There is more to Josiah Pike than meets the eye.
The senior has held multiple positions with the Daily Evergreen, including news editor and copy editor. He’s become known this year for writing his weekly satire column, making light of difficult situations in the news. But behind the journalist and editor, Josiah Pike is a friend who cheers people up.
“He’s definitely someone who, if I’m having a bad day, he just takes the edge off,” said Evergreen Editor in Chief Gabrielle Bowman, who also worked with him as a news editor in 2023. “He’s always asking, can I do anything, is there anything I can do to help. He’s always brightening our moods … he’s always there to make sure everyone is doing okay.”
Kedzie Moe, the previous EIC of the Evergreen, also had high praise for Pike’s work ethic and his helpfulness over the summer.
“He’s our newsroom jester, but at the same time, he is the backbone of the newsroom,” said Moe. “Over the summer, when nobody was writing anything, Josiah would message me and be like, ‘Hey, I can write about this if you want me to?'”
She called Pike the “hidden gem” of the newsroom.
“It always makes me happy when I see him come in and hang out with us,” said Moe.
Josiah started his popular weekly satire column in October and used it to deliver news in a less stressful and intense way.
“Where it started, where I get inspiration … if there’s something in the news that I’ve thought of an angle, I take that and just say, this is what I’m gonna do,” said Pike.
It’s really as simple as that.
Some of his pieces include “America’s thoughts on President Elect Trump,” “America reacts to Hunter Biden Pardon,” “WSU Bans AI Students,” “An Obituary to America” and “Eagles Accused of rigging Super Bowl.”
His satire stories were able to bring up major, oftentimes controversial political events, and present them in a way that could make people laugh and smile.
However, Pike’s favorite story he reported for the Evergreen was not a satirical story. It was a protest.
“Back in December of 2023, I covered a protest for the academic student union on campus,” said Pike. “Around 9 a.m., they marched to the French Admin Building, and were demanding a better contract.”
He said he enjoyed covering the protest because it felt like a real-time breaking news event, and he was right there in the middle of the action.
“I liked it because I was writing it as it happened,” said Pike. “Like a real-time coverage of something.”
He said his favorite satire story was his fake reaction to Trump’s election win in November of 2024.
“I wrote two, actually,” admits Pike. He said he pre-wrote a satirical reaction story to be ready no matter who won the election.
“A lot of people liked it,” said Pike. “A lot of people who were upset about the results liked it, because it made them feel a little better, kind of laugh at something. A friend of mine told me it was the first time they had laughed since (the election).”
In total, Pike wrote 234 articles for the Daily Evergreen, which accounts for roughly 1.1% of all stories published to the Evergreen website.
After graduation, Pike said he will be looking for a job in journalism, but does not want to lock himself into anything yet.
“News station jobs as a reporter, is probably what I’m gonna do,” said Pike.
Long-term, however, he would like to work in radio.
“Ten years from now I see myself hosting a radio talk show, which is what I want to do,” said Pike.
His dream is to host a talk-radio show that could blend news with comedy, something he’s already been doing with his satire pieces. With experience under his belt, he now enters the real world to pursue his goals.
