TheStatehouseFile.com Marks 15th Anniversary
Events and Lectures

TheStatehouseFile.com, a news site powered by Franklin College journalism students, is marking its 10th year at the Indiana Statehouse and 15th year as a program with a panel discussion on Nov. 4 and a relaunched website.

Thursday’s online panel will feature Statehouse File alumnae who now work in Indiana government or media. Discussing their work in today’s fraught political landscape will be:

  • Abrahm Hurt, a 2020 graduate, press secretary for the Indiana House Republican Caucus
  • Lauren Casey, a 2013 graduate, anchor and reporter for WRTV
  • Shelby Thomas, a 2019 graduate, special assistant to the executive director for drug prevention, treatment and enforcement, Office of Gov. Eric Holcomb
  • Emily Ketterer, a 2020 graduate, political reporter for Indianapolis Business Journal
  • Carolina Puga Mendoza, current Statehouse File student

John Krull, publisher of The Statehouse File, director of the Pulliam School of Journalism at Franklin College and a 1981 alumnus of the college, will moderate the panel discussion from 6-7 p.m. The event is open to the public via this link on Conduit: https://www.pqcast.com/v/6c7edba4-d2a1-4ec8-850e-c5f0f3c771b3

TheStatehouseFile.com relaunched its website this month to better showcase the work of its student journalists, who report on state politics from an office in the Indiana Statehouse. The subscription news service, proceeds of which cover program expenses as well as provide student stipends, shares its daily coverage with 35 professional media partners around the state and frequently places in professional competitions. Last year’s Society of Professional Journalists’ Indiana Student Journalist of the Year was Erica Irish, a Statehouse File reporter and editor who has since graduated from Franklin College in 2021.

“Being a journalist for The Statehouse File has increased my capacity to act quickly, to think on my feet, be adaptable, flexible and figure it out,” said Irish. “That’s been hugely beneficial for me in the career I’m in now.”

The innovative immersive program started as an annual one-month class endeavoring to give young journalists the experience of working in a newsroom with real-world pressures and rewards. As it expanded to a full-time immersion required of all FC journalism majors, its mission also expanded to filling gaps in news coverage and feeding news deserts created by industry turmoil the last decade.

Contact the Franklin College Office of Communications at (317) 738-8185 for more information. 

POSTED Nov 2, 2021