Reporting and Writing
While I am always searching for stories as a reporter, my favourite stories have been the ones that I stumble upon - an anecdote told by a teacher in class about an expedition to Kenya, the experiences of a student who has slowly watched his school's culture become more and more homogenous, a senior expressing upset about the culture of socio-economic exclusion present at the school.
Reporting is connecting. It is listening with genuine care and validating anothers' experiences. The mere act of that - of listening to amplify - says "I care what you have to say." As a journalist, I have worked to dive deep into my community through the stories that weave it together.
Spotlight stories
This piece began small - a news piece on a recent new "visitors policy," barring parents from entering the school without a pre-planned meeting - yet eventually grew into something much larger. The new visitors policy revealed a much larger shift in policy happening in our school as UK restrictions on education tightened in light of recent political changes. That, in addition to the school's first upcoming inspection from the Independent School Inspectorate, had created an onslaught of changes in curriculum and policy at our school.
Many students and faculty were feeling the impact of these new policies, yet none of us understood why the administration was making these changes, and there was a deep lack of transparency and communication around the changes and the upcoming inspection.
For reporting on this story, I interviewed three authoritative sources: the Head of School, the Director of Operations and the Director of Teaching and Learning. On top of these three sources, which I used to get background information on new policies and the behind-the-scenes preparation for the inspection, I interviewed two parents, one of whom is the PCA president, and two students, who spoke largely on the impact the administration's changes were having on the school's culture.
One challenge I faced while working on this story was understanding the multiple layers of what was happening in the school - the UK government legislation, the ISI inspection, the impact on the parent community, the impact on student culture, the lack of communication between the administration and the community, and the underlying theme of the piece, which was the tension between the school's identity as an American school, and the legal oblications it has to UK law, which was taking away a lot of the features of the school that made it distinctly American.
What surprised me while working on this story was how I came to understand the administration's perspective. I had believed the administration was responsible for the enforcement of these new policies, yet after my interviews, which I approached professionally in order to make sure to actively counter my own biases, I came to understand the administration is forced by law to implement these changes, and are attempting to do so while upholding the school's values to the greatest extent.
Ultimately, both students, teachers and parents approached me about the piece, saying they were impressed and suprised by the level of insight provided by the administration in my interviews, as the administration had not spoken as candidly to them in PCA and staff meetings. Photos of my piece circulated PCA, Board of Trustees, and parent group chats. The parents I'd interviewed expressed genuine concern and very authentic fears that put voice to the concerns of many parents in the community. I also had students, parents and teachers approaching me and expressing gratitude for the ways in which the piece clarified a large gap in knowledge and communication about what was going on behind the scenes of the decision-making in the school.
Up until recently, this piece was the longest ever piece published in The Standard. Yet it is not the length itself that makes it an important story for me, but instead the depth and breadth with which it covers the experiences of the LGBTQ+ community at my school. The Standard hadn't covered the LGBTQ+ community since 2020 - a five year gap in our coverage of a deeply excluded and underrepresented minority group in our community. Additionally, we had never published a story on homophobia, transphobia or other forms of discrimination this group might face, which is suprising given we often report on racial, religous, ability and gender-based discrimination.
This piece had 12 sources - as me and my editor-in-chief at the time were conducting interviews, we kept finding more and more members of our community that had critical perspectives on the topic.
One challenge we faced while writing this piece was managing the sensitivity of the topic. When it came to finding sources, we made sure to approach individuals with warmth and honesty, communicating our work and our awarness with compassion. We were aware this was a topic where many LGBTQ+ students felt vulnerable, and many students we initially spoke to would not want to be intervewed. When writing my interview questions, I had to really pay attention to the order in which I was asking my questions - making sure to make the source feel comfortable and safe, asking questions in a progression that made sense and felt natural, allowing them to warm up and wording questions with respect as to not feel invasive or disrespectful. Conducting these interviews, we asked if our sources would be comfortable sharing how they identify, yet made it very clear this information was not required. Empathy were crucial - our sources were often sharing deeply personal and emotional experiences they'd had with exclusion and discrimination in our community, and I made sure to demonstrate respect and compassion when listening to their stories.
