: A lot of times, it seems like people aren’t aware of what is happening in their state. You know, there’s just information overload all the time. And we’re all super busy. It’s also just hard to keep track of everything. But sometimes, there are issues that I think are really important in Nevada for people to have awareness of what’s happening around them. And you hear people say, ‘Oh, your vote doesn’t matter,’ like when you vote at the national level. But I think that it does because so much of Nevada’s public land and the things happening here in our state are being determined by people 3,000 miles away on the East Coast. My goal is that hopefully, people read something and gain just a little bit more knowledge about where they live or the things and animals and creatures they share their space with. And hopefully, that changes the way they interact a little bit with the world.
HP: Do you think your work or work style has changed over the years?
Alonzo: It’s evolved over the years. I hope that any of us, in whatever we’re doing in life, are evolving and not being the same person 10 years later. Part of that evolution is internal growth, and part of it is the product of where I work. When I started as an education reporter, I was working at a small paper on the East Coast, and we had a requirement of two stories per day. That is a lot. Over the years, I’ve worked at different publications, from small newspapers where I served as editor to what I do now, which allows me to produce more in-depth stories. I can go a whole week without turning in a story—not that it’s a goal—but I have the liberty to spend time working on something. It’s really nice to work somewhere with that flexibility. Plus, now I have a decade of skills to not only have the time to work on a story but to use that time effectively.
HP: Do you think science communication and environmental reporting are important, and if so, why?
Alonzo: Oh, I think it’s incredibly important. There’s so much fascinating stuff happening in our state. Even leaving journalism out of it—taking all the news outlets out of the equation—there’s amazing research happening. For example, at the Desert Research Institute (DRI), they’re doing incredible work, and I’ve also received communications from UNLV and UNR about the innovative research coming out of their departments.
I think all types of science communication are important. Beyond that, climate change—whether you believe in it, don’t believe in it, think it’s man-made, or think it’s natural—is still something that’s affecting so much of people’s lives. I wouldn’t say every aspect, but a large part of everything in their lives.
I like to hope people care. I don’t know if they do, but I hope they do. I hope my reporting—or someone else’s reporting—helps people gain a broader understanding. Sometimes, I get emails—some positive, some hate mail. But even when I get hate mail, I think, ‘at least they read it.’ They cared enough to tell me how wrong I am or to call me an idiot. And honestly, that’s better than not engaging at all.
HP: Do you have any advice for students studying journalism who are interested in reporting on topics like climate change, science, or health?
Alonzo: My advice would be to write about things that genuinely interest you. For me, there’s a noticeable difference in enthusiasm when I’m assigned a story versus when I get to pursue one of my own ideas. It’s not to say that assigned stories aren’t important, but it’s much better for everyone when you’re invested in the topic. Having curiosity about how your world, city, or environment works will serve you well. Dive into the issues you care about. When you’re passionate about your topic, it shows, and readers—or whatever audience you’re creating for—will notice that.
There’s a big difference between a brief, five-sentence press release about an event and a story that someone spent weeks or months researching and crafting because they believed it was important for people to learn about. Different people consume different types of media, and while some may be satisfied with a short, surface-level story, I personally prefer something long, in-depth, and written by someone well-versed in the topic.
Lastly, always check your sources thoroughly. There’s so much information out there, and everyone has a viewpoint or bias, even those of us who strive to be impartial. If you’re relying on online sources, make sure you understand their slant or angle. Nobody is 100% unbiased, so being critical and thoughtful about your sources is crucial.
Vanesa de la Cruz Pavas, M.A., is a reporter and science communication specialist for the Hitchcock Project. She is a graduate of the Reynolds School of Journalism’s class of 2023.
