Civil Beat Staff

Kim Gamel

Kim Gamel is Civil Beat’s managing editor. She joined the organization as a deputy editor in November 2020. She’s also an accredited solutions journalism trainer.

Kim came to Hawaii after many years abroad, most recently in Seoul covering the Korean Peninsula for the military newspaper Stars and Stripes.

That gave her a firsthand view of the U.S.-North Korea relationship as it evolved from “fire and fury” threats of war to Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un’s bromance.

A Russian major in college, Kim began her career as a reporter with an English-language newspaper in Moscow, the Moscow Tribune, as the Soviet Union was starting to disintegrate.

She later went to work for The Associated Press in Iowa, North Carolina and New York before being posted as the Nordic/Baltic news editor in Sweden. A highlight of that period was going reindeer herding with indigenous Sami north of the Arctic Circle.

She was in Stockholm when 9/11 happened. That triggered an intense interest in the Middle East, leading to a posting as AP’s news editor in Baghdad from 2006-2009.

Her portfolio also includes assignments in Afghanistan, Pakistan, Libya, Turkey, Lebanon and Egypt.

Kim took a break from conflict zones to do a 2014-15 Knight-Wallace Fellowship at the University of Michigan, where she developed an interest in the importance of local news and the need to find innovative ways to produce it.

Kim, a native of Boise, Idaho, has a bachelor’s degree from Bates College in Maine and a master’s degree from the Medill School of Journalism at Northwestern University.

She’s excited about joining Civil Beat and engaging with the community on important economic, social and environmental issues that impact the islands. Let her know if you have any ideas.

Maui Police ID 6 More Fire Victims, Aged 11 to 84 David Croxford/Civil Beat/2023

Maui Police ID 6 More Fire Victims, Aged 11 to 84

New figures from MPD mean only eight of the 97 people confirmed killed in the Lahaina blaze remain unidentified.

Civil Beat’s Next Pop-Up Newsroom Is In Waialua

Civil Beat’s Next Pop-Up Newsroom Is In Waialua

Come see us if you're in the area on Tuesday morning.

Ex-Maui Rep Pleads No Contest To Campaign Spending Violation Nathan Eagle/Civil Beat/2018

Ex-Maui Rep Pleads No Contest To Campaign Spending Violation

Kaniela Ing says he has no plans to run again and is glad the matter "is finally behind me."

Maui Mayor Says 850 Still Missing After Deadly Fires David Croxford/Civil Beat/2023

Maui Mayor Says 850 Still Missing After Deadly Fires

UPDATES: More than 1,285 people have been recovered safely, while the death toll rose to 115.

Maui Mayor: Replacing Emergency Management Chief Will Take Time David Croxford/Civil Beat/2023

Maui Mayor: Replacing Emergency Management Chief Will Take Time

Pending a search for a permanent replacement, the No. 2 official at the agency is in charge.

Two Elderly Lahaina Men Are 1st To Be ID’d A Week After Deadly Fire David Croxford/Civil Beat/2023

Two Elderly Lahaina Men Are 1st To Be ID’d A Week After Deadly Fire

Only a few of the remains that have been recovered are identifiable, officials have said.

Hawaii Governor Seeks Moratorium On Property Sales In Lahaina David Croxford/Civil Beat/2023

Hawaii Governor Seeks Moratorium On Property Sales In Lahaina

The search through the rubble continued as the death toll from the wildfires rose to 99.

Civil Beat Named Hawaii’s Best Overall News Site For 13th Year In A Row Kim Gamel/Civil Beat/2023

Civil Beat Named Hawaii’s Best Overall News Site For 13th Year In A Row

Hawaii News Now took top honors in the public service reporting category with its Red Hill anniversary story.

Meet Our Summer Interns Kevin Fujii/Civil Beat/2023

Meet Our Summer Interns

Civil Beat has offered four paid positions to recent graduates from the University of Hawaii and Columbia Journalism School.