Below is a collection of a few of my favorite stories I've worked on. Check out the descriptions in the comment boxes to see how these stories came to be.
Evaporating: Lower milk prices threaten a Missouri family's legacy
KOMU 8 NEWS: HFR
In mid-Missouri a lot of our viewership lives in rural areas and farming is a huge industry. This was an unusual start to my story telling process because this story was not my story idea. This was the Missouri School of Journalism's first multi-newsroom, multi-platform story. I went with a newspaper and radio reporter out to the Fogle family farm two hours away in Kansas City. Visually, this story was really hard to shoot because my tripod wouldn't fit in the milking area, so I shot almost all of the b-roll hand held. It was also an interesting experience to hear the interview styles of reporters who work in different mediums.
Last year a teen in Hallsville took her own life and now her mom is suing the school district for neglecting her child's needs. Because I was bullied as a pre-teen I wanted to highlight this important debate: does a school district have a responsibility to protect its students from bullying even outside the classroom? Bullying has a life-time impact on everyone in a community. In this story I made sure the viewer heard the superintendent's perspective as a mother herself.
KOMU 8 NEWS: General Assignment
In wake of mother's lawsuit, how other school districts address bullying
Brussels' 'frites' stands get new, iconic look
AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE TV: Feature
I fell in love with Brussels' infamous fries, or frites, while studying abroad spring of 2018. I was able to do this feature story and eat some frites in the making, best of both worlds! This story was especially difficult because I had to deal with the language barrier, having a colleague ask my questions in French. This was also a unique process for me because Agence France-Presse TV has a specific broadcast template for the way it does its story packages.
Mid-Missourian shares stories of asylum-seekers
This is a story I struggled to see through to the end because of the intensity of the interviews I conducted with two men who volunteered in Texas. The stories they brought back depicting how the women and their children were running for their lives was hard to hear and process. Every once in a while you cover stories that bring you in, grabbing at your emotions.
KOMU 8 NEWS:
Feature