New leadership at the Inlander: Two familiar faces take on the editor and news editor roles

We are happy to share with all you readers of the Inlander that we have new editorial leadership in place, with some familiar faces moving up as we continue to cover news, arts and entertainment across the Inland Northwest. Chey Scott is our new editor, while Samantha Wohlfeil is now our news editor.

Chey Scott has been with the Inlander for 12 years and served in just about every role we have on the arts and culture side, developing deep connections to the region’s cultural scene. Since 2022 she has been our arts and culture editor; now she is overseeing our entire editorial operation.

“It still feels like it was only yesterday that I was hired as the Inlander's listing editor, back in July 2012,” she says. “I was so excited to come work here as I'd always been impressed by the paper's talented journalists and its important role in the community. I'm still proud to be a part of the Inlander's editorial team today. Back then, though, I had no inkling that my journey here was just getting started!”

Scott grew up in the Spokane area, attending Lakeside High School in Nine Mile Falls. Then she graduated from Washington State University and went to work at the Spokane Journal of Business prior to joining the Inlander team.

“I first dreamed of becoming a journalist when I was in the eighth grade and feel truly honored to be named the Inlander's next editor. I'm grateful to be working alongside a top-notch team who will continue to produce great journalism that the paper is known for.”

Scott also serves as the editor of our Annual Manual glossy publication and will continue to oversee the Inlander’s arts and culture coverage.

She’s written a wide range of features for the Inlander over the years, including a look back at the regional legacy of the Hanford Nuclear Site for the 75th anniversary of its B Reactor’s startup, plus a deep dive into the local Dungeons & Dragons gaming scene. She’s also launched projects such as the paper’s annual Pet Issue.

Meanwhile, we are also promoting longtime staff writer and breaking news editor Samantha Wohlfeil to news editor. She has written about a huge variety of topics, with a focus on the environment, health and rural communities.

Back in 2019, she covered the issue of how child marriage is still legal in most parts of the country; recently that issue has taken on national significance with some states seeking to change their laws. In September she documented how a Cheney man spent two years fighting — successfully, it turned out — to get his friend out of Afghanistan. And in 2018 she wrote about Bitcoin mining in Washington that is exploiting our relatively inexpensive electricity.

“I’m excited about continuing to pave the way with those kinds of deep, human-centered stories,” says Wohlfeil, who has been with the Inlander for seven years. “We try to tell those stories about policy by finding real people who are being impacted by those decisions.”

Having grown up in Moscow and Pullman, Wohlfeil understands agricultural communities, small rural towns and the border state — and border town — dynamics that are part of the fabric of the Inland Northwest. She graduated from Western Washington University and took a job at the daily newspaper there, the Bellingham Herald, before moving back to the Inland Northwest.

“We cover the things that are really important to people in their daily lives,” she adds. “We’re here in the community; we’re here every day.” ♦