An Award-Winning Team

Behind every story you read at The Center Square is a fearless journalist. Each day, our team is leading the way in taxpayer-centered news, breaking stories in all fifty states that other outlets do not cover, and asking questions that drive the narrative forward.

This coverage is making impact. In the last 12 months the publication received three awards in editorial excellence from Editor & Publisher Magazine (E&P), America’s most authoritative news industry publication.

While our staff is not driven by accolades, we love to acknowledge their achievements, honor their work, and celebrate these moments with you. It is with your support that we are able to identify, recruit, train, and cultivate such a thriving community of journalists.

In May of 2023, Dan McCaleb was one of only a dozen media professionals titled “Editor Extraordinaire” by, Editor & Publisher. The nationally acclaimed publication selected 12 leaders in the media industry, recognizing each for their exemplary leadership of their respective newsrooms.

This award came as the culmination of McCaleb’s 32 years of publishing experience and recognition.

For the past five years, Dan has developed and grown The Center Square from a single state newswire, to a national publication serving 830 media outlets across the country. Under Dan’s leadership, The Center Square delivers fact-based news coverage from all 50 states and the federal government in Washington, D.C. In 2023 alone, his team’s content appeared nearly 330,000 times across all forms of media partners.

The Center Square relies not only on McCaleb’s editorial prowess, but on his servant leadership style. McCaleb brings to the newsroom a drive for excellence, and an unfettered willingness to step up and aid the team he leads.

Managing Editor Alan Wooten was recognized in E&P’s September 2023 issue as one of 20 seasoned journalists nationwide. These professionals were selected based on their “strong work ethic, transformational mindsets, commitment to journalistic and publishing excellence  and ability to lead during challenging times.”

Alan’s journalism career began in sports writing before he even started college – a specialty he continued in after graduating. In 1994, he rose to the position of sports editor. After 28 years of managing editorial teams, Alan joined The Center Square as managing editor for the East Coast team.

Over the past two years and counting, Alan’s experience has enriched those under him, sharpening the news product our readers know and rely on. His coaching mentality inspires younger reporters and editors in their ability to think critically about their own work, and to ask the hard questions no one else is asking.

Christen Smith was featured in E&P’s February 2024 issue as one of 25 journalists under age 35 whose work has proven significantly enterprising in today’s journalism.

In January of 2023, she fulfilled a career goal from college when she resumed working for The Center Square as Pennsylvania state editor. Previously a reporter with TCS, she has continued a journalism career of over a decade since graduation from Penn State University. As a firsttime editor, she has already distinguished herself as a team leader.

Christen and her top reporter have relentlessly driven the taxpayer angle into Pennsylvania’s headlines. She has brought to the forefront key issues that impact the daily lives of everyday readers: issues like education funding, the struggles EMS agencies in rural areas face, and the reliability of the energy grid under certain policies.