Taking my News Reporting I class in the Spring 2026 semester has ended up with my news writing ending up in the local newspaper, with the editor reaching back out to me to write a preview story for the college’s theatre performance.

News Writing Assignment

Project overview: A speech may seem like the easiest type of event to cover for beginning journalists, but it presents unique challenges to the reporter. Boiling down a long speech into a short story takes some tough decision-making. What do you put in? What do you leave out? When do you use direct quotes, and when do you rephrase?

Look at a community calendar and find a time when someone well known will be in town for a speech.

Give yourself enough time to research the speaker and the topic, so you will have a lot of background available for your story. The people who sponsored the event will have information for you. Schedule some time with the speaker before or after the speech, and make sure you ask members of the audience what they think about the speech.

Write a 900-word story with plenty of good quotes from the speaker and reaction from the audience.

Read the story here:

Professor, artist gives lecture at SFCC about Daum showcase | Sedalia Democrat

Freelance Work

The editor of the Sedalia Democrat reached out to me to write a preview story of State Fairy Community College’s performance of “Little Shop of Horrors.”

Read the story here:

‘Little Shop of Horrors’ to hit stage at State Fair Community College | Sedalia Democrat