WASHINGTON, D.C — States Newsroom announces the hiring of veteran newsroom leader Joan von Kampen as editor of Nebraska Examiner, Nebraska’s leading state-focused nonprofit news outlet. She began Monday, Aug. 3.
Nebraska Examiner is part of States Newsroom, the nation’s largest state-focused nonprofit news organization, with reporters in all 50 capitals plus Washington, D.C. States Newsroom’s headquarters are in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, and Washington, D.C.
“We’re fortunate to have Joan, an editor with such deep knowledge of Nebraska government and politics who also is known as a terrific mentor to up and coming journalists,” said Andrea Shaw, chief content officer of States Newsroom. “I know the Examiner staff, under her leadership, will thrive.’’
Von Kampen began her career at the Des Moines Register in Iowa, before returning home to Nebraska where she has worked in newsrooms of all sizes, from her hometown of Scottsbluff to Omaha. Since 2022, von Kampen has been the western Nebraska regional editor for Lee Enterprises, based at the North Platte Telegraph.
The western Nebraska newsrooms von Kampen oversaw during her most recent role won countless awards, including 38 from the Nebraska Press Association in the 2025 Better Newspapers Contest. Under her leadership, the North Platte Telegraph also won the NPA Community Service Award six years in a row.
“Nebraska’s newspapers rely on Examiner stories, as do readers who appreciate no-paywall access to thorough, unbiased reporting on statewide issues,” von Kampen said. “I’m proud to dedicate myself to that mission.”
Von Kampen replaces Aaron Sanderford, who stepped down as editor earlier this year.
About States Newsroom:
States Newsroom is the nation’s largest nonprofit news organization. We shine a light on policy and politics in state capitals around the nation and we provide that coverage for free, no pop-ups, paywalls or ads. In an era of rampant disinformation and news deserts, we provide nonpartisan coverage of the state issues that most affect people’s daily lives.
Leading studies cite States Newsroom as key to filling the void in coverage left by staffing cuts at legacy media outlets. According to one study, the overall percentage of reporters working for nonprofit newsrooms in the statehouse press corps has more than tripled since 2014 and now makes up the largest portion of statehouse reporters in 10 states and the second largest in 17 states.
We run — or partner with — news outlets in all 50 state capitals.
We fully fund newsrooms in 39 states, each with its own website. They are:
Alabama Reflector – alabamareflector.com
Alaska Beacon – alaskabeacon.com
Arizona Mirror – azmirror.com
Arkansas Advocate – arkansasadvocate.com
Colorado Newsline – coloradonewsline.com
Florida Phoenix – floridaphoenix.com
Georgia Recorder – georgiarecorder.com
Idaho Capital Sun – idahocapitalsun.com
Indiana Capital Chronicle – indianacapitalchronicle.com
Iowa Capital Dispatch – iowacapitaldispatch.com
Kansas Reflector – kansasreflector.com
Kentucky Lantern – kentuckylantern.com
Louisiana Illuminator – lailluminator.com
Maine Morning Star – mainemorningstar.com
Maryland Matters – marylandmatters.org
Michigan Advance – michiganadvance.com
Minnesota Reformer – minnesotareformer.com
Missouri Independent – missouriindependent.com
Daily Montanan – dailymontanan.com
Nebraska Examiner – nebraskaexaminer.com
Nevada Current – nevadacurrent.com
New Hampshire Bulletin – newhampshirebulletin.com
New Jersey Monitor – newjerseymonitor.com
Source New Mexico – sourcenm.com
NC Newsline – ncnewsline.com
North Dakota Monitor – northdakotamonitor.com
Ohio Capital Journal – ohiocapitaljournal.com
Oklahoma Voice – oklahomavoice.com
Oregon Capital Chronicle – oregoncapitalchronicle.com
Pennsylvania Capital-Star – penncapital-star.com
Rhode Island Current – rhodeislandcurrent.com
South Carolina Daily Gazette – scdailygazette.com
South Dakota Searchlight – southdakotasearchlight.com
Stateline – stateline.org
Tennessee Lookout – tennesseelookout.com
Utah News Dispatch – utahnewsdispatch.com
Virginia Mercury – virginiamercury.com
Washington State Standard – washingtonstatestandard.com
West Virginia Watch – westvirginiawatch.com
Wisconsin Examiner – wisconsinexaminer.com
States Newsroom also has content-sharing agreements with 11 leading nonprofit newsrooms: CalMatters (California), Connecticut Mirror, Spotlight Delaware, Honolulu Civil Beat, Capitol News Illinois, CommonWealth Beacon (Massachusetts), Mississippi Today, New York Focus, The Texas Tribune, VTDigger (Vermont), and WyoFile (Wyoming).
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