David Bates
Staff Writer
David Bates has been writing for and editing newspapers in the Willamette Valley almost continuously since the early 1980s. He joined the News-Register staff in 1996 and for nearly 14 years covered politics and the environment. He left in 2009 to be a stay-at-home father and write about books and reading.
He has been the recipient of dozens of journalism awards over the years from the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association and the Society of Professional Journalists. Those he is most proud of include awards for investigative reporting and writing about local arts and culture.
David also has been an actor nearly as long as he's been a reporter, although he's never been paid a dime for this. He has appeared in more than two dozen plays, most of them at Gallery Players of Oregon in McMinnville.
He and his wife, Melissa, live in Yamhill County with their 6-year-old son.