This story was produced by the State College regional bureau of Spotlight PA, an independent, nonpartisan newsroom dedicated to investigative and public-service journalism for Pennsylvania. Sign up for our regional newsletter, Talk of the Town.
Hello! I’m Min Xian, local accountability reporter for Spotlight PA’s State College regional bureau. It is a pleasure to introduce myself in this role, as I believe deeply in Spotlight PA’s mission to produce and expand investigative journalism in Pennsylvania.
Before I joined Spotlight PA, I covered state and local government, changing communities, and rural affairs in central and northern Pennsylvania for five years for WPSU.
One of my favorite stories to report on was how a group of residents in rural Huntingdon County formed a broadband cooperative and delivered high-speed internet to their own homes, as well their neighbors, when big telecom companies refused to do so. The tenacity and can-do optimism of the people I met there was reflective of so many people in rural areas.
I have also had the good fortune to work on statewide collaborative reporting projects, including an investigative series on Pennsylvania’s lack of funding for adequate public defense and a story about a small rural Pennsylvania town’s fight to hold its police chief accountable amid national protests.
From these various reporting experiences, I learned that what I aspire to do most is tell investigative stories through both rigorous scrutiny of power and deep understanding of how our collective day-to-day realities are shaped.
So, readers old and new, let’s be in touch! I’m interested in learning the way public and private institutions shape your life, issues that are the “talk of the town,” and things you believe deserve deep dives and to be under the spotlight. A light bulb turns on in my head when people say to me, “Well, it’s more complicated than that.” Let’s get into messy conversations.
I have called State College home for nine years, and north-central Pennsylvania simply has my heart. I am so happy to stick around to enjoy the four seasons, the amazing farming culture, small-town histories, and all the thrift stores.
You can reach me at mxian@spotlightpa.org.
— Min
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