by H.L. Comeriato
(H.L. Comeriato is a staff reporter for the Buckeye Flame. The following article appeared on the Buckeye Flame’s website on July 15, 2024, and is shared here through the Flame’s “Steal Our Stories” agreement. It originally appeared at https://thebuckeyeflame.com/2024/07/15/meet-reporter-ben-jodway/)

Journalist Ben Jodway officially joined the Buckeye Flame’s newsroom via Report for America (RFA) on July 8 and will cover rural LGBTQ+ communities across the state. This makes Jodway the first reporter in the nation to cover rural LGBTQ+ communities full-time.

We sat down with the Michigan native to learn more about his writing, his life and his hopes for the future of the beat.

H.L. Comeriato: You moved here to work with us at the Buckeye Flame. That’s kind of a big deal! Tell us a little about where you’re from.

Ben Jodway: I grew up mostly in Livonia, Mich., which is a suburb of Detroit. It was a pretty blue collar area, but I was born at a time when it was kind of switching over. By then, Ford and GM had left the area.

My mom was from the big Polish, Catholic-heavy neighborhood, and I grew up going to Catholic elementary and middle school.  Then I went to Central Michigan University (CMU) in Mt. Pleasant, Mich. It’s in the middle of nowhere, but I had a great experience.

CM Life was the first student paper I worked for. I didn’t work on huge projects or anything, but there were some student journalists there that did some great stuff.

I majored in journalism originally, but I switched to history midway through. Then I was at WCMU Public Media for a while, and that’s where I heard about Report for America.

Comeriato: Yeah! You came to us at the Buckeye Flame through a non-profit journalism organization called Report for America (RFA). Tell us about becoming an RFA corps member.

Jodway: I had some friends in RFA and they said it was great.

I kept an eye out for [applications], but I ended up getting hired right out of college [covering education] at the Midland Daily News.

When I finally [applied to become an RFA corps member], my top choices were the Buckeye Flame and the Door County Knock – which is a fantastic newspaper name.

I always wanted to try living in a bigger city; I’m LGBTQ+ and the Buckeye Flame is an LGBTQ+ non-profit. It was ticking all the boxes. Now I’m here and loving Cleveland so far!

Comeriato: Tell me a little about your writing and storytelling styles. I know you mentioned you write fiction, too.

Jodway: Originally, I started writing fiction in middle school and high school. It’s nothing I would ever show to anyone, but that’s when I knew I’d love to do something with writing.

Then I read “Generation Kill” by Evan Wright, and I was like, “Oh my God. You can do what I want to do with writing, with journalism.” That was very eye-opening.

Wright was a Rolling Stone Magazine reporter and had a more magazine-like writing style than newspaper, obviously. But it’s the sense of storytelling, the foresight that book has. I thought that was so amazing.

That’s what really turned me onto journalism. I felt like I could use my storytelling as something that could help people, so I started to get really into grassroots journalism.

I listened to a lot of Popular Front. I love [British journalist] Jake Hanrahan’s work. I love Propublica – and just really non-profit, grassroots journalism in general.

Comeriato: We believe you are the first and only beat reporter in the country to cover rural LGBTQ+ communities. How does that feel?

Jodway: It’s very exciting! At the same time, it’s terrifying because no one has ever done this before. I want to start [the beat] in a way that will hopefully lay a foundation for people who are way better than me to jump off. That being said, I also want to write great stories that help the community, shine a light on them and also just keep them informed with everything happening.

Comeriato: Going in, what do you want our readers to know about you or your storytelling?

Jodway: I just want my stories to help people to feel connected and have a bit more empathy. I really think the internet can keep people further apart. I think – I hope – my stories will give people a sense of community that is rapidly disappearing.

(Note: The Buckeye Flame is an online platform dedicated to amplifying the voices of LGBTQ+ Ohioans to support community and civic empowerment through the creation of engaging content that chronicles their triumphs, struggles, and lived experiences.)

SPECIAL REPORT
Volume 26
Issue 6