We also made sure that we weren't singling out LGBTQ+ students when searching for interviews, and also interviewed students who were allies or not members of the LGBTQ+ community to comment on the school's culture. We sent out a survey to the entire community to gather data on people's experiences with homophobia at the school, and invited any students who were interested in being interviewed on the topic to be a source.
Another challenge we faced were some experiences that were submitted to us via interview and google form that we had to flag with our principal for safeguarding, especially since our adviser is a mandatory reporter. We then had to have dialogue with the administration on what stories we could include in the piece and what we had to exclude for privacy and safety concerns regarding the students.
While writing, I made sure to use the appropriate language for the topic, collaborating with our DEI editor to make sure the various LGBTQ+ styleguides were being listened to and abided by. We also had interviewees who had sources such as "she/they," and thus made sure to include both pronouns when referring to them in the piece.
In this piece, we also had to include multiple right to replies, as students critisized the school's leadership. We interveiwed the heath department head to respond to claims students made about the exclusion of LGBTQ+ topics in the health curriculum; the director of student life to respond to claims about inaction from the administration when it comes to disciplining cases of homophobia; and the director of global citizenship and inclusion, who spoke on some of the school's inclusion initiatives regarding the LGBTQ+ community. These authority figures were not simply defensive, but were receptive and empathetic, offering insight into the school's work and the attitudes of the schools leadership around this topic.
This created an interesting dialogue on the page, as both the voices of students and school leadership were given a platform. After the piece was published, it was shared among the school administration as a testemony of the LGBTQ+ community at my school - an LGBTQ+ teacher at my school shared it with them as a method of urging the school to take action. Many LGBTQ+ students approached me about the piece, thanking me for its visibility and putting their experiences in the spotlight.
Ultimately, this piece embodied exactly what I wanted my reporting to be; honest, full of the authentic and vulnerable experiences of an underrepresented community which had often faced exclusion and administration who could acknowledge their progress and flaws; courageous, requiring bravery from my sources and overcoming moments of uncertainty and sometimes discomfort from myself; and impactful, gartering a large response from the community.
The day after the 2024 Presidential Election, my journalism class flew to Philadelphia for the NSPA JEA National High School Journalism Convention. Emotions were high - many of us were still reeling from the results of the election. Being in Pennsylvania, a central swing state in the election, felt unreal.
I was so curious about what people Philadelphia were feeling after the election - it was such a special opportunity to be in the city at this time, and I knew there were so many stories to tell. Were people outraged? Celebrating? Stunned to silence? It felt wrong to be in this central U.S. city, at a convention for truth, storytelling and democracy, and not ask questions and learn about how people were feeling about the recent results.
I was expressing this desire in searching for a story to two of my reporters and they expressed interest in helping out. During a lunch break, we decided to go to Reading Terminal Market and begin talking to the vendors working there.
At first, we struggled with cold-approaching complete strangers and asking them about their political opinions. However, as I continued to do it, it became more and more comfortable - I would clearly introduce myself and my reporters, explain our participation in the convention and ask if they would be open to answering a few questions on our topic.
Around a third of the vendors we approached denied being interviewed. Yet the ones we did manage to interview brought interesting and contrasting perspectives that represented the variety of reactions to Trump’s reelection: a Kenyan fruit seller who thinks Trump will manage inflation but is concerned about some of his friends, who are attempting to immigrate to the U.S.; a french goods seller who is worried Trump’s tarrifs will impact her business; a war veteran who has zero faith in American political processes after the recent reelection; a pickle-seller who is concerned about the future of democracy in America.
This piece was foundational to my growth in producing timely journalism and building that strength in cold-approaching sources. I love talking to people, yet being in an unfamiliar environment with so much political tension made me initially hesitant. Yet eventually, this nervousness subsided, and I grew more and more confident approaching these people and having these conversations that challenged many of my pre-concieved notions and opened me up to the stories of individuals whose lives and perspectives were deeply different to my own.
Reporting
Finding a story
Stories usually come up as manifestations of numerous observations and conversations I've had while passing through the community - stories I hear from teachers, questions I hear from students, concerns I hear from parents. When first thinking of a story idea, I consider what its impact will be on the community once written, what possible perspectives are present in our community and whether the idea is relevant and original.
