Chips Quinn Reporter Spotlight: Samantha Verrelli
Posting: Tuesday, November 25, 2025
Samantha Verrelli, Regional Reporter for Cardinal News, covers the Roanoke Valley with a dedication to watchdog journalism and a deep curiosity about how institutions function—and sometimes fail—the communities they serve. Her reporting blends careful investigation with empathy, highlighting complex systems through the voices of those most affected by them.
As a native of the Philadelphia suburbs, Verrelli has always been drawn to storytelling and creativity. Whether through writing, painting or research, she found fulfillment in exploring how people experience the world around them. Her interest in journalism began in high school, but it was at Penn State University where that passion took off. As a student reporter for The Daily Collegian, she covered a wide range of stories, eventually becoming an investigative reporter.
During this time, Verrelli also interned with PennLive, where she produced an in-depth report on understaffing at a local prison and its effects on both officers and incarcerated individuals. The experience helped her recognize the power of journalism to hold institutions accountable while amplifying the human impact behind the headlines. “Those early years,” she says, “were when I really fell in love with journalism and began to understand its importance in the modern world.”
Samantha Verrelli
Chips Quinn Reporter
One of the most formative experiences in Verrelli’s career came during her junior year, when she joined a Penn State NewsLab project led by investigative journalist and educator Maggie Messitt. The team spent months reporting in East Palestine, OH, after the train derailment and environmental disaster that displaced residents and drew national attention. Verrelli learned not only how to manage a complex, evolving story but also how to report compassionately in communities that were still experiencing trauma. “That experience solidified my desire to continue this kind of reporting. It taught me to balance accuracy with empathy and persistence.”
Pictured: Verrelli at the 2024 Virginia Press Association Awards | Credits: Cardinal News
At Cardinal News, Verrelli continues to pursue investigative and government accountability reporting. She’s particularly drawn to stories that explore how systems can change for the better. In her words, “I’m passionate about covering dysfunctional or unjust institutions, but more importantly, why they’re problematic, and how they can change.”
Her reporting has covered everything from city government operations to regional infrastructure and policy. She often finds herself asking not just what happened, but how and why.
One story she’s especially proud of began in April 2024, when a massive fire destroyed a local business, NokeVans, in a former rayon factory. A tip suggested the developer had turned off the building’s sprinkler system months before the fire. Within two days, Verrelli confirmed the information through multiple sources, including the developer himself and city officials. Her reporting ultimately helped the business prove it was not at fault, leading to insurance payouts that allowed owners to rebuild. “It was the kind of story that required quick thinking, verification and a crash course in how fire suppression systems work,” she says.
Verrelli joined the Chips Quinn Fellowship seeking mentorship and guidance beyond her newsroom. She describes her team at Cardinal News as deeply supportive but recognizes the importance of hearing different perspectives. “At this stage in my career, I want to learn from journalists who’ve taken different paths,” she says. “The fellowship offers that opportunity and more—it’s a chance to keep learning through new experiences and connections.”
Through the program, Verrelli hopes to refine her ability to balance long-term investigative projects with daily reporting demands. At Cardinal News, reporters juggle evergreen, weekly and breaking stories, and she wants to strengthen her time management and editorial strategy for deeper investigations. She’s also focused on generating new ideas and learning how to identify which stories will have the greatest impact.
Advice for Aspiring Journalists
Verrelli encourages early-career journalists to approach the work with confidence and patience. “So much of this job depends on learning by doing,” she says. “You’re going to make mistakes—that’s how you grow.” She remembers being nervous at her first city council meeting, unsure of when to speak or what to ask. Now, she approaches those meetings as opportunities to connect with her community and uncover meaningful stories.
Pictured: Verrelli on The Cardinal: News of Virginia podcast | Credits: Cardinal News
Samantha’s Mentor: Janet Coats
Coats has been a leader in journalism for 25 years, heading multimedia news organizations, advancing civic engagement and founding a consulting firm focused on engagement and sustainability for non-profit and entrepreneurial newsrooms. She served as Executive Director for Innovation and Strategy at Arizona State University’s Walter Cronkite School, overseeing media literacy and the News21 program. Prior to that, she led Coats2Coats Consulting, helping newsrooms with content, engagement, and revenue strategies. Coats held leadership roles at The News Center and the Sarasota Herald-Tribune, served as Dean at The Poynter Institute, and was a Pulitzer Prize juror and board member of the American Society of News Editors.
Janet Coats
Managing Director - Consortium on Trust in Media and Technology
Started by Freedom Forum, the original Chips Quinn program helped put college interns into newsrooms across the country. Since its beginnings in 1991, the program has reached more than 1,400 people, many of whom are now in leadership positions for local and national newsrooms. Today, the program aims to offer support to early-career journalists already in their respective newsrooms through a 1:1 mentorship by leading members in the journalism field as well as alumni from the program. Thanks to continued support for the program from Freedom Forum, each Chips Quinn Reporter receives a $10,000 stipend..
About Freedom Forum: Established on July 4, 1991, by USA TODAY founder Al Neuharth, the Freedom Forum is a nonpartisan 501(c)(3) foundation dedicated to fostering First Amendment freedoms for all. As the nation’s foremost advocate for First Amendment freedoms, the Freedom Forum engages thousands of Americans each year in classes, conversations and celebrations of these essential rights, including through the Power Shift Project, the annual Al Neuharth Free Spirit and Journalism Conference, the Chips Quinn Scholars Program for Diversity in Journalism, the Al Neuharth Award for Excellence in the Media, the Free Expression Awards, the annual “Where America Stands” survey, the Journalists Memorial and Today’s Front Pages.
About JFP: The mission of Journalism Funding Partners is to strengthen the depth, diversity and sustainability of local news by building and shepherding relationships between funders and local news organizations. JFP is a recognized nonprofit that acts as fiscal sponsor, allowing foundations and individual funders to contribute directly to local news, regardless of the news organization’s business model. JFP manages the funds feeding numerous news initiatives, including more than a dozen Climate reporters in the Southeast, an Equity Desk at The Sacramento Bee, an Education and Economic Mobility Desk in California’s Central Valley, the Investigative Fund of The Miami Herald and for Inclusivity and Investigative funds at the Associated Press.
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Media Contact: Rusty Coats, Executive Director | rusty@jfp-local.org | (813) 277-8959
