Supporting Our Reporters: Meet Emma Ledbetter
FāVs recently launched a campaign to raise money specifically to pay its team of specialized journalists. As part of that initiative, FāVS will spend the next few weeks introducing you to the reporters you support. A gift of $100 will allow FāVS and its journalists to keep researching, writing and publishing fact-based news stories that impact us all, however a gift of any amount helps!
Despite studying microbiology at WSU, senior Emma Ledbetter found her way to the university’s student newspaper The Daily Evergreen. With encouragement from her parents, she was hired as a columnist for the arts and culture section. From there, her love of journalism grew.
During her time at the newspaper, she became a section editor and social media editor. Ledbetter became a reporter when COVID started and wrote a lot about the pandemic. Her experience there got her into science writing and general reporting.
Emma found her way to SpokaneFāVS in the summer of 2021 when a friend told her about opportunities to freelance. Out of all the freelance opportunities, she chose FaVS after reading about the organization and looking into Tracy Simmons’s background in growing up in a cult. The thought of reporting about cults enthralled her and she has researched about cults in the region.
She loves seeing people’s different perspectives and faith backgrounds come together at FāVS through opinion pieces, event coverage and features. Ledbetter said she likes meeting people who are interested in religion and is also passionate about finding common ground with other people of faith.
When it comes to her work, Ledbetter said she feels fortunate in the way her different passions intertwine; getting to write about science and using what she’s learned in class to influence her writing.
Her hobbies include doing anything outdoors, whether it be hiking, snowshoeing, skiing or paddleboarding. She also loves traveling, photography, reading and fiction writing.
We hope you’ll consider giving a gift of support so we can pay our reporters to continue covering local religion news!
