An icon of Alaska journalism, Elizabeth Arnold died June 18 after a battle with endometrial cancer.
Elizabeth Arnold started her reporting career in Bethel in the 1980s, working for the Tundra Drums. She later moved to public radio, reporting for KTOO in Juneau, then National Public Radio.
Those that worked alongside Arnold say she would travel anywhere to tell a great story. Her work covering Congress, politics and the environment took her around the globe – to the remote mountains of Mongolia, the Himalayan Mountains and Sri Lanka.
Then in 2009, she was ready to start a new chapter of her career, teaching journalism to students at the University of Alaska Anchorage.
UAA Journalism and Public Communications professor Paola Banchero said Arnold was her professional sidekick. She remembers when Arnold applied for a position in the department.
“I heard her on the radio throughout my young adult life. I really thought she was a great reporter way before I even dreamed that she would be my colleague,” Banchero said. “I thought [it was] a real feather in our cap. She just really added to the quality of our program.”
Banchero said Arnold was strict on deadlines and ethics and “utterly thrilled” to see people succeed.
On top of her career, Arnold was a committed mother who loved and was deeply proud of her son, Jack, Banchero said. In an essay for NPR in 2004, Arnold shared what it was like raising him in Alaska, taping cardboard to windows during the summer so he could sleep at night.