I did journalism before I studied journalism.

Josh Barnhill’s
Journalism Clipbook

Favorites

Here are some favorites — chronologically from my first newspaper (a project in 6th grade), through college and small-town newspapers, to one of my first Instructor Led Training courses at Microsoft.

For a while, I was editor of this small-town newspaper.

My first professional work as a technical writer.

Some of my first work designing and building training courses at Microsoft.

First Things First

Whatcom Middle School, Bellingham, WA

In 6th grade, I made this newspaper, from scratch, for a class project about the United States Revolutionary War. This was before even the first computer layout program came out.

In 8th grade, I put together a monthly school newspaper.
By then, fortunately, early layout software had arrived.

Sadly, I don’t have any copies of my high school newspaper, The Rising Tide, where I was news editor in my senior year.

The Green Gazette

Think Pieces in College

Enterprise reporting about what it would mean if a local Indian tribe gained federal recognition.

The Future of a Local Indian Tribe

Logging Company Moving Into Development

No one else could get this story. With my track record and local connections — and pure initiative — I wrote about the balancing act at local blue-chip firm as they moved from forestry to development in a highly charged environment.

Again based on pure initiative, I wrote about the complex and fraught choices of a local teacher who wanted to speak out about her life with AIDS — well before it became common to do so.

An Early Take on HIV and AIDS

Features in Bellingham

I interned and then worked as a staff reporter at The Bellingham Herald. I found that writing about local people was incredibly fun. Bonnie Brown Bishop didn’t bother ringing a bell for Salvation Army holiday donations — instead she played an accordion and planned to play her trombone the following year! Dave Macklin, a retired Army Colonel, honored his wife at a Veteran’s Day event. A local couple transformed their barn into local youth recreation center. Amazing stories and it was a privilege to tell them.

Hard News in Bellingham

When you write for a newspaper — you hope to have a few stories at the top of the front page. I had a few.

A1 - Above The Fold

Deep Dives on Local Topics

The Shipping News

I interned at, wrote for, and edited small-town newspapers in Ferndale and Lynden, Washington. Some fascinating stories came from these towns. For example, do you remember the DC Sniper story? I covered the start of it in Ferndale, WA.