Spokane journalist Melissa Luck honored with Key Award

Melissa Luck (Courtesy photo)

Melissa Luck was named a Key Award winner in for her consistent advocacy for open government as a representative of broadcasters in Washington.

Luck has been news director of KXLY 4 News in Spokane for the past seven years and with the station for 22, where she began as a reporter. She is passionate about journalism and, particularly, local news.

“Even though national news takes up a lot of oxygen, he things that affect our daily lives are happening at the local level,” she said.

Luck said she likes writing and telling people things they didn’t know. But the draw to broadcasting was a family affair. Her father began his long career in sports broadcasting in Montana, and his career took him all over. As a child, Luck had opportunities to visit behind the scenes where he worked and determined that broadcasting must run in her family.

“It was just one of those things where there’s no other job like it,” she told WashCOG.

Luck studied broadcasting at Marquette University in Wisconsin and ended up in Spokane at a station in the Tri-Cities before joining KXLY.

Since then, she’s found that her passion for her work also includes representing broadcasters statewide when it comes to issues that affect their jobs — issues like open government. She’s been called at various times to testify before legislators or submit written statements regarding both open government and support for the news industry.

Luck has been a member of the state Sunshine Committee for a couple of years, but acknowledged that there is some ongoing frustration. The committee’s purpose is to make recommendations to the Legislature about repealing or amending exemptions to the Public Records Act. Luck said the intent behind forming the committee was pure, but there’s no mechanism forcing the Legislature to review the recommendations.

For those who don’t quite get why open government is important — for everyone, not just journalists — Luck said she understands that most people are just living their lives and don’t have time to stay tuned in to the parks commission, local councils and boards. But she is a journalist because someone needs to be watching, and everyone needs access to the government’s work. Otherwise, people could never know what is happening until laws change, she said.

During the pandemic, many people “didn’t know there was a health board in their county until all of a sudden, an organization was making decisions that affected their lives,” Luck said.

The Coalition presents Key Awards as warranted to any person or organization who has done something notable for the cause of open government. Luck’s contributions were recognized in 2023 but her award was only recently presented.