Journalists of the Gazette: Meet Erin Murphy

How long have you been at The Gazette?

I have been with the Gazette since 2022. Before that, I worked in a very, very similar —almost identical — position with the Lee newspapers here in Iowa, and we worked with the Gazette then. So I've essentially been doing this job since 2014.

Where are you from and where did you go to school?

I'm a Wisconsin boy from just across the river. I grew up in southwest Wisconsin and went to college there, at a small college in Platteville, Wisconsin. If you follow me on X (formerly known as Twitter), you know that because of all of my sports posts.

Describe your beat.

I am the Des Moines Bureau Chief for the Gazette. That means that I cover state and federal government, the Iowa Legislature, the Governor's offices, all the state agencies, and then our Congressional representatives as well, our U.S. Senate and House members. And then I cover all the elections that get those people into office. Every four years I also cover the Iowa presidential precinct caucuses.

I am based in Des Moines full time so I don’t get to see folks in the newsroom every day because of the beat. We have a little office space in Des Moines and I’m at the Iowa Capitol every day during the legislative session.

What do you like about being the Des Moines Bureau Chief?

I always give a little caveat to my answer that it's so corny, but it really is the truth. I like this beat because of how important I know it is to have people reporting to the rest of us of what's going on with their government and their elected officials and the people who want to be their elected officials. It's a sacred and solemn responsibility that I am proud to be a part of.

The thing that people find most fascinating about my job is the caucuses and the fact that I’ve covered or interviewed the last three presidents of the United States. I covered Barack Obama and I’ve interviewed one-on-one both Joe Biden and Donald Trump. So that’s obviously a high profile part of the job and the thing that a lot of people find really interesting. But honestly, to me, the heart of the job is the state government and covering the Legislature and Governor’s office, because that’s where the rubber hits the road. That's the stuff that really impacts Iowans on a day-to-day basis.

Talk about the On Iowa Politics podcast.

Our weekly podcast, the On Iowa Politics Podcast, is basically just a summary of the week that was in Iowa politics and government. It’s myself, Deputy Bureau Chief Tom Barton, columnists Todd Dorman and Althea Cole, and then some of our friends from the Lee newspapers. It’s just kind of a round table, casual discussion about all the big stories we covered over the past week. I think it’s informative and we try to keep it conversational and light when appropriate. I think it’s worth listening to if you don’t already.

You can also subscribe to the On Iowa Politics newsletter which drops all the government and politics stories we covered the day before into your inbox first thing in the morning. We’ll bring all of the latest news that broke over the last 24 straight to you. Subscribe to that newsletter here.

Share a fun fact about yourself.

I seem to have become something of a celebrity whisperer on Twitter. I have had direct engagements with Mark Hamill and Chris Pratt. So I get to tell people that I've talked on Twitter to Luke Skywalker and Star Lord.

What do you like to do for fun?

I’m not very fun and interesting outside of work — I like to spend time with my family. My daughter and I are both comic book geeks so we go to comic book stores and stuff like that. I’m a big sports fan, so I watch a lot of sports on TV and play as much as my body allows me to these days. I like to play golf when time allows.

Where can we read your latest work?

You can read my latest work at www.thegazette.com/erin-murphy.

Comments: erin.murphy@thegazette.com