Oregon State announces food and agriculture media fellows

CORVALLIS, Ore. – Oregon State University has named 15 leading regional, national and international journalists as its 2022 food and agriculture media fellows.

The journalists will spend Aug. 7 to 10 at Oregon State’s campus in Corvallis, the university’s North Willamette Research and Extension Center in Aurora and the university’s Food Innovation Center in Portland immersed in the food and agriculture research that makes Oregon State one of the top 20 agriculture programs in the world, according to the QS World University Rankings.

The Oregon State University Food and Agriculture Media Fellowship covers topics including agriculture and robotics, food in culture and social justice, agriculture and climate, health and wellness and economics. It will also focus on the diversity of Oregon agricultural products, including hemp, beer, wine, hazelnuts and seafood. 

The fellows are:

• Emily Baron Cadloff, reporter, Modern Farmer. 
• Ximena Bustillo, politics reporter, NPR.
• Kathleen Davis, producer, Science Friday Initiative.
• Gillian Flaccus, reporter/video journalist, Associated Press.
• Tim Hearden, content director, Western Farm Press/Western Farmer Stockman.
• Melissa Hogenboom, editor, BBC Studios.
• Ayurella Horn-Muller, journalist, freelance.
• Crystal Ligori, host and producer, Oregon Public Broadcasting. 
• Joan Meiners, climate reporter, The Arizona Republic.
• Jenny Morber, science journalist, freelance.
• George Plaven, reporter, Capital Press.
• Laura Reiley, business of food reporter, Washington Post.
• Jackie Varriano, food writer, Seattle Times.
• Mariana Verbovska, environmental and climate change journalist; Ukrainian Fulbright scholar at George Mason University. 
• Christine Weicher, producer, CBS News.

The fellowship is patterned after successful marine science media fellowship programs that Oregon State hosted in 2018 and 2019. Those fellowships drew a combined 24 reporters from outlets such as National Geographic, Science Friday, the Associated Press, the Seattle Times and The Oregonian.