Erin Passinger has returned to her journalism roots. Recently hired as the managing editor and director of operations at the The Corry Journal, her original career path was to take her 3,000 miles away in Hollywood. Instead, she discovered happiness can be found right in your own backyard.

Passinger’s family moved to the Corry area from Santa Monica, Calif., when she was seven years old. Growing up, she developed an ability to forge strong connections with people, listening with interest to what they said. This trait, coupled with her effervescent spirit, helped her map out a career path toward becoming a talk show host in California.

She attended Penn State University, graduating in 2001 with a bachelor of arts degree in journalism. Her ambitious dreams began in earnest. Immediately after graduation she was offered an internship at the Jerry Springer Show in Chicago.

Passinger worked as a production assistant at the wildly popular television program for a year, learning as much as possible about the industry. After one year, she decided to step away and start planning for the big move to California. Instead of leaving right from Chicago, she made a quick detour to Corry, the perfect place to decompress before charging back into the hectic world of television.

Returning to Pennsylvania in 2002, while making arrangements for a move to Los Angeles, Passinger searched for a new job to save money for her relocation. Sample Media Group, which tried to recruit her after graduation, offered her a job at The Corry Journal. She took the position at the hometown desk, writing about weddings, announcements, job postings and other local events in the community. It would be a temporary position before heading to California, so she thought. 

The temporary job turned into a 17-year run at the Journal. It also helped her realize another passion that fit perfectly with her ability to connect with people – writing. She shared the stories of local businesses, community organizations and everyday citizens while cementing a bond with the community she cared for.

In 2019, a new opportunity arose for a position at a local redevelopment program. It was a chance for Passinger to expand her horizons and develop new skills. She left the Journal for the new challenge. After two years, she moved into a new role at a local steel manufacturing company, where she spent four years on the sales team. The combined experience strengthened her leadership skills, increased her sales knowledge and taught her valuable lessons in dealing with difficult situations.

Throughout the time away from the paper, her reporter’s instincts never subsided. She viewed many of her duties through a journalistic lens; something that might be a good story to write about or an event that could use a proper press release. She also missed the interactions of her beloved community.

When a position opened at The Corry Journal for managing editor and director of operations, Passinger threw her hat in the ring. Six years after departing the Journal, she was back, contributing to editorial content and writing columns. She also is charged with digital growth of the Journal.

“The shift to digital media is somewhat crucial to the continued success of small-town newspapers,” Passinger said. “Consumers don’t have to wait for a newspaper to hit the newsstands anymore. They can pick up their phones any time of the day and get any content they want.” 

She continued. “When I left the newspaper industry in 2019 and took another job opportunity, digital media was just ramping up. Now, I am returning to what seems like a whole new way of doing things. While we still put 100 percent effort into our printed newspaper, it’s important to make sure we keep our website attractive and user friendly, and of course, keeping the social media pages relevant and up to date.”

Although the dream of hosting and producing a successful talk show has not happened (yet), Passinger finds happiness and peace of mind in her current career. “Everything that happens is meant to be,” she said.