WRITING
One of the most important aspects of journalism, writing is where the story is actually told. A great deal of work goes into writing. The reporter must set out to get the background information, interview the subjects, dig for a unique angle, and finally, present the information in a compelling way. The Red & Blue's motto is "Every student has a story." Through my writing and reporting, I try to ensure that each student's story is told the best that it can be.
Student Walkouts
Covering this event was new territory for me, as something of this nature has never happened in my journalistic experience. The event was loaded with emotion and tensions with students reeling after the shooting in Parkland. I found a way to cover the story in terms of how students reacted and why they did what they did. I also wrote an OpEd for my local news organization, The Reno Gazette Journal, which was the first time I was able to write for a publication other than my own. It was empowering to write this story and cover what was happening at the time.
Feature Writing
Feature writing is unique in that the writer has the ability to get to know someone's story and tell it in a way that makes the reader feel that they are talking to the subject itself. I have had the pleasure of writing multiple features as a high school journalist, whether it is covering a girl who beat cancer as a child or a senior with big dreams for the future. One of my favorite features was on our school counselor however, because I found out information that I didn't even know about before. She is a Disney lover and wants to make it to every Disney park around the globe. Through this feature, I was able to get to know a little more about the staff in my building at school, and share this information so others could get to know her as well.
In Depth Coverage Writing
Writing for in-depth can be challenging because it is very fact heavy. However, for these two stories in particular, I reached out to individuals in the community and students to get different coverage of these topics. For the free speech article, I reached out to a professor at the University of Nevada, Reno, and interviewed students on what was happening in Charlottesville at the time. It was right after the event, so emotions were high for many of the students I talked to. For the sex trafficking article, I talked to a member of a local organization, Awaken, that helps victims of human trafficking. This was an interesting article to write because of the broad range of information available as well as the unique information that Awaken was able to provide. I reached out to some national organizations for this story, but unfortunately was not able to get any comments.
