About Ines Calder
Reporter and columnist in Springfield since 2014 (sample). I write about the decisions that change where people live and how they get home.
From council reporter to columnist
I joined the Ledger as a council reporter, which meant three evening meetings a week and a lot of agendas (sample). Reading the papers attached to them taught me where the news usually is: on page 40, in a table.
Since 2021 I write the Thursday column and one long investigation a season. I also write features for other papers and magazines when the story is bigger than one city.
What I cover
Four beats, the same ones since 2014 (sample).
Housing and rent
Who owns the flats, what the council spends on emergency housing, how long repairs take.
Most weeks
Buses and getting home
Timetables against shift patterns, fares, and the stops that were quietly cut.
Twice a month
City hall
Budgets, contracts and the papers attached to the agenda, read to the last appendix.
Every council meeting
The river
Who owns the banks, what goes into the water, and the path the city keeps promising.
A long read each spring
How I work
The rules I keep for every piece, whoever publishes it.
- I name my sources unless that would put them at risk, and I say why when I do not
- Every number links to the document it comes from
- People I write about can reply before the piece runs
- Mistakes are corrected in public, with the date and what changed
Quick facts
Based in
Springfield (sample)
Writes for
Springfield Ledger, Lakeside Review
Column
Thursdays, 850 words
Languages
English and Spanish
Available for
Commissions, talks, workshops
Write to me
Commissions, talks, tips and letters all arrive in the same inbox, and I read every one (sample).