Reporting for Bay Weekly
I came to Bay Weekly in 2004, early in my career, following a desire to write and see my words published. After a summer internship, I worked on staff as a senior writer and assistant editor, and for four years, contributing to one of the most thoughtful, interesting, well-written local publications I’d known.
From that summer internship, I knew I actually loved writing when afternoons flew by as I typed away at my desk, shaping my stories and doing detective work to find accurate facts. Sitting alongside editor Sandra Martin in her office, we’d line edit my work as she patiently taught me to look critically at my text. Each time my articles were published, I savored the small thrill of seeing my byline in print above my hard work. I was hooked.
I learned to seek fascinating sources, to report facts with precision, to uncover people’s stories and to tell those stories in vivid color. I enjoyed collaborating with our small team — plus a group of talented freelance writers — that worked closely together every weekday, often putting in long hours to produce the best possible issue.
I also loved the small office in Deale, housed in a bright cottage across from a creek, all of us working within ear-shot of each other and the late afternoon sun slanting in.
Reporting for Bay Weekly took me on all kinds of adventures — from mucking around phragmites-filled marshes to joining a Riverkeeper on patrol, interviewing one of the last surviving members of the legendary country music Stoneman Family, touring a single-stream recycling plant, fishing alongside veterans, tracking box turtles in the woods with a naturalist, photographing renowned photographer Marion Warren, reviewing operas and comedies, wading into rivers to check water quality (using Bernie Fowler’s famed Sneaker Index) and more.
I met legislators, actors, librarians, artists, scientists, authors, shopkeepers, conservationists, musicians and Chesapeake citizens who took the time to share their stories, allowing me, in turn, to share their experiences, wonder and wisdom with our 50,000 readers. I learned to let my own curiosity guide me in asking questions, and my own interest as a reader to steer my writing. I also taught readers knowledgeably about diamondback terrapins, smart cars, environmental policies, the Nutcracker ballet tradition, harmful bacteria in Chesapeake waters and 17-year cicadas.
Bay Weekly’s annual special issues became part of my own year’s rhythm. Early signs of spring meant I could indulge in summer dreaming as we planned the annual 101 Ways to Have Fun in the Summer. Early autumn leaves had me humming Christmas carols as I gathered details on every holiday event in the region for our Season’s Bounty guide.
I took lessons from Bay Weekly home with me, too: largely, to love what’s local, as I came to appreciate the simple joy of knowing the beekeeper who harvested your honey, the artist who painted the town mural you see everyday or the local farmer who grew your carrots.
Looking back, I feel grateful to Sandra, Alex Knoll and the rest of the staff for taking a chance on a new writer, and for the opportunity to be one of the many voices in Bay Weekly’s long narrative.
Carrie Madren, who came to us as Carrie Steele, now lives in Falls Church, VA, and is seeking to return from freelancing to fulltime writing and editing now that son Cade is in kindergarten. I had the pleasure of overlooking her love story with husband Tyras and seeing her as a beautiful bride. If you want to hire her, I’ll put you in touch.