The Vidette welcomes reporter Todd Bennington as the latest addition to its staff.
A native of Shelton, Bennington brings four years of experience in journalism to The Vidette. He spent several years at the News Letter Journal, an award-winning weekly serving the town of Newcastle in northeastern Wyoming. While there, he was honored with several Wyoming Press Association awards for his work.
Recently, Bennington was employed by a publishing company in Raymond where he contributed editing, writing, and photography to three area weeklies: Town Crier (covering a handful of rural communities in Lewis County), Willapa Harbor Herald (covering the northern portion of Pacific County), and the now-defunct Grays Harbor Herald.
Bennington holds an undergraduate degree in English literature from Washington State University and a graduate degree in international relations from Webster University Thailand.
Prior to working in journalism, he served four years as a paratrooper in the U.S. Army’s 82nd Airborne Division, deploying as an intelligence analyst with the 82nd to Afghanistan for 15 months during 2007-2008.
A self-described “lover of travel,” Bennington has spent several years working and studying abroad in Japan and Thailand and maintains a long list of countries he’d like to visit or where he’d like to spend more time.
“Todd’s multiple years of experience and his vast education will strengthen The Vidette and the Grays Harbor Newspaper Group,” Vidette editor Corey Morris said. “We’re excited to bring him on and to read the high-quality coverage he produces about our communities throughout East County.”
In his spare time Bennington enjoys reading on a wide variety of topics, creative writing, daily walks and listening to music.
Bennington currently lives in Raymond with his wife, Lapasrada, and his 11-month-old son, Davin. Bennington’s parents live in Shelton. He has one sibling, a younger brother who resides in Pullman.
Bennington will cover news from Elma, school news from the local school districts, and local features.
