Veteran newspaper reporter and editor Ralph Schwartz has joined the staff of the Methow Valley News.
Schwartz fills the newsroom position created by the recent retirement of longtime News reporter Ann McCreary.
“We’re fortunate to make Ralph a part of our journalism team,” News Publisher and Editor Don Nelson said. “We’ll make good use of his experience, skills and knowledge to continue serving the Methow Valley and its extended family with the best coverage we can provide.”
Schwartz, who has lived in Bellingham for many years, was most recently a freelance writer, editor and communications contractor. Previously, he worked at the daily Bellingham Herald as a reporter for four years, covering a variety of beats.
Nelson and Schwartz have worked together before. When he was Editor of the daily Skagit Valley Herald in Mount Vernon, Nelson hired Schwartz as a reporter. In his five years at the Mount Vernon paper, Schwartz also served as a newsroom editor supervising six reporters, and as editor of two weekly papers.
Schwartz joined the Skagit Valley Herald from the weekly Lake Chelan Mirror, where he had been that newspaper’s editor for three years. He also worked as a reporter at the Leavenworth Echo and Cashmere Valley Record.
While working at those papers, Schwartz won numerous writing and photography awards from the Society of Professional Journalists and the Washington Newspaper Publishers Association.
A native of Pennsylvania, Schwartz earned a bachelor’s degree in arts, physics and philosophy at Bucknell University. He also studied philosophy at Emory University in Atlanta and atmospheric sciences at the University of Washington.
Schwartz and his partner, April Mahoney, have three children: 18-year-old Olivia, 15-year-old Ruby and 13-year-old Alex. For now, Schwartz is commuting back to Bellingham on weekends to spend time with his family.
Schwartz can be reached at ralph@methowvalleynews.com or by calling 997-7011.
