When the opportunity to run for the ONA board came up, I was giddy at the chance. I joined ONA near the end of my time as an undergraduate at the Missouri School of Journalism, attended my first conference (and was part of the student newsroom) in 2009 and have been active in the organization since. Though my first post-graduate home didn't have a local ONA chapter, it
This post is - and isn't - about journalism. Six months ago today, I started my job at POLITICO, covering the moment-to-moment developments of the 2012 presidential race. If you know me well, or even just a little bit, you know that I love campaigns and elections and have always aimed to do this kind of reporting. So, when the chance came to work for a company that I have always admired, I leapt.
In case you missed it, the Online News Association will hold its next conference in San Francisco. Sound familiar? That's because we did it already in 2009. In between the two California stops, the organization will have scheduled two East Coast conference locations (Washington D.C. and Boston). When does this game of bi-coastal ping-pong stop? There's this big expanse of land between California and Boston that includes a handful of the top journalism colleges and universities (Northwestern, Missouri,
Journalism conferences, conventions, meetups and online chats have become nothing more than an exercise in groupthink. Rosters at conventions are filled with familiar names and those people sit on panels with their co-workers and friends. Spaces that should be full of innovation and positive collaboration on the future of our industry are instead unimpressive and, for lack of a better word, boring. They’re boring because we let them be. They’re unimpressive because we’ve settled for more
While covering the 2010 Midterm elections for The Kansas City Star, I went back to high school. Not literally, as I didn’t really like it the first time, but I did visit five high schools in the Kansas City metro area for an article on how democracy is taught in the classroom. At Blue Springs High School, a teacher literally turned her class over to me, and let me ask them anything I
I don't have a good story when people ask me why I chose a career in political journalism. There was no "a-ha" moment or conversation that got me here. It was a series of things, starting with my fascination with media coverage of 9/11, and continuing through my teens. I've tried to put it into words for job applications, previous blog posts and friends and family (and even on dates) and have fallen short. But a local news story
Three years in J-school prepared me for the job hunt and the demands of the 24-hour news cycle. What it didn't ready me for was the evolving world of applying for jobs at and working for a startup. Nearly two months to the day after I started my job as a reporter for KCFreePress.com, I left. While the details of my non-disclosure agreement don't allow me to discuss the situation
If you've been reading the headlines, you already know that KCFreePress is going through a lot of changes. We've lost four amazing staffers and are currently in the process of trying to figure out what our next steps are. I've been answering a lot of questions from friends and industry contacts about what some of these changes mean for me. Answer: More
Confession, I've been a bad blogger. In recent weeks, I've promised myself I'd find the time to get back to my blog and update you guys on what I'm doing now. It's been almost a month since I re-designed, and still no entries. I'm sorry for that, but it's been for a good reason. I've been transitioning into my new job as a reporter for KCFreePress, and saying goodbye to
I've somehow managed to lose my entire blog which I'd been updating for the past year or so due to a technical glitch and my inability to fix it. I'm slowly rebuilding all portions of this site, so please bear with me. I'm hoping to have everything up and running with a new design by June 1, giving me a little time to settle into my new job and new home in Kansas
