The Durango Herald has hired three new staff members to join its newsroom.
Bret Hauff will report on police, courts and Durango city government. His professional journalism career began at the Longboat Observer in Sarasota, Florida, where he covered city government and local news and won a Florida Press Association award for enterprise non-investigative reporting.
He graduated from Emerson College in Boston with a degree in journalism.
While in Boston, he interned with the New England Center for Investigative Reporting and The Boston Globe.
Hauff can be reached at bhauff@durangoherald.com or at 375-4561. Follow him on Twitter at @b_hauff.
Brendan Ploen will cover high school and college sports.
Ploen is a native of Park Ridge, Illinois, near Chicago. He graduated in May from Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, with a degree in journalism.
Before moving to Durango, he worked for two years at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel as an agate clerk in the sports department.
He has won the Society of Professional Journalists Mark of Excellence award as well as the Milwaukee Press Club’s college-level awards for best sports story and online sports story.
He can be reached at bploen@durangoherald.com or at 375-4544. Follow him on Twitter at @brendanploen.
Kenna Walsh is the Herald’s new editorial assistant. She handles briefs, calendars, special announcements, thank you letters and general story assignments. She has a bachelor’s degree in journalism and political science, and has held reporting and editing positions at the Valdosta (Georgia) Daily Times. She also worked as a journalism teaching assistant at Mississippi State University, and most recently as a freelance copywriter and social media consultant in Phoenix.
Walsh can be reached at herald@durangoherald.com, kwalsh@durangoherald.com or at 375-4566.
“I’m pleased to have three talented journalists join us,” said Executive Editor Amy Maestas. “Each of these new staff members has important skills that will help us continue to bring local news to our community. I hope readers will pay attention to their coverage and welcome them to Durango.”
