I hope each and every one of you had an enjoyable Christmas even with the sudden dip in temperatures and, in some cases, ice and snow.

I started writing this column Thursday from my office space in the Press Room in the basement of the State Capitol Building. Your State Capitol Building is always a beautiful place to be around Christmas, with decorated trees inside and out, along with other festive decorations.

The Press Room at the Capitol is typically quiet these days. If you’ve been to the Capitol, you’d probably never find the room. It’s down the hallway from the cafeteria and it’s largely non-descript.

If you walk in, you’re notice the various sections for news outlets; newspapers, an office for the Associated Press, WV MetroNews, and West Virginia Public Broadcasting. Book shelves filled with West Virginia Blue Books and old journals of the House of Delegates and state Senate.

The place is pretty dated and grungy. There is a closet filled with ancient equipment used by reporters in times past. I’m not sure the coffee pot has ever been cleaned (I use my own Keurig). There are stacks of old framed certificates for West Virginia news legends who participated in “Third House,” an event long since gone where statehouse press would put on a satirical show making fun of the lawmakers.

I’m glad that tradition went away. It was long before my arrival here in 2010. Back then during that session, the Press Room was a bustling place. The Charleston Gazette had a fully staffed section, while the Charleston Daily Mail had their room in the back. You had Beth Vorhees and the WVPB reporters and camera crews preparing for “The Legislature Today.” Mannix Porterfield of the Beckley Register-Herald had his corner in the back, as did David Beard with the Dominion Post (Dave, I’ve been borrowing your chair).

The Huntington Herald Dispatch had two reporters working out of the section of the Press Room I now call my office. Hoppy Kercheval could be heard recording his commentaries in the room around the corner after hosting Talkline from the Upper Rotunda. And back then, I was just the new kid on the block working for a new-fangled blog covering the Legislature and being accused of being a right-wing provocateur despite an award-winning news career in Parkersburg/Marietta.

Nearly 13 years after first arriving to this Press Room, I now sit here quite lonely. Sure, it’s right before Christmas as I write this. The 2023 legislative session doesn’t begin until Wednesday, Jan. 11. Surely the place will be back to bustling, right?

No. Sadly, this place hasn’t really been bustling for some time. I remember that the Pew Research Center tried to say in April that the number of statehouse reporters in West Virginia increased between 2014 and 2022, from 18 to 34. This came from surveys of reporters and apparently, if you wrote one article about the Legislature – even off a livestream – you were considered a statehouse reporter. Point being: no, there are not 34 statehouse reporters in West Virginia. Even saying there are five is probably being generous.

Some of the pullback was COVID-related. Certainly some of it is related to money. It costs money to send someone down here temporarily and definitely costs money to maintain a permanent base here. Some of it is due to technology. I’m thankful for streaming technology, as it can sometimes allow me to be in two different places at the same time. But too many reporters rely on the live-steaming of events. Frankly, you lose something by not covering something in person.

I actually worry for legislative coverage this coming year. This will be a very important session, especially since one party holds the vast majority of power. It’s going to be important to have as many eyes on the Legislature and I only have two eyes, two ears, two hands, two feet, and one body.

I’m not one of those reporters who gets self-righteous about what they do, but providing news reporting on your government is important. It gives you the information you need as you make decisions, and certainly what happens under the golden dome here affects your life. A strong statehouse press corps is key for transparency and accountability.

I know everything above this paragraph seems like a downer, but I wrote all of that to say I’ve been sitting here feeling very blessed. I’m blessed to have a company to work for that values coverage of West Virginia government. I’m thankful for owners, publishers, editors, copy editors, fellow reporters, and those working the printing press (I’ve done that job before, folks. It’s hard work.) and those in the mail rooms and on the delivery trucks.

I’m thankful for people who support my work, trust my news judgment, provide correction when needed, and who put up with my blunt, terse emails (I’m notoriously to-the-point in emails, which can be taken negatively sometimes). I cannot do what I do here in Charleston without such support.

So Merry Christmas and Happy New Year. I look forward to writing my stories in this space in the coming year and helping you better understand the workings of your government.