Matthew Copeland has been named WyoFile's new chief executive and editor. (Steven Brutger)

Anne MacKinnon is the chair of WyoFile’s board

The governing board of WyoFile is delighted to announce that Matthew Copeland will be our new chief executive and editor, in charge of all of WyoFile’s operations.

Copeland has written and edited for WyoFile, most recently creating the series of short features, Wyoming Know-How. He is an insightful journalist and thoughtful observer of Wyoming in the twenty-first century.

In this new role he will run both the editorial and operational sides of WyoFile. This represents a change in WyoFile’s staff structure that we believe will clarify organizational leadership and help WyoFile advance our mission of delivering in-depth, non-partisan reporting on the people, places and policies of Wyoming.

Copeland brings nearly two decades of management, professional communications and community engagement experience to the role — more than half of it with Wyoming nonprofits. He is an award-winning writer who began his relationship with WyoFile as a freelance reporter, covering among other topics, the Wind River Indian Reservation.

In the first half of 2016 he served as WyoFile’s interim editor and was instrumental in rapidly expanding both readership and the WyoFile community.

A native of Charlottesville Virginia, Copeland studied as a Howard Hughes Scholar of the Life Sciences and competed as a student athlete at Penn State. Then, as he puts it, he “served a six year corporate sentence in the internet technology industry.” Upon “escape” he found his way home to Wyoming where he met his wife, settled in Lander, started a family and has been thoroughly ruined for a life lived anywhere else.

Copeland describes himself as an avid hunter, angler and wild-country junkie who believes that facts matter, that integrity is non negotiable, and that nothing is as powerful as a good story well told.

Never miss a story — subscribe to Wyofile’s free weekly newsletter

Anne MacKinnon is a former WyoFile board chair and author of "Public Waters: Lessons from Wyoming for the American West."

Join the Conversation

18 Comments

WyoFile's goal is to provide readers with information and ideas that foster constructive conversations about the issues and opportunities our communities face. One small piece of how we do that is by offering a space below each story for readers to share perspectives, experiences and insights. For this to work, we need your help.

What we're looking for: 

  • Your real name — first and last. 
  • Direct responses to the article. Tell us how your experience relates to the story.
  • The truth. Share factual information that adds context to the reporting.
  • Thoughtful answers to questions raised by the reporting or other commenters.
  • Tips that could advance our reporting on the topic.
  • No more than three comments per story, including replies. 

What we block from our comments section, when we see it:

  • Pseudonyms. WyoFile stands behind everything we publish, and we expect commenters to do the same by using their real name.
  • Comments that are not directly relevant to the article. 
  • Demonstrably false claims, what-about-isms, references to debunked lines of rhetoric, professional political talking points or links to sites trafficking in misinformation.
  • Personal attacks, profanity, discriminatory language or threats.
  • Arguments with other commenters.

Other important things to know: 

  • Appearing in WyoFile’s comments section is a privilege, not a right or entitlement. 
  • We’re a small team and our first priority is reporting. Depending on what’s going on, comments may be moderated 24 to 48 hours from when they’re submitted — or even later. If you comment in the evening or on the weekend, please be patient. We’ll get to it when we’re back in the office.
  • We’re not interested in managing squeaky wheels, and even if we wanted to, we don't have time to address every single commenter’s grievance. 
  • Try as we might, we will make mistakes. We’ll fail to catch aliases, mistakenly allow folks to exceed the comment limit and occasionally miss false statements. If that’s going to upset you, it’s probably best to just stick with our journalism and avoid the comments section.
  • We don’t mediate disputes between commenters. If you have concerns about another commenter, please don’t bring them to us.

The bottom line:

If you repeatedly push the boundaries, make unreasonable demands, get caught lying or generally cause trouble, we will stop approving your comments — maybe forever. Such moderation decisions are not negotiable or subject to explanation. If civil and constructive conversation is not your goal, then our comments section is not for you. 

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

  1. I worked with him on a story and thought he was an excellent editor. He helped me improve my work without sabotaging its basic ideas–a rare attribute for an editor. I am hoping he will be willing to take some risks–like writing about the gun industry in Wyoming, for example, why the Democrats don’t bother canvassing in Wyoming, and problems with local health care, and other controversial subjects in a way that would be informative to all Wyomingites.

    Reply
  2. Reply
  3. Reply
  4. Reply
  5. Reply
  6. Reply

  7. We couldn’t be more pleased to hear of Matthew Copeland’s appointment to this position & are very proud of him — Uncle Bill & Aunt Sherry

    Reply
  8. Reply
  9. Reply
  10. Reply

  11. You hit a dinger with Matt’s hiring. Engaging and a man of integrity. Good luck Matt! Hit it out of the park.

    Reply

  12. Great breaking news for us readers, fans, and supporters of WyoFile! Congratulations, Mr. Copeland and WyoFile!
    Susan Lasher & Chris Pfister
    Cody

    Reply

  13. Matthew Copeland, I know objectivity is no where to be found in this rave review. A better man can not be found for this position. -Aunt Suzie

    Reply
  14. Reply
  15. Reply

  16. Copeland is the epitome of “nothing is as powerful as a good story well told.” Congrats Matty – and great move Wyofile

    Reply
  17. Reply
  18. Reply