She’s back

Sophia Aldous returns as a Fellow

NEWPORT – Sophia Aldous has returned to The Miner as a Murrow News Fellow. She will write for The Newport Miner and Range Media, an online news platform based in Spokane. The fellowship position lasts two years.

“We couldn’t be happier about Sophia being back in our newsroom,” Miner owner and publisher Michelle Nedved said. “Our community loves her and she’s an excellent writer.”

Aldous left The Miner in April 2023 to pursue a career in the medical field. She became a Nurses Aid-Certified and worked at River Mountain Village Advanced Care in Newport. She still picks up extra shifts there.

Created in 2023, the Murrow News Fellowship program offers early-career journalists the opportunity to report on civic affairs in underserved communities, from rural to urban. The state-funded two-year initiative was conceived to place eight fellows each year with Washington news organizations to report for two years, full-time. As the program takes shape, 16 journalists are reporting in communities across the state; the first six began in April 2024. In addition, fellows receive ongoing training, mentorship and a strong cohort experience.

The Miner competed against other newsrooms across the state of Washington, including daily newspapers, radio and TV stations as well as online platforms.

“It’s an honor to be granted a fellow,” Nedved said. “It shows that we are a serious newsroom with a lot of important issues to cover. We know Sophia will add depth to our reporting.”

Aldous worked as a reporter for the Statesman Examiner in Coville for a decade before joining The Miner staff in 2015. Here she became the Gem State Editor before transitioning to the medical field.

The competition for the fellowships was stiff, but Aldous rose to the top.

She is also involved in the local community, having served in volunteer roles for the Newport/ Priest River Rotary Club and the Pend Oreille Playhouse.