While I usually have an idea for an angle I want to approach the story with, I never approach reporting with a fixed mindset - instead, I allow, and even search for, shifts in the story. New perspectives, details and information add unexpected nuances into the narrative, and one of my favourite parts of journalism is pursuing these complexities and seeing where I end up. Some of the most interesting works of journalism I have published have taught me new and unexpected things about my community, whether it be policies, individuals or cultural shifts.
Finding sources
Usually, my stories start with people, and so I go into it already having a source or two that inspired the piece. I love it when I am able to find sources organically through conversation or connection. Sometimes, our publication sends out surveys to the community to collect data, where we allow anyone interested in being interviewed to reach out to us. I always enjoy reaching out to these sources, as they have expressed active interest in being interviewed and have a lot to contribute.
When searching for sources, I make sure I am reaching out to students from a variety of grade levels, genders and backgrounds, depending on how it is relevant to the story. This way, I can ensure diverse source representation in my piece and include a variety of perspectives.
When it comes to authoritative sources, I always find it deeply interesting to meet people who manage the behind-the-scenes of the school. I have often cold-emailed school leadership and sent follow-up emails to ensure these sources are accessible. Having in-person, direct access to first-hand communication is always a highlight of reporting.
When reaching out to sources, I always introduce myself and clearly explain my work in a warm and dire manner. Clearly setting expectations and communicating my story allows for trust and transparency between the reporter and the source.
Preparing for an interview
While preparing my questions for an interview, I try to ask questions that prompt open-ended, elaborative and thoughtful responses. To start my interview, I always ask about any factual information, which I can confirm and cross-check later. Flow and order of questions is important, as often the source needs some time to warm up before sharing more personal opinions or experiences.
Interviewing
I prefer my interviews to be very conversational, especially when for a profile or a more light-hearted piece. I allow space for unexpected answers, and always ask follow-up questions to go deeper into what they are saying. Depending on the interview, I adopt a more casual and friendly tone, or a more professional and direct tone. The best quotes come from when interviewees feel genuinely excited or passionate about what they are speaking about, so to encourage these kinds of quotes, I try to match the energy of the interviewee so they can tell I am listening actively and sharing the emotion they are expressing.
Writing
My first step in writing an interview-based piece is combing through my transcripts. I first search for any important information relevant to the story, which I will summarize. I then select quotes that demonstrate emotion or insight specific to the source, that add movement and humanity to the story. Quotes are the building block to a story, and good quotes are the key to a powerful story. I also am sure not to select quotes that are repetitive or derivative of each other, or that don’t make sense without context that can't be efficiently and clearly provided.
Once I have selected my quotes, I begin constructing my piece by grouping them by theme. Even if a piece is not grouped by subhead, I like to write temporary subheads to help me stay organized, so quotes discussing similar topics can be in conversation with each other. I also make sure the quotes flow together into one another, and that quotes from different sources are evenly distributed.
Once I have a general sense of the structure of my piece, I begin filling in gaps with transitions, summarizing each quote to provide necessary context and ensure the piece moves smoothly, while maintaining concise, specific language. Throughout this writing process, I will continue moving around quotes within different sections to make sure the piece reads clearly and has a narrative that builds and explores new topics, watching for unnecessary or repetitive quotes. After finishing the majority of the writing, I often like to end my pieces looking towards the future or on a broader, reflective note, which can leave the reader with something to think about.
Online pieces
Every online piece includes a piece of multimedia content aimed to complement the featured story, such as a photo gallery, video embed or interactive graphic. Writing for our website has allowed me to think creatively and strategically about how to best strengthen my story with additional unique storytelling elements while publishing timely, relevant pieces.
Print pieces
Spanning from opinion pieces to larger investigative stories, the work below reflects my contributions to The Standard’s print publication as a reporter throughout my time on staff. Our 5 annual print issues are The Standard’s largest source of audience engagement, and it has been a joy to see the impact of my work as it is viewed by my peers, teachers, administration and parents in the community.
