Meet NCPR's newest news voice: Cara Chapman, our Plattsburgh reporter
We’re all very excited here in the NCPR newsroom because there’s a new voice you’re going to start hearing and reading a lot in regional news.
Cara Chapman started work Monday as NCPR's new Champlain Valley reporter, based in Plattsburgh. Chapman is a native resident of the Champlain Valley. She most recent reported on county and local government for the Plattsburgh Press-Republican.
You can reach her with story ideas or news tips by emailing [email protected] or on Twitter at @ByCaraChapman
Chapman joined NCPR's Monica Sandreczki on Northern Light to introduce herself to the NCPR audience. Their conversation has been lightly edited for clarity.
CARA CHAPMAN: I grew up with my family in Schuyler Falls, but my sister and I attended the Plattsburgh parochial school, so if you're St. John's Irish or Seton Catholic Knights, I'm one of you. Go Knights! Go Irish! And then after Seton, I attended St. Michael's College over in Colchester, Vermont, so I've basically lived in the Champlain Valley my entire life.
After college, I joined the Plattsburgh Press-Republican. I did take a break, working in education for a bit, but I came back to the paper because reporting is really what I love doing.
MONICA SANDRECZKI: Like you just mentioned, you come to us from the Plattsburgh Press-Republican, the local newspaper there in the Champlain Valley. What did you cover at the Press-Republican?
CHAPMAN: Most recently, the main crux of my job was covering government and politics...government at all levels, really. But I also dipped into education, and especially over the last couple of years with the pandemic, there was a lot of a health focus.
When I first joined the paper though I was crime reporter. So I also focused on not just police matters, but also fires, and there was a big focus on behavioral health. As I was coming up, there was a shift in that focus towards destigmatizing addiction and recovery and prevention and all components of behavioral health. I was very fortunate to be experiencing that.
SANDRECZKI: Now as you're coming to NCPR, you're pretty new to reporting on the radio. What's it been like to switch from newspaper and print?
CHAPMAN: I do have some prior audio experience, just from coursework at St. Michael's, but also I did an internship with a country radio station, so I have some on-air experience. The interviewing is pretty similar. You're talking to people; you're getting to know them; you're hearing their stories.
But, there is a more technical piece, like hooking up the recording equipment, making sure that you're getting good sound. It's telling stories in a different way. In a newspaper, you have more of a detail-oriented focus, whereas with public radio, it's more of a broad brush, but also digging deeper and having a bit more time on the story. So it's telling stories in a different way.
They both bring great value to informing locals about what's going on in their community. They're partners in a way.
SANDRECZKI: What are your favorite kinds of stories to cover?
CHAPMAN: Kind of a two-pronged answer: I love a good local government meeting. Those can also be very boring, but the good ones, just seeing what kind of issues bring people out to make a public comment. I know in Plattsburgh, a recurring issue is how to manage feral cats and stuff like that, so that's a big thing.
I also really enjoy just human interest stories. So some of my favorite stories to tell are about families that are formed through the foster care system, couples who adopt their children or expand their families that way. I love when people entrust me with telling their stories, so human interest is definitely up there.
SANDRECZKI: Obviously you're not just a reporter. What do you like to do in your spare time?
CHAPMAN: It's pretty straightforward. Maybe this is a little dorky, but just time with friends and family. That's what I really love to do. I have a ton of family who lives locally in the Plattsburgh area. My parents are still there. Lots of aunts, uncles, grandparents, that kind of thing.
But also I kind of dip into a little bit of everything! There's some crafting: I love yoga when I can; I love hiking when I can. My partner and I also like to check out restaurants and go to breweries. I'm a big fan of coffee shops in the area, so kind of a little bit of everything.
SANDRECZKI: It's been fun to get to talk with you about coffee and beer over these past couple of days (laughs)!
CHAPMAN: (laughs) Exactly!
SANDRECZKI: You already have done lots of reporting in the Champlain Valley, but I'm sure you're always looking for new stories to cover.
CHAPMAN: Absolutely. My inbox is open: it's [email protected]. That's Cara with a "C". I'm on Twitter @ByCaraChapman. DM's are open so, if you have story ideas for the Plattsburgh / Champlain Valley area, definitely hit me up. I'm excited to hear from you!
