Cate Charron

Professional Experience

Indianapolis Business Journal Economic Development & Statehouse Reporter

May 2024 to Present | Indianapolis, Indiana

Inside INdiana Business Statewide Business Reporter

May 2023 to Present | Indianapolis, Indiana

Canvased central and southern Indiana writing in-depth lede stories on housing and economic development, innovative companies and burgeoning industries
Voiced, edited and produced a three-and-a-half minute daily morning radio round-up of statewide business news airing on NPR affiliates
Wrote about 20 brief stories a week recapping groundbreakings, acquisitions, earnings reports and grant announcements

The Indianapolis Star Pulliam Fellow

March to May 2023 | Indianapolis, Indiana

Jumped in at the midpoint of the General Assembly to produce in-depth coverage on bills regarding the anti-transgender agenda, teacher union rollbacks, bail reform and changes to absentee voting
Averaged four and half stories a week to be the fourth highest producing non-sports reporter
Was a Swiss Army knife for editors sorting through court documents, keeping watch of Hoosier politicians on the national stage and writing dailys answering readers’ questions and capitalizing on trending topics

The Herald-Times Hoosier State Press Association Pulliam Fellow

May to July 2022 | Bloomington, Indiana

Made a rural town’s development plans interesting, walked through how Roe v. Wade will affect tubal ligation and dug through the details of a fierce dispute between Kroger, its workers and their union
Wrote 22 stories to which all but two performed at or over average readership, including a quick story about Doordashers struggling with gas prices that reached nearly 100,000 page views
Collaborated with a veteran reporter to report two long-form stories on the failing county jail’s conditions as well as the abundance of mentally ill inmates to apply pressure on a stalling local government

The Indianapolis Star News Intern & Editorial Assistant

Jan. to May 2022 | Indianapolis, Indiana

Rushed to crime scenes, called PIOs and put crime in a communal context working weekly breaking news shifts
Edited and fact-checked op-eds from politicians, community leaders and scholars

Collegiate Experience

The Indiana Daily Student

Editor-in-Chief

Fall 2022

Converted the student newspaper into the city newspaper by prioritizing city and education stories, adding high school sports coverage and becoming more visible to the greater community through outreach
Halted a downward readership trend within a month to bring a page view average of almost 70,000 a week
Led multiple projects including a multi-platform elections coverage partnership, a catalog and update of previous crime reporting and standards and several reforms to IDS policy, workflow and training

Managing Editor of Digital

Spring 2022

Revitalized a depleted digital and web design desk to become the second largest staff at the publication as well as created an infrastructure for educating staff and building the desk for the future
Edited and produced custom web build-outs for most long-form stories and landing pages for note-worthy events and developing issues, such as the graduate worker strike and the Little 500 bike race
Brainstormed, managed and organized a new annual print edition dedicated to resources for the unhoused community; delivered 400 editions bagged with bottled water and granola bars to four local charities

Managing & Enterprise Editor

Fall 2021

Assisted with major publication changes, such as amending student death and sexual violence policy, as well as daily production decisions concerning content quality and risk assessment
Sorted through seven years of testimonies, stories and allegations, interviewed 20 people and was favored in a Public Access Counselor opinion against Indiana University to produce a six-month investigation regarding a sexual misconduct case in IU’s prestigious music school that continues to ripple in the local jazz community
Took on additional editorial duties to co-lead the enterprise desk, which produced an investigation into a predatory anti-LGBTQ Catholic campus ministry, a deep dive into hospitals and insurance companies overcharging patients and an eye-opener about the lack of testing for date rape drugs

News Editor

Fall 2022

Managed a desk of over 15 reporters nearly daily to produce over four pieces of content a day five days a week
Continued to work on larger stories and write breaking news routinely

News & Enterprise Reporter

Fall 2019 to Summer 2022

Dissected an explosive city zoning debate, guided students through new rules during the COVID-19 pandemic and broke news on Greek Life sanctions and crime both on- and off-campus
Covered stories on every beat on the news desk with sweet spots being crime and city government
Boasted a routine sub-20 minute breaking news to publication record

Student Press Law Center Student Press Freedom Day Student Co-Chair

Nov. 2022 to March 2023 | Remote

Initiated, developed, researched and organized a new sports media toolkit with several legal and reporting tools and materials covering censorship, Name, Image & Likeness law, public records requests & legal protections after I identified a lapse in sports journalism resources at the center
Combed through hundreds of pages of Name, Image & Likeness legislation to create a comprehenive state-by-state guide for student journalists to better understand how to request such information, see if their state has a blanket confidentiality clause and know if their state is in the process so to fight for transparency
Organized several events, which boosted student engagement, educated on complex topics and pulled into new audiences and assisted staff with resource and event social media promotion
Was a speaker on a Human Rights Watch Twitter Space talking about the state of student press freedom as well as organizing the SPLC's first Twitter Space talking about what censorship looks like in sports media

Honors

Student Journalist of the Year 2022 SPJ — Indiana Chapter

Judge comment: "Cate Charron’s reporting is thorough and well-written, a series of accountability stories that speak to the difficulty of student discipline as well as the impact on victims and the campus. She provided solid, in-depth reporting around the various issues as she covered a case involving a star in one of the university’s premier programs. She showed persistence as she followed the stories for six months, challenging the policy of her college administration and providing a variety of student perspectives. Excellent work."

Brook Baker Student Journalist of the Year 2022 Indiana Collegiate Press Association

Judge comment: "Cate’s in-depth stories about the saga of a sexual assault, the ramifications of which unfolded over years — with one student found guilty of sexual assault and suspended, and suspended again — were examples of dogged and persistent reporting efforts. The details and degree to which Cate explores the truth, and the lengths she goes to to see where things stand today are extraordinary. That she also went to great effort to get Chris Parker to talk (the story said she reached out nine times) is commendable."

Reveille Seven Courage in Student Journalism Award Student Press Law Center

SPLC: "The Indiana Daily Student and reporter Cate Charron received the 2022 Reveille Seven Courage in Student Journalism Award for her six-month investigation into why Indiana University did not abide by its 2016 disciplinary ruling against a music student who was found responsible for sexually harassing another student. The investigation also explored how the music school’s continued relationship with the assailant, in violation of its own policies, impacted other students’ feelings of safety.

Charron persevered in her reporting through a series of follow-up stories, despite IU’s refusal to release the student’s disciplinary records — an act Indiana’s Public Access Counselor said violated the state’s public records law. Charron’s bold reporting led to numerous letters to the editor, a community forum, and protests in which frustrated students voiced their demands that the university do more to protect sexual assault survivors."

☆ IU’s denial of sexual assault record access violates public access laws, state says

☆ After violating state public access law, IU continues to deny IDS sexual assault records

David L. Adams Award 2022 Indiana Daily Student

Annual award given by professional staff to honor an IU student journalist who notably defends press freedom.

Student Journalist of the Year 2021: IDS Enterprise Staff SPJ — Indiana Chapter

Keating Writing Contest 2022 Finalist Indianapolis Press Club Foundation

Ernie Pyle Scholar Indiana University Media School

Multimedia Journalist

RESUME

Expect proficiency in

Education

Professional Experience

Collegiate Experience

Honors