Meet Dispatch politics reporter Haley BeMiller, who covers Ohio Statehouse

The first thing you should know is that I hate talking about myself.

Icebreakers are my worst nightmare. Someone asks me to share a fun fact, and suddenly I feel like the lamest person on the planet. I have two cats. I'm really into "Doctor Who" and met David Tennant. I'm an Illinois native who roots for the Green Bay Packers because the Chicago Bears are awful. Is this fun? Am I fun yet?

Honestly, one of the first things I tend to mention in those situations is my job. I cover state government and politics for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which is code for the statehouse team for the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer and its sister papers in Ohio. I've been here for over three years now, and it's never boring.

You've probably seen my name on stories about Ohio's 2022 and 2024 Senate races, marijuana policy and voting rights. I recently won an award for my coverage of last year's effort to make it harder to amend the Ohio Constitution. I also write a weekly newsletter called The Scoop and host our podcast, Ohio Politics Explained .

There's a lot of BS in politics, which is probably not news to you. I take seriously my role to understand how policies will affect people's lives and provide context when politicians are dishonest. This does not make me popular: Readers have accused me of being a liberal hack and a shill for Republicans. Someone called me the "C" word once, and that did not stand for cool.

As much as I don't like discussing myself, I think it's important for readers to know more about the journalists behind the news. We're human beings. We may live in your neighborhood and shop at the same grocery store. We're all doing our best to be fair, think critically and help you wade through the noise.

But if you don't know us, how can you trust us? Spoiler alert: A lot of people don't. Research from the Reuters Institute found people tend to be more skeptical of news media if they're younger, don't have a college degree and have a lower income. Just 43% of liberals, 42% of independents and 45% of conservatives said they trust news most of the time.

A lot of really smart people in our industry are trying to tackle this problem. Organizations like Trusting News provide journalists with tools to build trust in their communities and increase transparency about the reporting process. I've done a couple fellowships with this group, and that's part of why our statehouse bureau published a FAQ explaining what we cover and why.

So here I am, attempting to do my part.

Some other things you should know about me: I came to Ohio by way of Wisconsin, where I reported on local government and politics and met another journalist who's now my fiancé. I investigated clergy abuse for two years and produced the most difficult, but impactful story of my career. During grad school, I covered the statehouse in Illinois − another place that knows a thing or two about public corruption.

When I'm not at work, I'm probably traveling, baking or volunteering at Columbus Humane. I love going to museums and watching live theater. I take "Love is Blind" way too seriously. I went through an emo phase in junior high that never really ended.

Questions? Feedback? Bread recipes? You can always reach me at hbemiller@gannett.com. Like Daredevil, I'm just trying to make my city − and state − a better place.

Haley BeMiller is a reporter for the USA TODAY Network Ohio Bureau, which serves the Columbus Dispatch, Cincinnati Enquirer, Akron Beacon Journal and 18 other affiliated news organizations across Ohio.

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Meet Dispatch politics reporter Haley BeMiller, who covers Ohio Statehouse