Hello! My name is Emma, and today I assume the role of your local reporter for Knox Pages, Ashland Source and Richland Source.
As my interest and commitment to journalism has grown, I have seen local newsrooms struggle because of a lack of funding and resources. I spent the last four years attending college in Richmond, Va., and saw newspaper front pages once filled with bylines from numerous reporters now feature the same number of stories — but all from one writer.
Some regions lost their local news source altogether.
When seeking my first post-graduate job, I wanted to serve in a role where I could be the support needed in a local newsroom. Today, I enter my role through Report for America, an initiative that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities.
News deserts and underreporting have implications beyond the local level as well. Regional news organizations inform national outlets. Without in-depth local coverage, issues are left underreported and misunderstood, not only in small communities but across the world.
I was drawn to Report for America because of its focus on local news, but also because of its focus on building a sustainable system that engages the community in fundraising.
Local news cannot survive without its community. I believe communities also cannot survive in a meaningful way without a local news organization that works, and has the means to inform and connect people to where they call home.
I wanted a role where I could do more than relay information. This is why I was drawn to Richland Source Media Group’s focus on Solutions Journalism. I am eager to engage in work that helps our community understand problems but also investigates ways to solve them.
A bit about me:
I decided to major in journalism at the University of Richmond, candidly, because I was interested in too many subjects to pick just one to study. But I decided to pursue journalism as a career when I saw my reporting have an impact on the communities I covered.
In 2019, I joined University of Richmond’s independent newspaper, The Collegian, as a news writer. I assumed the role of managing editor in 2020, the day my university switched to remote learning because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
It was clear amid the ever-changing landscape of the pandemic that our comprehensive reporting and watchdog role was even more critical.
Since then I’ve interned with FRONTLINE PBS, reported for Richmond’s Capital News Service, served as a reporter and editor for the Poynter Institute’s College Media Project and began a fellowship with the Pulitzer Center on Crisis Reporting. I’ve reported on education, local government, the COVID-19 pandemic, burial grounds and memorialization, and I am eager to find out what topics you find most pressing.
While I come to the Richland Source Media Group from Richmond, I’m a native New Yorker. I’m also a long-time ballet dancer, a podcast buff and your new neighbor. I began calling Ohio home last week and have much work to do to report with depth and accuracy on Knox, Ashland and Richland Counties.
So, send me your questions, concerns and news tips. I can be reached at emma@richlandsource.com, and I am excited to get to know you.
