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Emily Schwing

@emilyschwing.bsky.social

450 followers 120 following 95 posts

Journalist w/ lots of bylines. I really like skis and dogs. I don't really like hot weather or spiders. Go bag packed. AK-based & Arctic focused.

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Emily Schwing @emilyschwing.bsky.social · Jun 3

By my count, I spent at least 40 nights in Newtok & Mertarvik over 2 yrs, interviewed over 70 people & hired an inspector to look at 7 homes built by 3 contractors. A dozen are less than 3 years old & moldy. 1 federal agency knew of problems in 2022. Another toured homes in 2023. Zero repairs made.

ProPublica @propublica.org · Jun 3

This is Mertarvik, Alaska, population 300. It’s a new town.

Its residents, the vast majority of whom are Yup’ik, began moving in around 2019.

The move was by necessity: The nearby village where many residents previously lived, Newtok, is sinking, its riverbanks eroding. THREAD 🧵

An aerial view of Metarvik, Alaska, a small village of several dozen buildings in the middle of a vast snowy expanse.

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Reposted by Emily Schwing

KTOO Public Media @ktoopublicmedia.bsky.social · 19h

The massive storm flooded communities and destroyed homes Sunday when it slammed into the coast of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta, bringing with it destructive winds and high waters.

(From KYUK - Bethel and @alaskapublic.org)

51 people rescued and at least 3 still missing after massive storm hits Western Alaska

The three people unaccounted for are from Kwigillingok, one of the communities devastated by the remnants of Typhoon Halong.

www.ktoo.org

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Emily Schwing @emilyschwing.bsky.social · 21h

i have not seen any. I think part of the problem is communications are really tough there now. I suspect the numbers are quite high.

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Emily Schwing @emilyschwing.bsky.social · 22h

How do I know this? I took a deep dive into brand new housing in one Alaska Native community and hired an inspector for a two-and-a-half year investigation. You can read it here: www.propublica.org/article/newt...

Newtok, Alaska, Was Supposed to Be a Model for Climate Relocation. Here’s How It Went Wrong.

The project’s challenges highlight how ill-prepared the U.S. is to respond to the way climate change is making some places uninhabitable.

www.propublica.org

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Emily Schwing @emilyschwing.bsky.social · 22h

The UN considers safe, healthy housing a human right. The remnants of Typhoon Halong and Merbok are storms that reveal the inaccessibility of adequate housing in one of America's most impoverished census regions.

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Emily Schwing @emilyschwing.bsky.social · 22h

How can an entire house come off its foundation and float away? It's likely most of this housing is federally subsidized, designed and built to lower 48 standards and to standards that wouldn't pass inspection (if they were inspected at all) today.

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Emily Schwing @emilyschwing.bsky.social · 22h

First, these numbers are wild:
Nightmute: at least 17 homes reported damage
Napakiak: reports of at least 20 homes with damage
Kwigillinok: 37 homes have drifted away in flood waters
Kotlik: footage shows an overturned house

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Emily Schwing @emilyschwing.bsky.social · 22h

What does Typhoon Halong reveal about housing conditions in Western Alaska? Here's a thread...👇

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Emily Schwing @emilyschwing.bsky.social · 4d

Well, this is unexpected, but also quite welcome.

Craig Welch @craigwelch.bsky.social · 4d

Journalism, he said, is how we know what's happening in troubled lands. "These extraordinary eyewitness accounts are the culmination of the daily efforts of countless people who work to ensure that information isn't manipulated for ends contrary to truth and human dignity“
apnews.com/article/pope...

Pope urges news agencies to stand as bulwark against lies, manipulation and post-truths

Pope Leo XIV has encouraged international news agencies to stand firm as a bulwark against the “ancient art of lying” and manipulation.

apnews.com

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Emily Schwing @emilyschwing.bsky.social · 4d

here's what I am reading today: www.npr.org/2025/10/08/n... Why? Because who doesn't love science, polar exploration and a break from all the relentless bad news these days.

Famed polar exploration ship Endurance not as strong as legend held, researcher says

Antarctic explorer Ernest Shackleton's crew famously survived after the Endurance became stuck in ice in 1915. A researcher says the ship was ill-equipped for the voyage and Shackleton was aware.

www.npr.org

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Emily Schwing @emilyschwing.bsky.social · 5d

it's a little more nuanced than that... but yes, this is what I am reading today.

The Intercept @theintercept.com · 5d

Ah yes, carving through the wilderness so someone can make an AI video of Darth Vader doing a TikTok dance. interc.pt/478DpZU

A photo of a serpentine river near Gates of the Arctic National Park and Preserve in Alaska on Sept. 11, 2022, overlaid with the headline, "Trump Sacrifices Alaska Wilderness to Help AI Companies," and the DEK, "Trump’s approval of the 211-mile Ambler Road Project through Gates of the Arctic National Park hinges on winning an “AI arms race.”"

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Reposted by Emily Schwing

Columbia Journalism Review @columjournreview.bsky.social · 8d

Bari Weiss has officially been announced as the editor in chief of CBS News. “She’s not a reporter; she’s never been in the field,” a 60 Minutes producer told Adam Piore for a recent profile of CBS. “Talk about controversies.”
www.cjr.org/feature/cbs-...

For the past year, journalists at CBS News have been up against extraordinary pressure. The network reached a tipping point.

“Who would have thought this is the piece that would get me fired?” Bill Owens, the former executive producer of 60 Minutes, said in the screening room. For the past year, CBS journalists have been up...

www.cjr.org

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Emily Schwing @emilyschwing.bsky.social · 10d

journalists always love being thanked. It rarely happens. Have you thanked one of us for protecting your first amendment rights today?

