TV news career gives way to new career path

By the time she graduated from CWU in 2020, Mariah Lane had already stacked up a résumé full of newsroom experience from working for the Observer, Central News Watch, and 88.1 The ‘Burg.

But her passion for journalism started long before her time in Ellensburg; she began eyeing the profession when she was 5.

“I’m one of the very lucky people who got to live out their childhood dream,” Lane says. “Not many people can say that.”

Her earliest memories of television news go back to sitting at the breakfast table, watching the Seattle news broadcasts with her grandparents.

“I took my first journalism class in middle school, and the rest is history,” Lane says. “From then on, I took every opportunity to study and practice journalism.”

Lane (née Valles) continued her passion for journalism in college, where she quickly ascended to a leadership role in the Observer newsroom, serving as managing editor and editor-in-chief, among other responsibilities.

“Honestly, in every one of those roles, I learned something new and different,” she says. “The biggest part about the Observer was that you were doing real world work while you were also in classes learning skills you could then apply.”

That preparation paid off. Immediately after graduation, Lane joined KHQ-TV in Spokane as a news and digital producer, later becoming a senior producer. She covered news events, including wildfires, the 2022 University of Idaho murders, and many other local stories in Washington, Idaho, and Montana.

“The skills I learned during my time at Central prepared me to jump right into a professional newsroom without skipping a beat,” Lane says. “I am so thankful for the versatile skills I learned through the digital journalism program.”

After nearly three years in Spokane, Lane made the leap she had dreamed of since childhood, landing a position in the Seattle TV news market.

In her two-plus years at FOX 13, she produced the station’s lifestyle and entertainment show, Studio 13 Live, featuring local businesses, nonprofits, artists, events and day-to-day trending topics. Highlights include meeting Bill Nye the Science Guy and Mariners broadcaster Rick Rizzs. Beyond Studio 13 Live, she also produced special projects for Good Day Seattle.

Lane learned a lot in the fast-paced world of television news, but after five years pursuing her childhood dream, she decided to embrace a new challenge this summer by accepting a digital media specialist role with Everett Public Schools.

“My 5-year-old dream was to work in TV, which I got to do and loved doing,” she says. “But my high school journalism teacher, Mr. Kaup, inspired me to want to work in education. I hope to continue his legacy and teach journalism one day.”

In her new position, Lane oversees the school district’s website and social media platforms. In her free time, she volunteers with the Washington Journalism Education Association. And through it all, she carries the advice that her late father wrote in her June 2020 graduation card: “Keep going.” 

“That has turned into my life mantra,” she says. “Everything I do is to honor my dad.”

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This story appears in the Fall 2025 edition of Crimson & Black magazine.