News Writing
News writing is the most common type of reporting, yet one of the hardest to come by and the speed at which you must get it out also makes it one of the hardest to write. With a weekly beat system, it's always stressful finding a timely topic and tracking down interviews over just a couple days. Yet, somehow, the stories always come together just in time.
REAL ID enforcement finds success after decades of delays
May 16, 2025
I remember applying for my driver's license and being asked if I wanted to apply for a REAL ID at the same time. My mom said to, so I did. At the time, I had no idea what it was, but, a few months later, it was all over the news. Every article I read, however, just left me with even more questions, including "What was the point?" I decided I'd report it myself, for those like me with no idea what it was, and give the full story; the one that started 20 years ago...
New Cal Fire wildfire risk maps prompt updated safety measures
March 8, 2025
The Southern California wildfires started in early January, dominating the news as thousands evacuated and thousands of acres burned from some of the most destructive wildfires in state history. It took me back to 2020, when my own county faced its own devastating wildfires just as the COVID-19 lockdown began. Our fans and air conditioning ran nonstop, the air quality was always at its worst, and, eventually, there was a day when we had to pack up and evacuate. I still remember the moment I realized how real the danger was: when the Cal Fire helicopters were directly above us and I could read the lettering on their sides. That fear has stayed with me. I wrote this article so my community will work to be better prepared. You never think it’ll happen to you, until it’s right above your roof...
Food expiration dates raise waste and climate change concerns
February 6, 2025
Expiration dates are just a fact of life. You go to the grocery story, you look for it. You want to eat chips, you look for it. There's hardly anyone you'll meet who will tell you they've never checked one. Hence, I began to wonder the real purpose of them. How do we know that they help and don't cause any harm? Everyone seems to just go along with them blindly, but what I discovered is more surprising than you'd think...
Meta replaces fact-checkers with X’s Community Notes system
January 16, 2025
In this day and age, Instagram is life. 95% of teenagers use social media, according to the National Library of Medicine. So, when Mark Zuckerberg, CEO of Meta, including all things Instagram, released an announcement saying they were changing their fact-checking to mirror X and it could cause increased harmful content, I knew I needed to write a story. However, as our publication is geared towards many teen readers, instead of just giving facts, I decided to write an angle about the effects of the change on teens and youth, picking interviews that support youth well-being...
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