Q&A: The Fearless High School Newspaper Editor Covering Portland Protests

[Nevilledog]

https://www.portlandmercury.com/blogtown/2020/07/24/28669248/qanda-the-fearless-high-school-newspaper-editor-covering-portland-protest

Since Friday evening, a new Twitter account has caught the attention of people closely following Portland's nightly protests: @Clypian. It's the account for the South Salem High School newspaper, the Clypian, and it's currently being run by the paper's editor-in-chief, Eddy Binford-Ross.

Binford-Ross, 17, has quickly become one of the most prolific reporters covering protests on the ground in Portland—capturing everything from tear gas blanketing crowds of protesters to the bright yellow Wall of Moms chanting in unison. The Mercury caught up with Binford-Ross Wednesday afternoon—in between phone interviews with the Washington Post and power naps—to hear what's brought her journalistic prowess to the streets Portland.

MERCURY: So tell me about the Clypian. How long have you been working there? How does it operate?

BINFORD-ROSS: I started with the Clypian as a reporter the second semester of freshman year. I became the news editor my sophomore year, and last year I became editor-in-chief. The newspaper is a class in school, but it’s completely student run. We have an advisor, who makes sure everything we do is legal, But he doesn’t have any say over our editorial decisions. We have photographers, writers, editors, podcasters, people who run our social media pages… it’s a full staff.

*snip*

[Karadeniz]

1. Great kid!