Miriam Raftery has over 35 years of experience as a journalist and editor. She has won more than 400 major journalism awards, including the American Society of Journalists & Authors’ national Arlene Award for community journalism and San Diego Press Club’s Best of Show award prior to founding East County Magazine.

Her awards include dozens of top honors from Society of Professional Journalists and San Diego Press Club for articles she’s written at ECM, including first place for investigative journalism, breaking news, and multicultural reporting, as well as special awards for reporting that’s made a positive difference in our community.

She has covered major news stories including the California wildfires, Congressional and presidential elections, land use issues, local politics, health, and feature stories  A former columnist and freelance writer for the San Diego Union-Tribune, she has also worked as an editor of a national nutrition journal and a literary magazine as well as senior national investigative reporter for RawStory.com. Her works have appeared in many national and regional publications, from Woman’s Day to Arizona Highways, as well as in many local community newspapers and magazines.

An East County native, she is a graduate of Helix High, Grossmont College and the University of California, Santa Barbara. She takes pride in exploring East County’s back roads and byways, leaving no stone unturned in the quest for news and feature stories.

As East County correspondent for the San Diego Union-Tribune, Karen Pearlman gained in-depth knowledge about communities and issues across San Diego’s inland region, covering school boards, city councils, water and fire districts.  She has also worked as a sports news assistant for the San Diego Union-Tribune, sports editor/writer for the Daily Californian, and covered nonprofit organizations for the San Diego Business Journal.

 A San Diegan since 1979, she is a graduate of Patrick Henry High, Grossmont College and San Diego State University, where she earned a degree in Journalism, also covering finance and sports for The Daily Aztec for four years.

At East County Magazine, she has covered the actions of city councils and county supervisors, land use and water issues, as well as feature stories highlighting attractions across our East County region. An avid animal lover, she also covers stories related to local wildlife, pets, livestock and animal rescue groups.

East County Magazine has published works by many award-winning writers and photographers, including:

J.W. August, Mike Allen, E.A. Barrera, Ariele Brooke, Richard Darvas, Gayle Early, Michael Howard, Briana Gomez, Shiloh Ireland, Rebecca Jefferis-Williamson,  Ron Logan, Jeremy Los, Elijah McKee, Henri Migala,  Karen Pearlman, Jamie Reno, Joseph Rocha, Miriam Raftery, Alexander J. Schorr, David Shorey, and many others. 

Our team includes professional journalists as well as freelance writers, columnists, community volunteers, college interns, photographers, videographers, sound editors and radio broadcasters.

Join our team!  East County Magazine seeks experienced journalists, student interns, and community correspondents. We are happy to train and mentor the next generation of journalists. Contact editor@eastcountymagazine.org or call (619)698-7617.