charlieardengee
News Reporting
On call: students, siblings and learning online
This long-form news story detailed the struggles of students who had to both learn online and take care of their siblings. I really felt like I connected with the students I interviewed for this article and was pleasantly surprised by how far my interviewing skills had come. I was no longer afraid to dig deeper and ask the tough questions.
I am proud that I wrote and designed this entire article myself. However, I would be remiss not to mention staffer Hayate Mustefa, a former West Side Story staffer, who pitched this story. She herself had to quit the paper because she was struggling with taking care of her own siblings. This story would not have been possible without her. It later went on to win NSPA 2021's fifth-place for COVID-19 Reporting, IHSPA 2021's Honorable Mention in COVID-19 Coverage, and a Best of SNO.
Straight to the point
Art by Eva Jordan
A main goal of mine, especially as News Editor, has been to simplify complicated information into a way that it can be easily understood by the general public. I firmly believe it is one of our central goals as journalists. Especially in the digital age, there is too much conflicting and overwhelming information, which makes this job even more important.
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I feel like I balanced simplification, information, and kept things relevant and impactful to students in this article, which outlined how COVID-19 vaccines work. It won a Best of SNO.
What's the deal with delta?
Design by Sachiko Goto
In this article about the Delta variant, which I co-wrote with a new staffer, I focused on training her. I emphasized the value of keeping things simple enough for everyone, no matter age or reading level, to understand. I also made sure to encourage her, building confidence in her journalistic abilities. I feel like I could have improved this article and her training by adding interactive infographics like Infograms, teaching her how to make them and why they're important to catch the reader's attention.