News Writing
Second City Burning
While on staff at The Leader, the student newspaper on campus, I wrote multiple news stories. However, the one I am most proud of is one that told the story of the Second City fire, the small burning of a historical improvisational theater. In order to write this story and report it to the best of my ability, I had to contact multiple people. I had written a previous draft of the story, but was unhappy with the outcome and wanted to take a different perspective on it, noting the history of the building, its significance, and giving a human story to the piece. In order to do so, I contacted Tyler Alexander, the CEO of Second City, and arranged an interview with him. To learn more about the history of Second City, I searched for previous issues of the Chicago Tribune that mentioned the building and an article that spoke of the company’s significance. In order to add emotional appeal to the story, I contacted a student at Second City, and asked him about his experience with the company, what it meant to him, and his hopes for the future. Through this, I was able to create a piece that touched various aspects of a story while pushing myself outside of my comfort zone to create something I was proud of.
Relay for Life Kicks-Off at Elmhurst College
This is a news story I wrote while on-staff at The Leader, the student newspaper on campus. The story focused on the Relay for Life Kickoff, an event that aimed to encourage people to sign-up for the organization’s main event in April. Relay for life is a fundraising event held annually to raise money for the American Cancer Society. In order to write this story, I attended the event myself and interviewed the Co-President and Vice President of the organization.
In addition to providing general information on the event, the news story also told the personal stories of the Co-President and Vice President of the organization. As a writer, I wanted to create a piece that provided readers with important facts and information about the event, while also adding a human element to the story. I wanted to create an informational news piece while also providing a level of engagement to readers.
