On this episode we're joined by Kaela Roeder. Kaela is the lead reporter in Washington D.C. and Virginia for Technically (Technical dot LY), a national news organization that reports on local innovation economies in the United States, a newsroom that has done so since 2009.
Kaela has been with them for 2 years. Prior to that she's had a few different jobs, including one as deputy editor for Street Sense Media, covering homelessness in the DC/Baltimore region and LGBTQ issues for the Washington Blade.
Kaela is a graduate of American University with a journalism degree where, among other things, she won an award for aspiring LGBTQ journalists.
Kaela explained Technically's purpose and the kind of stories she reports on. One day she may be writing an investigation about a tech CEO headed to prison. The next she may be sharing a first-person experience at a Bitcoin bar.
She shared how she learned on the fly so that she could cover this beat. And she detailed important things for young journalists to know as well as those she's recently learned that help in the job. The excerpt below is edited for clarity and length.
What is Technically and what purpose does it serve?
We're an outlet that writes about local innovation tech, the future of the workforce, startups, and a bunch of different (areas) at the local level. I'm in D.C. and Virginia. We have reporters in Pennsylvania, Delaware, Maryland, and we recently expanded to Louisiana, which is very exciting. We're a staff of 13 people. Tiny but mighty.
The thesis is that entrepreneurship boosts economic opportunity, new jobs business inventions. But the path is pretty inaccessible in part because of a lack of information available online. Technically is a freely available news site containing information and context about all things technology to make entrepreneurship accessible and effective.
Our mission statement is that we connect and challenge technologists and entrepreneurs who care about where they live. We're very focused on the local. And like you said, we've been around since 2009.
Was there a big learning curve for this job?
Oh my gosh, yeah. The learning curve was, was big, not necessarily before I started, but in the beginning. Learning about all the jargon was the biggest thing. When it comes to tech and investing, there are a lot of acronyms.
There are a lot of terms that I'd never heard of before. The way I got around that was, I just talk to people all the time. Not necessarily for a story, but I would just set up coffees, virtual chats with people to learn about what they do and their job to get a better idea of how everything works.
That was helpful. A big part of this job is that I go to events, tech meetups and conferences and things like that. And doing a lot of that early on was helpful too. I obviously read and research a lot about tech, but the conversations I have with people, I feel like I learn the most.
I want to add an interactive component to this newsletter.
Let’s try a question of the week:
What’s the biggest learning curve you experienced as a journalist? E-mail me at [email protected] and I’ll include responses next week.
What would you say about your versatility given that you've covered homelessness, LGBTQ issues, and now tech?
I had a coworker, it was her first two weeks where I work now, and she was writing this really intense story about this very complex policy, and she just went for it. And I said to her, do you have all the information that you need?
And she said, I'm a journalist. I'm gonna gather all the information that I can and talk to the people that I can, and then put out a story and inform people.
You just can't be shy to pick up the phone and learn about what you're covering.
What's something a new journalist should know about entering the profession?
When I was first starting out and in college it was always very difficult to get a tough edit from an editor or a professor. But when you're first starting out and throughout your career, those tough edits are key in making you a better journalist. And I think that it's really important to get comfortable with your articles getting torn apart because that's part of the deal. It's hard but it is just to make you a better journalist.
What kind of journalists do you wanna be?
I love local. I think I always wanna stay in local news. It is so important.
It's importance should not be overlooked by people. I love local. I love including all the little nuances For example maybe this business isn't getting a lot of traction because they're far away from public transportation or this metro station just closed and that's why this business isn't getting a lot of attention.
I love knowing the nuances of local communities. I want to stay in local.
In 2025 we had a new episode each week and featured more than 60 guests. I don’t know that we were the most diverse journalist interviews podcast out there, but we certainly tried to be.
We look forward to bringing you more journalist interviews in 2026 but we can use your help. Tell a friend, a relative, a colleague about us and let them know that our episodes are worth their time.
A reminder to professors and teachers
You can find episode guides that you can use if you wish to integrate the podcast within your classroom. There are more than 50 available. Each one has suggested questions for discussion and activities a class can do.
I’m also happy to help you find an episode that would be appropriate for what you’re teaching. Reach out to me at [email protected].
Additionally, I’ve curated some of the 2025 episodes into groups. If you’re teaching a class or unit in any of these subjects:
- Investigative Journalism
- Feature Writing
- Covering government policy
- Social justice, immigration, and identity
- Local News
Check out the sets of episode guides that would be useful to you. I don’t have a good term for them, so I’m borrowing from Bluesky and calling them “Starter Packs” - sets of 5-8 episodes in each category that may be useful in your classroom.