There’s a new byline in The South Whidbey Record.

Last month, Jennifer Conway, a 1996 South Whidbey High School grad, was hired by The Record as a reporter.

Having earned a bachelor’s degree in communications at Mercyhurst College in Erie, Pa. in 2000, Conway comes to The Record after having worked as a copy editor at the Erie Times-News, a 75,000 circulation daily newspaper.

Conway moved to the island in mid-December with her husband, Tim. She said the couple came here because they like the area and to be close to her family, which lives on South Whidbey.

At The Record, Conway will cover business issues, the city of Langley and the Port of South Whidbey. She joins the five-member editorial staff at the newspaper as its second beat reporter. Her arrival at The Record marks the first time in three years the newspaper has had more than one full-time reporter.

Record editor Matt Johnson said he believes Conway is a unique find in today’s journalism job market. Conway worked at The Record in 1997 as a summer intern, so is familiar with the paper and its operations.

Johnson said the combination of Conway’s knowledge of the area and her professional training are hard to come by in the weekly newspaper industry.

To reach Conway, call The Record at 221-5300 or e-mail her at jconway@southwhidbeyrecord.com.