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Writing Reporting
The process of journalistic writing has allowed me to define my voice. Review writing has allowed me to develop and articulate opinions through illustrating personalized experiences and reputable statistics. While years of crafting my editorial voice has been more than rewarding, it has been the opportunity to dive into the Kansas City and St. Teresa's community, and share the stories of individuals that otherwise would have never been shared, which fulfills me the most. The people I have been able to meet, the students that I have developed friendships with after presenting their experiences to the greater community is the most valuable thing I believe journalism can offer -- the people.
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"Ya Like Jazz?"
My most recent piece, this column speaks on how I strive to dive deeper into music genres than surface-level listening, particularly with jazz. I chose this column because I feel I connect the piece back to personal experiences the most out of my column-work.
A mural in downtown Kansas City memorializing the historic jazz district through depictions of the famous 18th and Vine crossroads as well as Charlie Parker on July 26. Kansas City has a rich history defined in the jazz movement of the early 20th century. photo by Claire Smith
"The financial "draft": the U.S. military's presence in high school"
This story was developed around the internet trend that the U.S. was going to initiate a draft. The draft itself was not going to happen, of course, but my now co-E.I.C. and I took the angle on how military "drafting" occurs through different high school programs with various economic targets. One of the most interesting sources I have interviewed was in this piece, who was a recruiter for the regional U.S. recruiting batallion. For them to speak with me, I had to initially pretend I was interested in joining the army so I could get a response. Then, I asked and received confirmation on conducting an interview, but to this day I still receive recruitment texts from the batallion.
Mary Cox stands next to fellow nurses in a demilitarized zone in 1978. photo courtesy of Mary Cox
"Food Served from the Heart"
I vividly remember that I had many sources fall through for this piece. It was probably the most challenging feature I've ever done for that reason, however, the sources that I managed to interview were unbelievable people and were so much more rewarding for the piece than I could have imagined.
Katrin Hueser, co-owner of German restaurant Affäre, reads order tickets under the window on Nov. 11. Heuser co-owns Affäre with her husband, Martin Heuser. photo by Beatrice Curry ​
"What Happened on Jan. 6"
This was an instance where I felt so lost by the national events occurring, that I turned to write to make sense of it all. I reached out to a fellow staffer, and we spent all of Jan. 7 developing this story to inform our community about the political turmoil that occurred during the capitol riots.
Photo compiled from Creative Commons. Modified by Claire Smith
"Tyler the Creator: Mosh or be Moshed"
The review was a perfect reflection of the best concert I had ever attended. The first concert review for our publication, I spent the whole night -- besides the concert itself -- taking notes on my phone documenting the experience. This is definitely one of my proudest passion pieces, and I go back and read it occasionally in reminiscence of the loss of concerts due to COVID-19.
Tyler the Creator dressed in his “IGOR” outfit performing on stage. photo courtesy of News Tribune Service
​"Ella Tomasic"
My publication does one student feature every cycle called a "Star Spotlight" -- a play on words of our mascot, a star. Ella Tomasic had had a growing Instagram account over the course of a couple of years focused on classic Hollywood films. I had a vision for a classic-looking photoshoot as well as capturing her bubbly personality through interview questions. My page design can be found in the "Design" section, where I attempted to merge both social media and classic Hollywood to best reflect her successful aspirations.
Senior Ella Tomasic poses in one of her authentic vintage dresses from the early 20th-century Nov. 6. Tomasic’s love of classic Hollywood surpasses just watching the films; she owns various items such as clothing, posters, and scrapbooks representing the era. photo by Claire Smith
"The Face of the NFL"
The year prior, we had covered the Chiefs attending the Superbowl for the first time. This time, we wanted to take a different angle: the epic rise of Patrick Mahomes from a local hero to a national superstar. It was amazing the recognition that he alone brought to our city and the immense pressure that came from that. My co-Editor-in-Chief and I wrote this story on a really tight turnaround because the original cover story idea for this cycle was put on hold by our administration, but I am very proud of how it turned out. I especially love the effort we made to parallel the reactions of the fans in our community from pre to post Superbowl at the beginning and end of the story.
Union Station, located in downtown Kansas City, displays their love for the Chiefs on the outside of the building Jan. 29. A banner in the middle reads “Run It Back,” a now popular slogan amongst Chiefs fans. photo by Ali Madden ​