Civil Beat Has A New Face In Washington, D.C.
Civil Beat has a new reporter in Washington, D.C. He is Kery Murakami, a journalist with more than 20 years experience covering government and public policy issues.
Murakami, 46, was most recently on the staff of Newsday in New York where he covered major breaking news stories including the Occupy Wall Street protests and Hurricane Irene.
But much of his career was spent in Seattle where he became well-known as a state and local government reporter, first for the Seattle Times and then for the Seattle Post-Intelligencer.
When the P-I closed its print operation in 2009, Kery was one of dozens of journalists out of a job. But he was determined to stay in the news business and became the driving force behind the Seattle PostGlobe, an online news site.
You can read more about that venture in from Columbia Journalism Review, but Kery demonstrated his passion for journalism and his commitment to our craft as a way to foster public discussion on important issues and to make sure people have an independent source of news they can rely on.
He’s also worked for the Washington State Budget & Policy Center, where he sharpened his skills delving into financial measures that affected the state. That experience should serve Civil Beat readers well as he follows the effect of federal budget cuts on Hawaii.
You’ll be seeing more of him as our weekly interview series, DC808: On The Wire, resumes.
But he’s definitely an interesting guy with a laid-back quality that suits Hawaii’s sensibilities. That may be in his history.
His grandfather settled in Hawaii in the late 1800s and worked in the sugar cane fields. He moved to California and saved enough to start his own farming operation but lost it during World War II when he was forced into an internment camp.
Kery was born in Japan and moved with his parents to New York when he was four. His dad was an advertising agency exec working in Japan where he met Kery’s mom, an up-and-coming Japanese actress. His parents moved back to Kyoto, Japan, a few years ago.
So perhaps it’s appropriate that one of the areas we’ve asked Kery to follow for us is immigration, especially as it affects immigrants from Asia. Besides the federal budget and federal legislation, he’s also interested in a number of subjects that affect Hawaii including veterans issues, energy and the environment. And, of course, national politics and our congressional delegation.
He’s reachable at kery@civilbeat.com or on the phone at 808-377-0244. Please drop him a note with story tips and thoughts about about Washington, D.C., coverage.