Tim Onion @bencollins.bsky.social · 10d

I am just so fucking proud of her.

Reposted by Emily Schwing

Freedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press · 12d

URGENT: Write a letter to your lawmakers using our action center tool telling them to vocally oppose journalist Mario Guevara's deportation and to do so quickly.

Guevara could be kicked out of the country as early as TODAY. He is legally authorized to work here and is not charged with any crime.

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Reposted by Emily Schwing

Jeff Brady @jeffbradynews.bsky.social · 17d

From @jpradio.bsky.social @romanbattaglia.com — another example of why we need reporters everywhere.

OPB @opb.org · 17d

Environmental advocates say that excluding the public and press from timber auctions limits government transparency and prevents meaningful oversight of public land management.

The Bureau of Land Management says the auctions are business meetings, not public events.

BLM timber sales in Oregon and Washington are now closed to the public

An environmental advocate in Southern Oregon said a new policy excluding the public from federal timber auctions hurts accountability and transparency.

www.opb.org

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Reposted by Emily Schwing

Humanizing Through Story @yourstorymatters.bsky.social · 18d

While documenting unfolding events two journalists sheltering behind a van were directly targeted by ICE agents firing pepper balls. One round struck a woman in the nose, leaving her bleeding.

9:00 a.m. September 25th outside the Broadview ice facility

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Reposted by Emily Schwing

Freedom of the Press Foundation @freedom.press · 18d

In case anyone thought ICE shooting at journalists was just an LA thing. Or that they'd cut it out after repeated warnings from judges. Nope. More of the same in Chicago.

unraveled @unraveledpress.com · 18d

Took fire to the face. ICE definitely isn’t aiming at ground and firing at people’s heads again.

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Reposted by Emily Schwing

Brad Lander @bradlander.bsky.social · 19d

I was back at 26 Federal Plaza today, where an ICE agent violently threw this bereft woman to the ground in front of her kids. She had not touched him. She did not pose any threat. She had to be taken to the hospital. (🎥: Elias Eliahu)

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Emily Schwing @emilyschwing.bsky.social · 18d

if i had a dollar for every time someone in journalism over 20+ years told me about "getting my foot in the door," well, I would not have as many dollars as Taylor Swift, who owns the door and what's behind it, but I'd still expect to be paid and supported for my time, skills and creative effort.

Bill Kuchman @billkuchman.bsky.social · 18d

If people didn't know that the NFL doesn't pay Super Bowl halftime performers before, they're definitely going to know now after the NFL tried to get Taylor Swift to sign on for "exposure." www.yahoo.com/entertainmen...

NFL ‘Flatly Refused’ to Meet Taylor Swift’s Demands About Super Bowl Performance, Source Says

The speculation about Taylor Swift’s possible performance at the Super Bowl has now reportedly come to an abrupt end. Industry insiders claimed that Swift made some demands to perform for the halftime...

www.yahoo.com

Emily Schwing @emilyschwing.bsky.social · 20d

this may be naive, but um, what journalist is actually ok with NOT doing this? or at least having a heavy hand in the process?

Emily Schwing @emilyschwing.bsky.social · 20d

I have also been wondering this. Where are all the movie stars and Hollywood socialites willing to write letters and make donations large enough to allow America's small and essential rural public radio stations to continue to provide the vital public service that we do?

Dave Levitan @davelevitan.bsky.social · 20d

Do any of the professors or journalists or teachers also get their jobs back or nah

Emily Schwing @emilyschwing.bsky.social · 20d

here's what i am reading today. Why? Because these are overlooked and potentially devastating natural disasters that deserve attention before they happen, not after.

Alaska Beacon @alaskabeacon.com · 21d

New report identifies and maps thousands of documented Alaska landslides, reports Yereth Rosen for the @alaskabeacon.com

New report identifies and maps thousands of documented Alaska landslides | Alaska Beacon

An Alaska landslide inventory shows places where slides have been documented in the past and gives information about future risks.

alaskabeacon.com

Emily Schwing @emilyschwing.bsky.social · 20d

Thanks to you all for pointing out my reporting on this. I have also been revisiting that story from last year to learn more about impacts from the H1-B changes, specifically because the effects are likely to be greater to Alaska's most remote and vulnerable communities. Stay tuned!

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Emily Schwing @emilyschwing.bsky.social · 21d

Applying for journalism jobs has hit a new low. An AI generated relevancy score is unlikely to highlight my skills in data gathering & analysis, filing records requests or my subject matter expertise in infrastructure development & disaster management. And my resume says Alaska, so I'm too far away.

Reposted by Emily Schwing

Rick Thoman @alaskawx.bsky.social · 21d

This looks bad: Monday afternoon report of rock slides and building collapses at Elfin Cove, on Chichagof Island in northern Southeast Alaska. #akwx #ExtremeWeather @spiraledu.bsky.social @alaska.bsky.social

Damage report from NWS Juneau with report from Elfin Cove of trees blown down, building collapses and rockslides.

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Reposted by Emily Schwing

John Ryan @heyjohnryan.bsky.social · 21d

A dark day for Northwest journalism: @cascadepbs.bsky.social is axing the @cascadepbsnewsroom.bsky.social, laying off 17 people, per internal memo obtained by @kuow.org.

Cascade PBS got ~10% of its budget from Corp. for Public Broadcasting. Unclear why its whole newsroom had to be axed.

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