Bethany Baker

About

Hi, I’m Bethany! I’m a visual journalist – writing stories, shooting photos and creating videos. Currently, I’m a full-time videographer at The Salt Lake Tribune with an interest in covering land and water in the American West. I’m entering my final semester at Harvard Extension School where I’m earning my Master’s Degree in Journalism. My life behind the camera started when my father would hand me cheap cameras and now-archaic looking rolls of film. My interest grew as I spent my summers with my older brother in Northern Arizona. He wrote for the local newspaper and travel magazine in the Four Corners region of the Southwest. Parked outside the visitor center at Zion National Park, he offered me the camera in the passenger seat of his gold Stratus. “You want to take the pictures,” he asked before heading out to his feature assignment. “Sure,” I casually replied. And I’ve been working behind a camera ever since. I graduated from Indiana State University two years following the Great Recession in 2008. Like many then, I struggled to find any position in journalism. After three grueling years photographing for the campus newspaper, I questioned a full-time career in photojournalism anyway. Instead, I found my first job in academia, as a marketing photographer at a university in Idaho. Eventually, I finally landed my first news job at The World, a small newspaper along the Oregon Coast. After a year, I transferred to Montana to work for The Billings Gazette. There, I joined three other journalists on an investigating team focused on the issue of murdered and missing Indigenous women. Moving again, I joined the staff of The Coloradoan in Fort Collins, Colorado. Along the Front Range of the Rockies, I decided to focus on environmental journalism after a colleague invited me to join an investigative study into water permits along the Colorado River. My interest in water in the West had been growing for years. After a quick pit stop in at Harvard University to earn my Master’s Degree in Journalism and two certificates in environmental policy and digital storytelling, I accepted a position at The Salt Lake Tribune. Starting as a staff videographer, I eventually transitioned into a multimedia journalist creating stills and video content. Even beyond the camera and notepad, I’m also passionate about the great outdoors. My happy place usually involves a raft, kayak or tent with my adorable pup. I’m open to freelancing opportunities as well as tips and story ideas.