Rob Capriccioso is a journalist and writer who founded the Indigenous Wire publication on the Substack platform.[1] He is the first Indigenous journalist to receive a Substack Pro deal.[2] Indigenous Wire covers policy, politics, media, economics and sovereignty issues.[3]

Rob Capriccioso
NationalitySault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, American
Alma materUniversity of Michigan
Occupation(s)journalist, writer
EmployerIndian Country Today
OrganizationIndigenous Wire

Background

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Rob Capriccioso is an enrolled citizen of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan.[4] He is a political science and psychology alum of the University of Michigan. He resides in metro Washington, D.C.

Journalism career

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Capriccioso was the longtime Washington Bureau Chief for Indian Country Today and wrote special features for the publication during the COVID-19 pandemic;[5] before that he worked as a general assignment reporter for ICT starting in 2008.[6] He was later a senior editor based in the Washington, D.C. metro area for Tribal Business News.[7] He was a contributing writer to American Indian Report and News from Indian Country.[8]

Capriccioso covers the White House, the Executive Branch, the United States Congress, the Supreme Court of the United States, and presidential campaigns, 2004 through 2024.[9][10] He is the first Native American journalist to Q&A a sitting president, President Barack Obama, in an Oct. 4, 2012 news story titled, "President Obama Answers Questions From Indian Country Today Media Network in Unprecedented Exchange.".[11] Previously, he received answers from President George W. Bush for a journalistic website presentation of the former Connect for Kids publication.[12]

He has interviewed such notables as U.S. President Barack Obama,[13] Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg,[14] White House Chief of Staff Pete Rouse,[15] Bolivian President Evo Morales (Aymara),[16] Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid,[17] Homeland Security Chief Michael Chertoff,[18] members of Congress and tribal leaders. His reporting on Indigenous issues was cited in testimony to Congress.[19] His reporting on the Treasury Department's inequitable distributions of pandemic relief funds to tribes was cited in a September 2021 letter from several U.S. senators to the Biden administration.[20] He was a featured speaker at the 2022 SXSW conference, regarding his work as a journalist during the so-called "creator economy."[21][22]

One of a small number of Native American journalists to contribute to mainstream media, as documented by the Native American Journalists Association, he has served as a contributing editor to Campaigns and Elections,[23] helped launch Politico as its founding website editor,[24] and has appeared on National Public Radio[25][26][27] to discuss Native and political topics of the day.

Awards and honors

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Capriccioso has won numerous awards throughout his career, including a general excellence Native American Journalists Association (NAJA) beat award for his coverage of tribal-federal policy in 2015.[28] He won the 2013 NAJA award for Best News Story[13] and the first and second place awards for the NAJA Best News Story and third place for Best Feature Story in 2014.[29] In 2011, he received two more first place NAJA awards, in the news and feature categories.[30] He was awarded in 2006 by the Association for University and College Counseling Center Directors for his reporting on the counseling crisis facing students at various institutions of higher education.[31] He earned his first NAJA first place award in 2004 and was elected to serve on the NAJA Board in 2015-16.[32]

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ "Tribal Biz News editor Capriccioso leaves for Substack". January 5, 2022. Retrieved January 7, 2022.
  2. ^ "Anishinaabe writer starts Indigenous Wire" (PDF). Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  3. ^ "Indigenous Wire About". Retrieved January 3, 2022.
  4. ^ "The Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians Official Web Site – The Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians Official Web Site". Saulttribe.com. Archived from the original on August 9, 2011. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  5. ^ "Indian County Today Author Rob Capriccioso". Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  6. ^ "Indian Country Today Media Network to Launch January 14, 2011 – NEW YORK, Jan. 6, 2011 /PRNewswire/" (Press release). New York: Prnewswire.com. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  7. ^ "Tribal Business News names Rob Capriccioso as senior editor – GRAND RAPIDS, MICH., May 17, 2021". May 17, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  8. ^ "SXSW Schedule, Rob Capriccioso". Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  9. ^ Bush and Kerry Complete Connect for Kids Homework Assignment | SparkAction Archived September 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  10. ^ "Native educator turns DNC star speaker | Indian Country Today | Content". Indian Country Today. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  11. ^ "President Obama Answers Questions From Indian Country Today Media Network in Unprecedented Exchange - ICTMN.com". Indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com. Retrieved November 9, 2012.
  12. ^ Bush and Kerry Complete Connect for Kids Homework Assignment | SparkAction Archived September 6, 2008, at the Wayback Machine
  13. ^ a b ICT Staff (June 27, 2013). "Indian Country Today Media Network Honored With Multiple NAJA Awards". Indian Country Today. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  14. ^ "Indigenous Wire Q&A: 'Mayor Pete' Buttigieg builds up tribal infrastructure plans". Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  15. ^ "A Conversation with Pete Rouse". Indiancountrytodaymedianetwork.com. December 16, 2010. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  16. ^ "An interview with President Evo Morales | Indian Country Today | Content". Indian Country Today. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  17. ^ "Remembering Harry Reid's Native American legacy".
  18. ^ "Native & American Indian News, Culture, Music, Art and More - Indian Country Today Media Network.com". Indiancountrytoday.com. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  19. ^ "Stacy Dixon testimony" (PDF). Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  20. ^ "Warren, Wyden, Padilla, Merkley, Daines Urge Treasury Secretary to Establish an Office of Tribal Affairs" (PDF). Retrieved December 1, 2021.
  21. ^ "SXSW Schedule, Rob Capriccioso, Founder at Indigenous Wire". Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  22. ^ "Controlling the Narrative: Writers Forging a New Way". Retrieved February 20, 2022.
  23. ^ >> "Search."[permanent dead link] Politics Magazine, (retrieved Jan 25, 2010)
  24. ^ "Tribal Business News names Rob Capriccioso as senior editor – GRAND RAPIDS, MICH., May 17, 2021". May 17, 2021. Retrieved May 25, 2021.
  25. ^ Tell Me More (October 12, 2009). "U.S. Apology To Native Americans: Unnecessary Or Not Enough?". NPR.org. NPR. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  26. ^ Tell Me More (November 6, 2009). "Native American Leaders Convene In Washington, D.C. : NPR". NPR.org. Ww.npr.org. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  27. ^ Tell Me More (December 9, 2009). "U.S. Settles Billion-Dollar Lawsuit With Native Americans". NPR.org. NPR. Retrieved January 13, 2012.
  28. ^ "Indian Country Today Media Network Honored with Multiple NAJA Awards". September 13, 2018.
  29. ^ ICT Staff (September 13, 2018). "NAJA Announces 2014 Award Winners; ICTMN Earns 17". Indian Country Today. Retrieved March 19, 2023.
  30. ^ ICT Staff. "Valerie Taliman and Other ICTMN Journalists Honored at NAJA Convention". Indian Country Today. Retrieved July 13, 2023.
  31. ^ "Media Award".
  32. ^ https://www.saulttribe.com/my-files/download-file?path=newsroom%252Fsault%2Btribe%2Bnewspaper%252F2015%252F08-07-15%2BV36N8.pdf [bare URL PDF]

References

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