CJ Baker
Writer & Editor
Wyoming journalist
Over the past 15 years, I've worked to earn the trust of readers and sources through accurate and fair reporting, producing impactful stories that have traveled across the country.
As a writer and editor in Powell, Wyoming, I've had the opportunity to cover a bit of everything -- from a hospital CEO who brazenly embezzled his way into federal prison to the shuttering of a pharmaceutical manufacturer once eyed as a key part of the state's economic diversification strategy to a fight over a luxury retreat proposed in one of Wyoming's windiest and most scenic places.
I enjoy reporting on anything that involves a good story and making copy better through editing. When I'm not digging into court documents or laboring over the last troublesome sentence of a draft, you can find me hanging out with my wife, two boys and Australian shepherd.
Selected work
A dig into public records showed that military contractor Erik Prince overstated his ties to Wyoming in a sworn statement to a judge.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a Powell bar refused to go along with Gov. Mark Gordon's 10 p.m. curfew, asserting it was exempt.
Friends, families and colleagues from across the country gathered in Cody to pay their respects to Tim Hart, a wildland firefighter who died in the line of duty.
The fight over the direction of Wyoming's Republican Party came to Park County in the 2020 primary, with party activists from across the state aligning with different local candidates.
For more than a decade, officials investigated and prosecuted the operators of a Powell treatment center for Medicaid fraud. A jury, however, acquitted the men of all charges.
Multiple people knew or suspected that a construction worker had used meth before he and a heavy truck crashed down a ravine in 2018. But no one took action in time.
Photography
REsume
Freelance Writing and Editing
December 2022 - present
December 2022 - present
Available for opportunities.
Powell Tribune — Staff Writer
December 2022 - present
December 2022 - present
Covering law enforcement, the judicial system, the City of Powell government and local politics, along with other topics.
Park County Elections Office — Elections Clerk
April 2022 - December 2022
April 2022 - December 2022
Helped administer the 2022 primary and general elections on a temporary basis, from registering voters to assisting candidates with campaign finance reports.
Powell Tribune — Editor/Deputy Editor
September 2016 - April 2022
September 2016 - April 2022
Led the Tribune's five-person newsroom by managing and editing all content for two issues per week. Continued to cover a variety of topics.
Powell Tribune — Staff Writer
June 2008 - September 2016
June 2008 - September 2016
Covered a range of issues while generally focusing on the Park County government, law enforcement, the judicial system and local politics.